Nas - Life Is Good - Def Jam Records – July 2012
"Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own."
- Robert Heinlein
Whew! It’s hard to tell whether
the title of Nas’ 10th studio LP needs a question mark after the
title or it’s simply a glass half full approach to the shit life hands you. The
undisputed passionate, pragmatic poet from Queensbridge (who is typically immune
to romantic matters of the heart) seems to be stuffing a world of introspection
in the obvious void left by ex-wife Kelis.
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| Kelis' Inspiration |
Esco’s penmanship rarely gets
more personal than the throwback, Guy sample on “Bye Baby” which summarizes his
marriage from courtship to courthouse. The nostalgic Guy sample (“Goodbye
Love”) is creative and [lyrically] timely, but clearly NOT one of those
jeep-jumpin’joints that has been a staple in the Nas catalog since the days of
Illmatic and It’s Written. In fact, this
track flows like a heart-broken teenaged chick trapped in a room with a bowl of
Häagen-Dazs and a zip locked dairy. That fact
notwithstanding, Nas is still the same witty, wisecracking, jab-thrower that
has made his work a signature on every emcee’s top 10 wish list. I sure hope
Kelis has a sense of humor.
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| The Anthem to Marriage |
SIDEBAR - If
women REALLY knew the power they “sit” on they would truly understand that
running this country from the would-be named Ovarian Office would be easier
than a Wal-Mart greeter.
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| Never Personal |
Now don’t for one second get it twisted; those thinking
that Nas has remotely fell off; need to look no further than the spit-fire,
storytelling track “You Wouldn’t Understand”. On this single you should
understand, that rumors of his Nas’ rap demise have been vastly overstated. The
Victoria Monet hook really doesn’t do any justice to the
crime-riding riddles of the New York City streets. In fact the hook softens the
story and invites a radio-rotation to the never-ending dichotomies of rap.
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| The Look of Love |
The latter mentioned radio
rotation is certainly amplified by the Rick Ross guest appearance on
“Accidental Murders” which is an ode to fake gangsters (which is really ironic
considering the guest star). If Nas is a true legend of the game, big boss Ross
is the balance needed to keep the clubs hoppin’. Personally, I’d rather see the
clubs elevated versus lowering the bar of legends. But, what do I know – I
think a country with human rights SHOULDN’T need civil ones.
“Cherry Wine” features the late
Amy Winehouse and just makes you wonder if “life is really so good” why must
the gifted die so young. This is one of those rare rap examples where I believe
the hook is actually better than the [spoken] verse. I sure hope he and Kelis
mend their woes, as any rap legend wouldn’t want to make this a common
occurrence.
“Back When” is the emcee’s
thirst quencher and personally, I was anticipating much more of this. “Back
When” is a classic, storytelling, window blaster, underscored with a MC
Shane/Ronnie Gee sample, punctuated for those just landing from outer space
looking for some historical Hip Hop context.
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| One of life's best medicines |
This clearly isn’t my favorite Nas CD by any means, but if you are looking for a radio balance, then Life is okay and that’s Good.
1 Love,
Ray Lewis
