A funny thing happened today. I found myself in the precarious (although not altogether unwelcome) position of having to recant my previous hardline stance involving the combination of rapping and live instruments at shows. Following on from the underwhelming Mobb Deep reunion of 2011 and the slightly less unfortunate 50 Cent show, I was utterly convinced that anytime a band showed up at a rap gig it was a sign to make a quick exit. This includes The Roots, who for all their legendary tales of recreating Big Daddy Kane and Ultramagnetic classics on stage decided that us filthy Australians were only worthy of a Guns N’ Roses cover.
The exact turn of events stared when I caught wind of the Nasir listening party being live-streamed from beneath Queensbridge itself, which was a great idea in theory until it became clear that the 41st Side still uses dial-up internet and the stream froze exactly five seconds after Nas arrived over an hour late. While all this was going on, I thought I’d revisit some 00’s era Nas stuff in case I missed something. This was a decent enough distraction for a time, until I heard Nas rap that he coulda made a double LP just sampling parts of ‘Nautilus’ on ‘Carry On Tradition’ and part of me died inside realising how amazing that would actually be. Lord Shafiq made three different versions of ‘My Mic Is On Fire’ so I’m sure Mr. Jones could handle it without breaking a sweat!
At some point I realised that I couldn’t psychically handle hearing anymore songs with Kelis singing back-ups and was about to call it a day, when I stumbled upon the live recording of Illmatic which Nas performed with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Lincoln Centre in Washington DC. Considering that every second washed-up rock band tries this same trick every few years, I approached with extreme caution.
But I’ve got to give it up to everybody involved, this is actually incredible. On account of the production on the original album being so stripped back and sparse, there’s a lot of room to add elements without stepping on the base grooves. Thanks to the arrangements having the feel of an atmospheric film score, this rendition actually adds to the original vocals and puts certain lines into a new context which helped me appreciate them in a whole new light. Given the nostalgic, cinematic nature of much of Nas’ work, this is actually a perfect a fit. ‘NY State of Mind’, ‘Memory Lane’ and ‘One Time 4 Your Mind’ really shine here, but when I heard what they did to ‘It Ain’t Hard To Tell’ (possibly my favourite Nas song ever), I just about drove off the road. Transforming that timeless Large Professor tune into an orchestral epic had my hyped up enough to punch a horse in the mouth. *Ron Artest voice* Say Queensbridge!
…and then he says ‘I thank you from the bottom of my Bravehearts’ twice and we’re back to our regularly scheduled broadcast.
That concert together w his last effort Life is Good made me a lil hyped up about the new album until I heard it…
A damn Kanye west ep w Nas spitting on top
And ye even dropping a verse hisself
Nah thanks
Hey unkut,I’m really scratching my head tough on this one…who’s interview was it where they kept aggrandizing themselves beyond the point of believability, and the comments section tore em up saying shit like “(x) invented James brown” “(x) was the first emcee to use a microphone” etc? Thought it was DJ stitches but it wasn’t…
Keyboard Money Mike.
LOL. A classic interview, one of your finest, potential movie…
Good words/train of thought, was wondering where that title was heading. I think you’re a little harsh on The Roots, pre-97, they were dope, nuff said, along with 100X and that whole scene, although I hasten to say, even Jedi Mind. Like you, live instrumentation rarely works for my ears, live or recorded. BTW: Jimmy Z is slept on for that gangsta Barry White situation…
my own mother actually watched this and sent this to me a while ago, of course I never actually listened to it
Could nas please hurry up and die? I’d like to be able to once again appreciate his artistry; free from the knowledge/guilt of financially supporting that wife-beating piece of hypocritical trash.
Come on, you really think he was beating his wife like that? Why? Because your girlfriend read an article on Jezebel?
Regardless, I was excited about this EP after hearing Daytona. However, it’s pure garbage musically and lyrically. His rapping sounds lazy and uninspired. The beats are average at best. This sounds like it was thrown together in less than a week, which it probably was.
@Caesar “you really think he was beating his wife like that? Why?” Because his wife said he did and I have little reason to doubt her (and others’) account of Nas being a controlling, abusive douche.
You’re a real White Knight! You should get a job writing for Gawker.
Thanks for this! Good shit but I will always take Will Session’s Illmatic live instrument version over anything. That extended Halftime beat is crazy!
@Caesar: What’s “Jezebel” and “Gawker”? Never heard of em. I haven’t bought a magazine in over fifteen years.
Nas has trouble getting to his own listening party, I find it hard to believe someone as permantly blunted as he is would have either the energy or the motivation to put a shoe into anybody.
He can, however, body a plate of nachos with the best of ’em.
Word to that, @Dino
Agreed on the Will Sessions El-matic instrumentals. That’s my favorite version of Illmatic right now — when I listen to the original, it makes me kind of sad to think how Nas’s career has ended up.
Agree with @Rashiiiid though many Nas fans will tell you different and be quick to defend his body of work. My personal favourite was It Was Written is better than illmatic and then being told I was a Lil Pump fan. Oh the joy of twitter as i’m sure Robbie can relate to after his Outkast blast!
run to twitter with all these “hot” “bad” “takes”
Raise ur hand if you think Def jam couldn’t wait to drop a ’13-’18 Nas album…did he not drop bars Friday on how he not conforming? respect to ‘ye for helping that man get closer to his freedom…yet the irony is all of the beat critics silently wishing salaam was on the boards rofl
‘Nasir’ is a worth a few listens but not sure if I’ll remember it in a month.
As for this “how his career has ended up” nonsense…last time I checked Stevie Wonder is still alive… you expect some heatrocks from the maestro in ’18 or do you bow to the goat and check the catalog when you want that flavor at your leisure? Cats be mad selfish, for real.
And I stand firm on that with that hella meh “project” that dropped last Friday.
Same with that 444 joint….Jay looking “on punishment” in that new video tho LoL
$yk the only black person on this mfer
Most of you cats on this thread just wanna pull your dicks out and Jack off when you hear Nas over one the Ultimate Breaks and Beats chops on the SP1200. Guess what? It’s 2018 and it’s not going to happen homos!! The last time I checked on “Nasir” his “cadence is still amazing”on various bpm’s. “The ghetto Othello the moor” is still dropping science on you uncivilized savages while still getting a mega pay check from Amazon!!!
Big fan but I think he really struggles on various tempos and when he trys to say alot and get real deep his flow falls off point too.