Street's Disciple Vol.1 (Parental Advisory) [PA] - Nas

The seventh album from the New York rapper Nas came in the form of a double-length one. The two-disc release came out in 2004, a couple of years after the one before, “God’s Son”, and so continues his religiously-themed work after having made the most out of the typical rap which most Hip Hop acts engage in.

Disc 1:

1. “Intro”

2. "A Message to the Feds, Sincerely, We the People" (Lude)

...
...you have Nas on some hardcore production from Salaam Remi and L.E.S. together. The pair have been working with him since his debut, and so knows exactly what is needed to come up with quality results in his music, and they appear to have killed it yet again with a track which moves from tension-building segments, and heavy beats in quick succession.

**Four Stars**

4. “American Way”

I would have to say that this ... more

The seventh album from the New York rapper Nas came in the form of a double-length one. The two-disc release came out in 2004, a couple of years after the one before, “God’s Son”, and so continues his religiously-themed work after having made the most out of the typical rap which most Hip Hop acts engage in.

Disc 1:

1. “Intro”

2. "A Message to the Feds, Sincerely, We the People" (Lude)

3. "Nazareth Savage"

For this tune you have Nas on some hardcore production from Salaam Remi and L.E.S. together. The pair have been working with him since his debut, and so knows exactly what is needed to come up with quality results in his music, and they appear to have killed it yet again with a track which moves from tension-building segments, and heavy beats in quick succession.

**Four Stars**

4. “American Way”

I would have to say that this one is clearly one of the best ones you find on the album, it has him working with his current wife, Kelis, who sings on the hook as he goes at it strong with beats from Q-Tip, and these heavy percussion drops gives the MC and chance to make the most of what he has been given.

**Five Stars**

5. “These Are Our Heroes”

Following one of the best tunes on the whole album, you find another tune which finds him getting into even more material which gets him criticising the Hip Hop world and how our modern-day role models have gone from universally-respected people to people who pride themselves on being called titles such as ‘thug’. This thought-provoking one is big and clearly worth a listen.

**Four Stars**

6. “Disciple”

Nas keeps his material for the streets on this disc (as there is an apparent change in the second one), and for this one with the beats from L.E.S>, who chooses to take on classic beats from Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, allows him to really show off his rap skills on some appealing production. The roughness of this one engages you to it, and from hear you are taken into the whole mind-set.

**Five Stars**

7. “Sekou Story”

At first, I didn’t really thing much to this one, however after a while, when the beats seems to change from breakbeat onto something a lot harder, you are forced into really enjoying the way that he rips it with the collaborating artist, Scarlett, who straight rips it at the end of the track. This one improves over time, so give it a chance first.

**Four Stars**

8. “Live Now”

In a return to earlier material, especially from his debut, this one find Nas doing a tune which has him speaking on how people should be grateful of the time they have. It is probably connected to the fact that he lost his mother just before the last album came out, and is reflecting on the experience, and sharing this through his music.

**Four Stars**

9. “Rest Of My Life”

I felt as though it was an effort to connect with the content of this recording as you have some strange beats Chucky Thompson and L.E.S, who combine together to come up with one which takes on a very original way about composing it all. Once you are able to really get it, it becomes a big one, and the Amerie appearance is valued.

**Four Stars**

10. “Just A Moment”

Sampling classic Chic work, this one has him doing a one with Quan, a Canadian MC who I haven’t heard of since this one came out as the final single from this album. It is a banger of a tune, and Quan shows lots of potential with his delivery on the stop-and –start format of the production, of course Nas has to work hard to show he’s a step ahead, but together, they do well.

**Four Stars**

11. “Reason”

This one finds him with some soothing production, and it doesn’t seem to really affect the way he chooses to go about rapping, as he chooses to keep with his aggressive raps to show he has no mercy when it comes to his music, and doesn’t care what people expect him to do, as he will always do it his won way, but I have to say that this confusion meant it wasn’t all that good.

**Three Stars**

12. “You Know My Style”

Taking from classic Run-D.M.C, this is a straight banger of a tune to end the first disc off with, and I’m sure that all old School fans will feel the same way towards it as you hear the jingling bells inspiring him as he flows. You can’t get much better than this, and I liked that he re-visited the Golden Age later on in the record too, to show what is going on in his head as he records this album.

**Five Stars**

Disc 2:

1. “Suicide Bomb”

To kick off the second disc, you have a tune which finds Busta Rhymes acting as the hype man, and just coming with a mad energy to excite you as you move onto something which is apparently a switch from the first disc. This one sounds like a musical introduction, and so warms you up again, but has little substance.

**Four Stars**

2. “Street’s Disciple”

In this one you here him on some typical beats from Salaam Remi, and as well as this, you also find a short bit of speech from his father at the end of the thing. Altogether, it comes across as a fairly good one by him, and there is a lot to like about it with him going in with some hardcore lyrics to contrast from much of the other material on this.

**Four Stars**

3. “U.B.R.”

This one has some heavy bass on it, and it suits the way that Nas goes about doing this one as he decides to do a dedication to only the best in the Hip Hop game; Rakim. He does a biography of him, and speaks on his life, and the impact of his work upon himself. It is one you have to listen to as it straight kills it, and nothing like any of the others here.

**Five Stars**

4. “Virgo”

This is a straight banger from him, and you see the way that you find Nas doing a collaboration with not only the Dirty South’s Ludacris, but also the Old School beatboxing legend, Doug E. Fresh, who does the beats in this one as the pair get into some Golden Age-inspired rhymes on top of some vocal percussion.

**Five Stars**

5. “Remember The Times” (Intro)

6. “Remember The Times”

You have some funky sampling in this one with a little Carol Douglas, and the beats are just right for this one, as the rapper appeals to want to keep you in a warm mood, and does one which finds him reminiscing upon his girls in the past, and how much fun his life was then, in comparison to how it all is now. It is fun, but hints on a less attractive current life (and future).

**Four Stars**

7. “The Makings of A Perfect Bitch”

The beats on this one are heavy, and I’m surprised that this one wasn’t used to represent the album as it has him really making the most of what he has been given with some fresh raps throughout. I thought that his delivery seemed to reflect the style of ‘Pac in his day and this is bound to be something which went on to me enjoying it.

**Five Stars**

8. “Getting Married”

Starting with lines from “K-I-SS-I-N-G”, this is a follow-up to that one, and has him getting further into the marriage process. I thought that this one was just as good as the other, and it meant that he was able to work off the hype of the original in order to build an equally as appealing tune to do more themed raps.

**Four Stars**

9. “No One Else In The Room”

The production in this one is really no something you would expect from a Nas joint, but you quickly get into it as it is a straight club banger from Esco and has him rapping well to the high tempo, and comes with relevant lyrics which speak on him doing what he does on the dance floor, and just having a good time there. It has him just let go and have fun, and you can’t really hate on it.

**Four Stars**

10. “Bridging The Gap”

"Bridging The Gap" is a great creation by Nas and his Jazz singing father, Olu Dara, and highlights the fact that things like this never happen in Hip Hop, it's usually very negative and father-son combinations aren't common (not that many have grown up with fathers, never mind artistic ones). A few others such as Hood Surgery (Dr. Dre's son) and Lil' Eazy-E (Eazy-E's son) are emerging now, but Nas pioneered this activity for this genre of music. This combination of talent works very well as the chemistry between them allows them to make something that they both enjoy and has aspects of both Jazz and East Coast Hip Hop. You can see where a lot of Nas' inspiration has come from too with this track as Olu Dara lists many of the things he has done in his life and Nas is able to convert this into artistic energy.

**Five Stars**

11. “War”

I must say that I liked the mellow beats which you find on this tune, and it really is atmospheric as it forces you to calm down as he flows. Much of this one is taken up by Keon Bryce as he sings the introduction and chorus for it and it eases you into it before Nas gets a chance to rap about how he wishes to please his girl. It isn’t something you would expect from it, and could be regarded as a simple filler.

**Three Stars**

12. “Me & You”

I can’t say that I thought too much to this one, and I’m sure that others will feel differently towards it however I found that it wasn’t really saying much as it was a rather personal one and has Nas doing one for his daughter, and there’s nothing in it which appeals to me.

**Two Stars**

13. “Thief’s Theme”

With heavy sampling on work from The Incredible Bongo Band, this one has him doing a track with him doing a narrative, as on earlier albums where he describes some criminal activity and the processes of it. It is driven by the sample, and he works with it all well. It is dark, and really brings you into the fee of the situation.

**Four Stars**

I would have to say that this one is a fairly inconsistent album from Nas, but there is a lot of quality within it, so I can’t tell you not to take a look at it. The tunes which are the best appear to be those which weren’t singles, not to say that they were poor ones, rather there were better ones in the main body of the album, and “You Know My Style”, “U.B.R.” and “Virgo” were tunes which I wish I had been able to hear as a single.  

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