Stillmatic

iTunes Review

Nas’ feud with Jay-Z helped him find his footing again after several years of identity crisis. As he explains on “You’re the Man,” “My destiny found me / It was clear why the struggle was so painful / Metamorphosis, this is what I changed to / And God, I'm so thankful." The Jay-Z dis track “Ether” becomes a channel for all of Nas’ pent-up fury, while returning him to the fundamental battle raps of early hip-hop. The rest of Stillmatic follows suit, as Nas forgoes the pop concessions of his previous albums and assembles a team of New York’s finest producers, including the Hitmen, Large Professor, DJ Premier, and Salaam Remi. In returning to the moody, street-oriented soundscapes of his early work, Nas refocused his writing and came up with some of his sharpest stories to date. In “2nd Childhood” he revisits his Queensbridge housing project to describe several acquaintances stuck in arrested development, while “Rewind” is a blinding display of storytelling virtuosity, as Nas recounts a shooting in reverse, line-by-line, from end to beginning. The centerpiece track, “One Mic,” encapsulates Nas’ dual natures, as he works himself up in a frenzy of conspiratorial connections and shoot-up memories, only to calmly repeat the mantra that could serve as a epigram for his career: “All I need is one mic.”