Search - Nas :: God's Son

God's Son is amazing!!!

Cal | The Earth | 12/30/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is Nas' best after "Illmatic" and "Lost Tapes". I ranked all the tracks on the album, out of 5.

1. "Get Down" 5/5 (Amazing song, great sampling (James Brown), great hook, amazing concept, probably my favourite song on cd)
2. "The Cross"4.5/5 (Great beat from Eminem, even better rhymes)
3. "Made You Look" 5/5 (Amazing street burner, great old school sound, good choice for first single)
4. "Last Real N***a Alive" 3.5/5 (Admits beef with Big, a few disses to Jay, but a slightly weak hook, and average beat)
5. "Zone Out" feat. Bravehearts 2.5/5 (Worst song on cd, beat is wack and to cluttered, average rhymes by Nas and Jungle, below average by Wiz)
6. "Hey Nas" feat. Claudette Ortez & Kelis 4/5 (Nice, yet simple beat, good rhymes by Nasir, nice vocals by the ladies)
7. "I Can" 4.5/5 (Don't think this is a 'Hard Knock Life' rip off, It has a great positive message by Nas, and some of the sharpest lyrics on the cd)
8. "Book of Rhymes" 5/5 (My 2nd fav song, amazing beat courtesy of The Alchemist, great concept for the song, great lyrics)
9. "Thugz Mansion" feat 2Pac 4.5/5 (Some think this is a lil to 'pop' for Nas, but it has a great guitar in the backround, and Nas and 'Pac tear up the track lyrically)
10. "Mastermind" 4/5 (Amazing song, not great hook, but has great lyrics
11. "Warrior Song" feat. Alicia Keys 5/5 (Great production, great editing, amazing vocals by Alicia, amazing lyrics by Nas)
12. "Revloutionary Warfare" feat. Lake 4.5/5 (Nice children choral sounds in backround, has a bit of politcal content, great lyrics by Nas and his boy Lake (who just got outta prison)
13. "Dance" 4/5 (A dedication to his mom who passed, nice beat, very touching song)
14. "Heaven" 5/5(The final track, crazy lyrics by Nas, amazing vocals by Toronto-newcomer Jully Black, nice beat, and a more concious side of Nas on this one)Best Tracks: "Get down", "The Cross", "Made You Look", "Book of Rhymes" and "Warrior Song" and 'Heaven".Conclusion: If you love great hip hop, and want more of Nas' great lyrical skills similar to 'Illmatic', 'Stillmatic' and 'Lost Tapes', I guarantee this album will not dissapoint."

Nas Strikes Gold for the 3rd time this year!

illmaticdeebee | South Ozone Park, NY USA | 12/15/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After blessing us with the Near-classics Stillmatic and Lost Tapes any Nas fan this year would've been satisfied if Nas came through with an album at least better than the I am... project. And with rumors of Irv Gotti being caught in the mix of this album Nas' fans were shaking in their boots hoping they wouldn't get another nastradamus. But Nas has given us yet another banger to add to his amazing catalogue of hiphop music with God's Son.Nas recaptures the funk of the Mid 80's with tracks like the James Brown inspired storytelling track "Get Down" which features none other than a brilliant breakdown of the beat in the middle of the Song. "Mastermind" comes with that classic 80's feel along with the street banga "Made U Look." Nas also brings back his Slick Rick impersonation on his 2002 version of "Hey Young World" with "I Can" while not as good as it's predecessor thanks to an annoying chorus the lyrics are really inspiring to youngsters and would make a great single considering that youngsters shouldn't be listening to this album in the first place. The worst track on the album "Zone Out" gives us that public enemy feel but Bravehearts messy flows and a lackluster performance by Nas weigh this track down. Nas easily has enough 80s throwbacks on this album to have any hip-hop head over the age of 21 drooling.
But what makes this Nas album special in it's own right is the amount of heart and soul he put into this cd. This is clearly one of Nas' most personal albums to date. The death of his mom has put that emotion and spirit into his lyrics that non-Nas fans have always demanded of him. "Warrior Song" produced by Alicia keys gives inspiration to those going through tough times and Alicia's voice just seals the deal on the hook. And the touching "Thugz Mansion" with it's bare bones acoustic rift will take you to a place few hip-hop records have achieved. "Heaven" has Nas using the fastpaced flow (his best effort so far) over a great beat and does it impeccably. The lengthy soulful chorus adds to the power of the song as Nas questions what people would do if heaven was only a mile away. The heartfelt "Dance" has Nas pouring his heart out to his Mom who was a victim of cancer this year. If anyone has a close relationship with their mother or has lost their mother this one will definitely have your pupils a little watery.
Nas doesn't fail to hit us with his share of hip-hop bangers and creative tracks with the retrospective storytelling of "last real ni**a alive" which will have you hitting the rewind button a million times trying to dissect the renaissance period in the east coast in the early 90s. "The Cross" produced by Eminem has Nas spitting fiery battle rhymes over a bass heavy Eminem track, though not one of his greatest production jobs, a solid track none the less. "Book of Rhymes" will have any writer laughing and reminiscing as nas flips through his old rhyme books to recite some leftover material.
A great album indeed and a must have for any hip-hop fan. You'd be hardpressed to find an MC with a catalogue as great as Nas'. And even harder pressed to find an MC that after 12 years in the game can still put out an album as fresh and creative as God's Son."

Another tight chapter in Nas' "Book Of Rhymes".

J. Highsmith | Mitchellville, Maryland United States | 01/16/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With 3 CDs released in a little over a year, Nasir Jones has been very busy. Although, the critically acclaimed "Lost Tapes" were pretty much B Sides from "I Am" and "Stillmatic". After battling Jay Z and reaffirming his spot in the game with "Stillmatic", Nas seems like he is on a different mission this time around. After dealing with the death of his mom, Nas wants to take the mature approach this time around. This is understandable although many artists deal with personal loss in different ways. The CD starts out with "Get Down" and gets things off to a good start as Nas is basically freestyling over old James Brown beats. Eminem then shows up to produce "The Cross" and if you didn't hear Nas' voice, you would be waiting for Eminem or someone from D12 stepping up to rhyme. On Track 3 and 4, you have the best 2 songs on the CD in my opinion. The first single and video from "God's Son", "Made U Look", took a little while to grow on me because of the beat by Salaam Remi. While Nas is always on point with his lyrics, I was not used to hearing him rap to old school hip hop beats with the exception of some of his freestyles on mixed CDs. On "Last Real N**** Alive", Nas tells the truth about his dealings with The Notorious BIG, Raekwon, Steve Stoute and the Jiggaman himself. "Zone Out" includes a "sick" beat by Salaam Remmi and the Braveharts and Nas sound like they transformed back to "Beat Street" and "Krush Groove" for a minute as they spit 80s type rhymes. On "Hey Nas", Nas employs Claudette Ortiz from City High and his boo, Kelis, for Salaam Remi's Trackmasters' beat. I think they were in the studio somewhere when this song was produced. However, Nas does a good job in my opinion, of describing the type of female that he is looking for. On The Alchemist' produced "Book Of Rhymes", Nas combines old rhymes that we has written or employs that concept to have a combination of different rhymes that make sense. This just proves how innovative Nas is. From there with the Alicia Keys' produced "Warrior Song", "Thugz Mansion" (NY) with a verse from 2 Pac, "Dance" and "Heaven", Nas takes his personal feelings and how he dealt with his mother's death and takes you inside of his mind for a minute. While all 4 of these tracks may not be the strongest cuts on "God's Son", the more you listen to them the more that you will start to like these songs. There aren't too many things that are wrong with "God's Son". The next single, "I Can" borrows too much from Slick Rick in my opinion. It sounds like a 2003 "Hey Young World" and to make it worse Nas even sounds like MC Ricky D. "Revolutionary Warfare" serves a good purpose but the song could have done better without Lake rapping on the song. Missing from "God's Son" also are L.E.S., DJ Premier and AZ, which are usually essential parts of a Nas CD. Anyone who heard the AZ and Nas song "The Essence" will understand what I mean. Overall, "God's Son" is a very mature presentation from Nas. I admire Nas for not being afraid to try something different. There is nothing wrong with trying a new concept when you have accomplished what Nasir Jones has accomplished. This CD also includes a bonus disc with 3 songs, the best of them being track 3, "The God" and track 1, "Thugz Mirror (Freestyle). If you are a real Nas fan then you can't afford to pass this CD up. Although there will never be another "Illmatic", "The Lost Tapes", "Stillmatic" and "God's Son" are right up there as Nas' best CDs.James' Top 51) Made U Look
2) Last Real N**** Alive
3) Get Down
4) Thugz Mansion (NY) w/2 Pac & J Phoenix
5) Warrior Song w/Alicia Keys"