Soon after his “Stillmatic” album came out, in 2002 the New York MC Nas decided to bring out more material as “The Lost Tapes”, in which he was seen to (rather than come out with a brand new album) compile a collection of all the best tunes which hadn’t made their way onto “...I Am”, “Nastradamus” and the 2001 album which reminded people why he created such a buzz with his 1994 debut release.
1. “Doo Rags”
He gets the album going with a fresh tune to guide listeners in. It is a calm one and features some gentle production to ease people on here as he gives you a chance to just enjoy life with a feel-good recording here. It is a tune which reflects the fact that here he was just messing around this material and came up with a light tune to escape what you typically get in a rhyme set from the Queensbridge native.
**Four Stars**
2. “My Way”
The Alchemist takes over the beats and leads things towards a straight banger of a track and one which really should never have been dismissed by the artist as you have him jumping on top of what were some of the best beats that this late nineties to early ‘00s era had to offer and he comes out with a nice concept to his rhymes as he talks on exactly how
he was able to deliver by doing things as he wished every step of the way in his career up to that point.
**Five Stars**
3. “U Gotta Love It”
He comes with a fly tune here as L.E.S. takes control of the production and comes out with something which seems to really fit in with expectations of his talent and potential as he comes out with something which really does its job and allows the MC to do what he needs o in order to get his message across as he lets loose and comes out with material which ranges many topics, but remains to the socially-conscious work on the main part.
**Four Stars**
4. “Nothing Lasts Forever”
On some rather cold production, this is another thought-provoking track from the artist and one which you can see a video for in your mind as you here him performing a very commercial tune which could have done the business if it dropped as a single with him coming with a tune which has him rhyming about how everything in the world goes through stages and people have to adapt to keep things they want in their lives.
**Five Stars**
5. “No Idea’s Original”
The Alchemist comes up with a very impressive composition here as he samples Barry White’s “I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little Bit More Babe” to an amazing effect as it allows Nas to take things back to the years when Funky Soul was popular and to allow him to explore something that he didn’t often get into as he takes things back to his Old School and the years just before he blew up himself as a teenager when “Illmatic” dropped.
**Five Stars**
6. “Blaze A 50”
This is an intense track from Nas and one which seems to come out of nowhere as you find that he blazes through with this one and comes with some in-your-face rhymes whilst getting don’t to a track which was often found in tracks of his around this time where he paints a picture to listeners as he takes things towards a classy setting and takes things from there. It is a big tune here and despite its length, is certainly valued.
**Five Stars**
7. “Everybody’s Crazy”
Famed for his work with the likes of Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z and Pop acts such as Christina Aguilera, Rockwilder gets on the beats for this one and takes things towards his style as he comes out with a grungy tune which stands right out on the album as it enables Nas to come out with more powerful rhymes and in this case he chooses to take things to a sort of club style as a change to what he typically delivers.
**Five Stars**
8. “Purple”
On some empowering jumping percussion, this bouncy tune is one which keeps the flow going for the album and has Nas come out with even more of the top-quality material to liven up listeners. Once again it is a massive surprise to find that this could easily have just been lost, had he not chosen to compile such works as these as he comes out with a fresh flow which competes with some of his best works.
**Five Stars**
9. “Drunk By Myself”
This is a strong concept tune and one of many from Nas, but rather than performing personification rhymes as “Project Roach” or “I Gave You Power”, this one has him taking on an alternative persona as he flows out the thoughts of an alcoholic for this one and goes hard here as he shows how well he is able to explore this sort of thing to come out with a well-rounded tune which displays just how strong his MCing can be.
With this one you get some social commentary from the artist and as a change you find that he gets on beats which will appeal directly to those who typically would tend to get into such conscious material. It is a fresh tune and the strength of the production and overall composition means you can’t ignore the way he goes in on things which would later return for his “Hip Hop Is Dead” record and untitled 2008 release.
**Five Stars**
11. “Poppa Was A Playa”
The final track has him jumping on early production from the Chicagoan star Hip Hop artist Kanye West here, and I felt that it made for a nice way to end things off here as it seems to round it off nicely in a way here he is able to come with a track which was clearly intended for his autobiographical “I Am...” album, which was initially to be a double-album, as here he gets on beats from a fresh new producer on the scene.
**Five Stars**
Although in hindsight the first track wasn’t quite as strong as they rest, this is clearly an album which fans of his can’t d without as he lays down some heavy jams which do things which were seen to be well-developed in the three albums which came before it, but obviously when taken out of context as they are here, it doesn’t really flow, but when taken as individual tracks they are all killers.
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Collecting bootlegs, rarities, and "underground jewels" of the last few years into one ... more
tight collection, Nas'sThe Lost Tapesis intended as a vault-clearing stop-gap between his last workStillmatic, and his long-awaited sixth album,God's Son. It's also ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Collecting bootlegs, rarities, and "underground jewels" of the last few years into one ... more
tight collection, Nas's The Lost Tapes is intended as a vault-clearing stop-gap between his last work Stillmatic, and his long-awaited sixth album, God's Son. It's a...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
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