Nas - God's Son (December 13, 2002)

God's Son, the sixth album from Nas, is generally considered to be the man's most personal work. It was inspired by his late mother, Ann Jones, who passed away from complications due to breast cancer earlier in 2002. The album finds Nas at his more introspective, as if he is questioning his place in the world. But, even though a few tracks directly reference his mother, don't get it twisted: Nas is actually questioning his place in hip hop, and the catalyst is some guy named Shawn Carter.

After Jay-Z dissed the shit out of Nasir Jones with his "Takeover", people who actually pay attention to hip hop beefs (read: almost nobody) eagerly anticipated the response. "Ether", a song which consisted of Nasir deconstructing Jay-Z's career over one of the shittiest beats ever used for a dis track, brought out the hunger in Nas that listeners hadn't seen in many years, as it was feared dead, or at least replaced by aliens with a more commercial-leaning Nas, not unlike how Michael Jackson completely changed color mid-career.

Stillmatic was mildly successful, but did little to dissuade the masses from the fact that Nas still seemed to be a shadow of his former, Illmatic self. The reason for that is far more substantial, though: Nas was caring for his sick mother, and didn't put his full energy into recording music, as is to be expected. Shawn was essentially bullying some guy on the playground at recess, and not bothering to acknowledge that his opponent wasn't really responding.

Even I have to admit that Nas channeled this energy into God's Son.

1. GET DOWN
Thank fucking God. No intro, no spoken word bullshit, and no pretention (which is uncharacteristic for Nasir), just straight-up hip hop (with a James Brown sample to boot). The man simply starts rapping to an enjoyable beat by Salaam Remi, one of two people responsible for the resurgence of Nas (the other guy, of course, is Shawn Carter). It also helps that this song (which was apparently the third single, although I don't recall a video ever being shot) is a pretty entertaining way to start shit off, especially with the music tweaking itself to match the events in the stories presented.

2. THE CROSS
This song was a big deal back in 2002 because it was produced by Eminem, who had an established working relationship with Nasir's archnemesis, Jay-Z (Marshall produced Shawn's "Renagades" and "Moment of Clarity"). Although I'm more of a Hova fan (which should come as no shock to any of my two readers), Nas is certainly more of a lyricist, and his rhymes over one of Em's more tightly-constructed instrumentals is a winning combination. Or, at least it was, until you get to the next song, which will obliterate my memory of the first two tracks on God's Son, much like a late night in anywhere but the United States involving absinthe and a half-ounce.

3. MADE YOU LOOK
More so than any first single in his career, "Made You Look" announced a return to, for lack of a better word, relevancy, for Nas. This track is why most bloggers (like myself, admittedly) credit Salaam Remi with bringing back the Nasir Jones of old. His appropriation of The Incredible Bongo Band's "Apache", punctuated with random gunshots, sets the stage for the man to entertain (without becoming too preachy) the masses with a hot crossover track. This shit still rocks today: even the acapella at the very end is a nice touch. The goodwill extended with this song was squandered by the tendency of rappers to not leave well enough alone: Nas later recorded a remix of this track alongside Ludacris and Jadakiss from The Lox, a song that I pretend doesn't exist.

4. LAST REAL N---A ALIVE
This shit was produced by Ron Browz? The same guy who made that shitty "Pop Champagne" song that they won't ever stop playing on the radio? Him?! That's weird, because this song is pretty fucking awesome, although the beat could have been much more effective. However, it does not detract from Nasir relating his point of view of the battle for King of New York from his unique vantage point: as one of the contenders. Apparently, The Notorious B.I.G. and Raekwon couldn't fucking stand each other (which is why it makes absolute sense that Rae appears on Biggie's Duets: The Final Chapter, but whatever). The roots of the Jay-Z/Nas beef are also explored. This insider's perspective is why Nas is generally considered one of the best that ever did it, and it's hard not to see why after hearing this. But seriously: Ron Browz? The "Jumping Out The WIndow" and "Arab Money" guy? (Before you say anything, I am fully aware that he also produced "Ether", but I stand by my comments.)

5. ZONE OUT (FEAT JUNGLE & WIZ)
Has it ever occurred to Nas that naming your crew of seat fillers and substitute longshoremen after a Mel Gibson movie wasn't the best idea? Unless they called themselves the Lethal Weapons or the Birds On A Wire. That would be pretty cool. Anyway, this is the weakest Salaam Remi beat I've ever heard, but if it weren't for Nasir's insistence on "putting his friends on", it wouldn't be that bad, as Nas manages to still sound pretty good. However, as it stands, the Braveheart party has sucked the life out of this room and brought its property values down.

6. HEY NAS (FEAT CLAUDETTE ORTIZ & KELIS)
This is the audio equivalent of actually watching Nas backslide into his old commercial habits. The line referencing "Live At The Barbecue" was clever, though: I have to give him that. But did the track really require both Claudette Ortiz (the cutie from City High that disappeared after, what, their lone hit single?) and Kelis (Nasir's wifey)?

7. I CAN
SIngle number two is easily the most thuggish ruggish song Nas has ever recorded. Over Salaam's Beethoven and Honeydrippers-jacking accompaniment, Nas speaks directly to the youth, and (rather convincingly) encourages children to strive to excel in life. This shit is fucking hardcore, bitches! It's murderous material like this that earns, nay, demands the existence of the Parental Advisory sticker, motherfuckers.

8. BOOK OF RHYMES
The concept of this Alchemist-produced track is pretty funny: Nasir cleaned out his attic last Sunday and found a notebook filled with the rhymes of a younger, less experienced man, and decides to use all of them, context be damned. At one point he even gets embarassed with his own ideas, but proceeds to use them anyway. I'm pretty sure Nas is bullshitting the audience here, but like I said, the concept is pretty funny, even if the execution would fall the fuck apart, had this been presented as an actual "song".

9. THUGZ MANSION (N.Y.) (FEAT 2PAC & J. PHOENIX)
This forced Nas/2Pac collaboration (which would have never happened had 2Pac not faked his death and moved to Jupiter...um, I mean, had he not passed away) sounds boring as shit, as if it were performed by The Tony Rich Project. There also seems to be no cohesion to the lyrics: Nas and Pac are clearly rhyming about completely different things. This is the East Coast version of a track that appeared in an altered form on 2Pac's posthumous Better Dayz. Not that you'll give a damn about that random factoid: I imagine that even the most hardcore Pac fans that frequent HHID will have moved on to the next song by now.

10. MASTERMIND
A Nas song with this kind of lyrical content deserves a dark beat (not unlike something Havoc could have made in the mid-1990s) and a better hook, not what The Alchemist has managed to conjure up. Al has, strangely, provided a poppy instrumental, and Nas spits a chorus that made me so angry, I had to seriously decide between continuing this write-up and using the disc as a default cheese slicer.

11. WARRIOR SONG (FEAT ALICIA KEYS)
Much to the dismay of the many Nas fans out there, I find that I have to dismiss this Alicia Keys-produced (the hell?) track with the use of a single word. Longtime readers will already be familiar with the term in question.

12. REVOLUTIONARY WARFARE (FEAT LAKE)
For such a serious title, am I the only guy that found Alchemist's beat to be much more positive than it had any right to be? Anyway, if we drained the Lake from this track, what we're left with is a Nasir Jones whose energy and talent cannot be denied, even by Max.

13. DANCE
I found this ode to Nasir's late mother very sweet and touching. However, since I am a bit of an asshole, I have to point out that I had to stifle my laughter at the utter ridiculousness that is Nas singing on the hook. Yeah, I'm probably going to hell.

14. HEAVEN (FEAT JULLY BLACK)
I couldn't connect with Nasir's attempt at a double-time flow. I was more impressed with the fact that Canadian rapper-slash-member of Reggie Noble's crew Saukrates co-produced the beat. Still, this was a wholly unsatisfying way to end God's Son.

Or is it? Early pressings of God's Son came with a bonus disc featuring three additional tracks.

1. THUGZ MIRROR (FREESTYLE)
This isn't as much a freestyle as it is an incomplete two-verse song that's missing a hook and, possibly, a guest rapper. It's not bad, but there isn't anything memorable here.

2. PUSSY KILLZ
The beat (provided by one of Puff Daddy's Hitmen) samples the oft-used in hip hop "My Hero Is A Gun" (by Diana Ross). After an awkward false start, Nasir runs through the various reasons that guys should be careful around a vagina. Let's just say this song was left off of the sequencing for God's Son for a reason.

3. THE G.O.D.
I suppose if man is five, and the devil is six, then God must be seven. The hook reminds me of learning how to spell by watching fucking Sesame Street, and hearing Nas sing (again) makes me want to rip my ears off and mail them to you as proof of my pain. Also, Swizz Beats should never be allowed to create music ever fucking again. That is all.

FINAL THOUGHTS: God's Son is another chapter in the second half of the Nas life story, the section in which Nasir Jones tries with all of his might to make people forget about the looming giant that was Illmatic. Once again, he fails in doing that, but at this point, even the most diehard Nas stan accepts that Nas will never top his debut, so in looking at God's Son as its own creature, it's not the most consistent album, but it does contain some of his most concise lyrics to date. In fact, two of the tracks, "Made You Look" and "I Can", also rank amongst his biggest hits (deservedly, I might add). My concern lies with the problematic production: even with the big names behind the boards, Nas still can't select a beat if his life depended on it. As a result, about half of God's Son approaches greatness, and the other half rolls around in mediocrity. In addition, the bonus disc is entirely useless: it would probably be defective even when utilized as a drink coaster, it's that bad.

BUY OR BURN? I would highly recommend a burn, since the misfires on here greatly outweigh the sparks of brilliance. The tracks listed below should be considered as must-hears, though. Nas is getting close to putting all of the winning ingredients togetner, but on this CD, his homemade yellow cake still has some eggshells laying within.

BEST TRACKS: "Made You Look"; "I Can"; "Last Real N---a Alive"

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
More Nas material can be found by clicking here.