The latest Nas album, entitled Life Is Good, came out yesterday, and this is my review of it. I'll be reviewing each song, including the deluxe edition ones.
1. No Introduction - Song starts with piano beat then the bass drops a while in, and it's a nice beat. Nas starts rapping and shows off his lyrical capabilities. I'm really feeling the beat on this track. The song reflects on his hood childhood & talks about how "life is good" now. This was a good intro to the album. A nice track. And it's 4 minutes, making it a true track instead of a short little intro like most albums have.
2. Loco-Motive ft. Large Professor - Classic hip-hop type of beat. You can hear the train tracks and train in the background. Dope beat for sure. Nas raps with that classic Nas flow on this track too. As to be expected on a Nas track, it has good lyrics and old school hip-hop references. And at the end of the song he sums it up with "for my trapped in the 90's niggas"(I know I'm white. I'm just quoting), which tells you what kind of feel this track has.
3. A Queens Story - Feeling the beat here as well. So far this album has had some dope beats which is interesting since Nas left off DJ Premier who had been with him since Illmatic. This song is dedication to some off his friends that have passed and he tells stories about them. He also depicts his life in Queens. It's a nice track all-around. The track goes out with a piano playing for the beat and this is where Nas gets real lyrical. Last minute of the song is the highlight of the song.
4. Accident Murderers ft. Rick Ross - Piano/keyboards again on the beat, which I love. Beat goes hard, & it starts with Nas story-telling in his usual way. This is a real gangsta song talking about bustas or people who just talk. Rick Ross comes in with a nice verse too. He has that Rozay flow and random "wooh" noises lol. The chorus has: "Act like you killed on purpose, Liars brag you put work in, You didn't mean to murk him, Your guns a virgin, Streets are full of them, Read the bulletin" which pretty much summarizes the song's topic. Dope song here with that story-telling and Nas showing off the lyricism.
5. Daughters - "For my brothers with daughters" is the first thing you hear out of Nas' mouth. This song is all about a father trying to raise a daughter and keep her out of trouble & not mess with the kind of guy he was as a youngster. You can feel the emotion in it. It talks about his daughter on social networks misbehaving and how she grew up so fast. It's on some real shit. If you have a daughter, which I don't, but if you do, you will most likely relate very well to this song. So far, this song is probably the most emotionally felt song on this album.
6. Reach Out ft. Mary J. Blige - Mary J. Blige on the chorus maikng you think it's a love song. Then Nas raps about helping his friends still in the hood get out. "Reaching out" to them to get themselves out of the hood. The beat has a 90's hip-hop feel too. Solid track, nothing amazing though. Still consistent lyrically and what you expect.. Just nothing spectacular here.
7. World's An Addiction ft. Anthony Hamilton - Anthony Hamilton kills the chorus. You can tell this is going to be a deep song off the bat by the beat. You can hear the emotion in Nas' voice in this one. He is speaking on real stuff the way he does, & it's so easy to relate to what he says, such as "My response to any advice, on what is the essentials of life, I'm just rebellious, not selfish, Guess we all share different definitions of what wealth is." That shit was so crack. This is my favorite song so far. It goes hard.
8. Summer On Smash ft. Miguel & Swizz Beatz - More modern sounding beat. Really more of a club type feel just by the chorus and beat. Not the classic Nas here. If you're only looking for that Illmatic or It Was Written Nas feel, this song is not for you at all. This track is way off from being that type of track. To me, this song is alright. Nas is still lyrical & whatever... Just not the great stuff we've seen from him. I guess he wanted a mainstream hit? Can't blame dude for wanting to sell in the mainstream too I guess... And Miguel's verse was complete garbage by the way. Don't know why Nas would let him on the track. Swizz just did the chorus which was alright.
9. You Wouldn't Understand ft. Victoria Monet - The beat is alright here. Nas is doing his normal self with the rhymes and flow. Victoria Monet has got a good voice & does well on the chorus. The whole song is a "you don't know my struggle" type of song. It's a decent track.
10. Back When - A good ole fashion reminiscing on the old days song. I love these type of songs, just me though. And Nas does this type of song well. The beginning of this song is annoying though. The voice talking at the beginning echos every word like 4 times.. I don't know, just annoys me. "Calling them fake today is fake" this line was simple and straight forward in this song but it was dope because how true it is. This is a much better song than the last two tracks.
11. The Don - The song starts with a Mercy type thing.. Someone singing and I got no clue what the fuck they're saying lol. Oh well, doesn't last long before Nas starts. I don't like the beat here. Modern beat with that annoying voice in the background the whole time & electronic horn thing or something playing the whole time. The lyrics are good, the beat just ruins the track for me. If you're big on true classic hip-hop style beats, not the song for you.
12. Stay - Back to a good piano beat. Slow in the beginning, setting the mood, then it speeds up a little into a nice beat. Piano and flute or something like that. I dig it. Nas drops a smooth ass flow here over this smooth ass beat. His voice and flow really go well with the beat. "We hate each other but it's love, what a thug mystery".. This line came off so smooth and the lines surrounding it were dope as hell. This is a very good track. This song & World's An Addiction are the best two songs so far on this album in my opinion so far.
13. Cherry Wine ft. Amy Winehouse - Starts off with Amy and a good beat. Amy's voice is just great, & it makes the chorus great. This is a love song. A song about that dream girl that's independent and intelligent. A real girl. Nas depicts her well. And he talks about wanting to find her so badly. God, Amy's voice on the chorus is just great. It's a tragedy she died before her time... Anyways, this is a nice song for sure.
14. Bye Baby - This is the last song on the listing for the regular version of the album. Nas is getting real on this track about a girl and marriage. He's talking about getting divorced. I'm sure @
hulKK will relate to this song well. Lol. All jokes here fam. But this track's beat is nice, & he talks about going from thinking they were perfect from each other & never going to split up to hating her and saying bye. Overall, a good track here.
15. Nasty - First additional song on the deluxe edition. Good song with that old Nas feel lyrically and flow wise. The beat matches it too. More of a cypher type of thing than a cypher.
16. The Black Bond - Short song around 2 minutes but dope. The beat is dark sounding and Nas gets very lyrical. Really portraying himself as the black James Bond & talking about a girl with him. He paints good imagery in this track. Nice track for sure.
17. Roses - Dark beat again with some heavy piano/keyboard beat. The chorus really sets a dark mood too. You can tell Nas is about to get deep here. When he starts rapping, he goes in on some serious & deep shit. He is spitting real stuff. I am feeling this song for sure. Very good track.
18. Where's The Love ft. Cocaine 80s - The last song on the deluxe edition of the album. This beat is fire. "Where's The Love" fits this track well. And everyone can relate to this track because nobody loves anymore in this world. It's all hate and greed. It's a deep song for sure. Cocaine 80s was a good fit on this track as well. Good way to the end the album for sure.
OVERALL: This is a very good album. Definitely worth downloading even though I suggest buying to support Nas since he's one of the last one's left making real music. It's a consistent album with almost every song delivering a dope beat, great lyricism, & smooth flow. NO, it is not an Illmatic, but it is still dope and worth getting.
Top 5 Songs On Album
1. World's An Addiction ft. Anthony Hamilton
2. Stay
3. Daughters
4. Roses
5. Back When
To me, these songs were the best all-around. Lyrically, beat wise, and everything else. I recommend these songs as the ones to make sure you check out.
Songs That Shouldn't Have Been On Album
1. Summer On Smash ft. Miguel & Swizz Beatz
2. The Don
In my opinion, you wouldn't be missing much if you just skipped these tracks completely when listening.
Well, I hope this helps you if you're on the fences about downloading or buying the album. Just my review, y'all can input your opinions in this thread too if you'd like. Holla if you ever want song by song reviews of a newly released album.
-Book
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Nas - "Life Is Good" Album Review
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