Nas Week continues on…

To be real, I knew that 2002 held a whole new meaning for my life. It was only a few months after 9-11. New York City was still on edge. I had changed jobs, grinding it out on a couple of internships with indie film companies, freelancing on the side. It was only two years out of college but the world seemed upside down and uncertain. And I could only think about one thing – making a new life for myself, and avoiding the many speedtraps that a young black man will find on his path in this country. I saw plenty of examples around the way, cats I had come up with basically crumb-hustling, trying to find angles to get ahead with no success.

I copped Nas’ Stillmatic with a little bit of hesitation. This was during the reign of Jay-z, when he was at his prime. 50 Cent was beginning his own rise to fame. In comparison, Nas was looking kind of shaky. If you asked some people, he had fallen off right after It Was Written. Then there came the beef between he and Jay-z which had hip-hop on edge. Cities took sides. Hell, I remember being at some party in Bed-Stuy where cats traded right hooks after arguing over who was better. The album was gonna sell because of Nas’ response to Hov, “Ether,” being on the album and it being a hot track in of itself.

But there was another gem that everyone soon learned to appreciate:

“2nd Childhood”

This track pairs him up once again with DJ Premier and the combination creates another memorable hit rom QB’s finest. As far as Premier’s production, he lays in his trademark scratches which blends in key vocal samples over a sleepy R&B influenced bassline that pauses enough to give punctuation to Nas’ lyrics. The result makes you feel as if you were back in the mid ‘90′s, about to grab your Helly Hansen and Girbauds to hit the road.

As for Nas’ flow, there’s no significant change in the delivery. But the one thing about Nas is that he rhymes somewhat like a skilled prizefighter; he allows you in early, then proceeds to beat you in the head with truth slow and steady like a round of kidney shots. The first verse is stuff we’ve all heard before; he says as much with the final line, “Y’all actin’ like some old folks/y’all don’t hear me..”, which speaks to the mood of the time. Then he weaves a tale of two people who are still immature despite their age, pretty much detailing people who we all know. Even if they happen to be us.

This song spoke to me ‘cause it put me in the mindset of refusing to even be like that. It made me want more and made me want to do more. It highlighted the pattern of self-destructive behavior that lies within those “knuckleheads” and “pigeons” who are all around us. Nas relates all of this without being overbearing but he does it to pointedly say, “You can go ahead and party and live it up but at some point you have to face reality.” As good as this track is, 9th Wonder arguably made it even better with his remix which gives you some of that Chi-Lites type melody to it. “2nd Childhood” is a track that funny enough is a nice companion to “30 Something”, Jay-z’s track off of Kingdom Come. Check them both out, back to back, and tell me what you think.

Stray Shots

Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get It On (2 CD Deluxe Edition)

John Legend & Eric Roberson – 1XtraLive

2Pac-Makaveli – The 7 Day Theory

Scion CD Sampler V. 16 Mixed By DJ Cutler

Ghostface_Killah-Hidden_Darts_(Special_Edition)

Good_Charlotte-Good_Morning_Revival-2007

Mims-Music_Is_My_Savior

Elephant_Man-Monsters_Of_Dancehall-Retail_CD-2007

Stray Shots