Nas and Marley- Distant Relatives....

[Cherry Almond Jergen's]

is straight vagina juice

There is only so much reggae/marley I can listen to. I threw it out the window. Feel free to pick it up off the sidewalk

[king]

is straight vagina juice

There is only so much reggae/marley I can listen to. I threw it out the window. Feel free to pick it up off the sidewalk

Where you drop it at?

[Cherry Almond Jergen's]

Where you drop it at?

off South Dakota Avenue....near the carry out

[Mercury]

i like reggae so I'm interested in hearing the final result. Downloading now but I'm buying regardless whenever it drops

[SoulstarShawn]

But you don't even like reggae anyways so your opinion would be negative from jump.

[Qwasian]

to me it's a strange vibe, alot of reggae listeners aren't into rap and vice versa.....I feel like the whole point of it is to grab a nas listener with something new that compliments his already current music, to me he went negative instead of positive. it's like he gets worse & worse with every move he makes

for example jay-z is older, a hiphop/rap artist, and he moved in a direction that could still keep him with new/old listeners to the best of his ability. nas just continues to alienate his original listeners with shit that isn't really going to gain him any new listeners, to me that'a stupid ass move

this album is wack as fuck man........most of the joints sound like nas tried to speed up his flow or either slow it down too much and fit the beats/styles and it just comes off real forced.......none of the beats really crank hard.....sounds like damian marley made the album and then let nas hop on it

[Cherry Almond Jergen's]

to me it's a strange vibe, alot of reggae listeners aren't into rap and vice versa.....I feel like the whole point of it is to grab a nas listener with something new that compliments his already current music, to me he went negative instead of positive. it's like he gets worse & worse with every move he makes

for example jay-z is older, a hiphop/rap artist, and he moved in a direction that could still keep him with new/old listeners to the best of his ability. nas just continues to alienate his original listeners with shit that isn't really going to gain him any new listeners, to me that'a stupid ass move

this album is wack as fuck man........most of the joints sound like nas tried to speed up his flow or either slow it down too much and fit the beats/styles and it just comes off real forced.......none of the beats really crank hard.....sounds like damian marley made the album and then let nas hop on it

100% co-sign

exactly my thoughts

dumpster juice at its finest

[Nah]

Ya'll must have dumpster juice in your ears.

Are we listening to the same album??? This project was created with an intended message and charitable mission. Why would Nas go in a Hov direction?

This album is powerful.

Everyone I've played it for loved it and said they will purchase it. This is male and female, young and old. Most responses was that it was refreshing and sh!ts on most of the crap that's out right now.


alot of reggae listeners aren't into rap and vice versa
Huh??? You lost me right there bruh.

You're telling me...

"Nahmean" don't knock?

Nas ain't flowing on "Dispear" or "Africa Must Wake Up"?

What's in the pollen these days?

[Cherry Almond Jergen's]

Ya'll must have dumpster juice in your ears.

Are we listening to the same album??? This project was created with an intended message and charitable mission. Why would Nas go in a Hov direction?

This album is powerful.

Everyone I've played it for loved it and said they will purchase it. This is male and female, young and old. Most responses was that it was refreshing and sh!ts on most of the crap that's out right now.


Huh??? You lost me right there bruh.

You're telling me...

"Nahmean" don't knock?

Nas ain't flowing on "Dispear" or "Africa Must Wake Up"?

What's in the pollen these days?

It's boring. I don't want to hear songs about Africa. I'm not into that political "save africa" bullshit. NIGGER was enough. I got the point. Now give me Illmatic 2.

Brother Q was right. Nas is losing his fans. The only thing that keeps them holding on is the respect for him and love of his old shit.

He's not going to gain new fans from this shit...I guarantee it.

[Mercury]

You will never get Illmatic 2 because that ain't even his mindstate at this point lol. I don't think he'll lose his "true" fans though because he's been heading in this direction for the last 8-10 years now. Each album progressively got less street and more towards his current sound. So I'm zero percent surprised at his current sound.

I feel like he gets criticized for it whereas others are praised. B/c I got minimal enjoyment from listening to Blueprint 3 but Jay-Z pretty much did the same thing. He had a moreso older sound and left the old street sound. Jay-Z woulda never made a Forever Young or Venus vs Mars during the Reasonable Doubt age...so why is he allowed to change direction but not Nas?

[Qwasian]

you know something i've also noticed, alot of people say that something is a good idea, but when it comes down to it, they actually don't buy or bump the album.....
I know people that I could show the joint and they would be like "yeah that's a dope concept some new nas" and they realistically aren't even going to listen to it in rotation........ it's not feeding the appetite of music listeners....... you have to force yourself to listen to it and get into the concept instead of just automatically saying damn this is hot....... and people don't have time to wait on music to grow on em anymore, it has to be hot out the gate or it's lost. is he spittin on it? yeah.... are the beats hard? not in my opinion, no they are not..... does it blend well together and make the masterpiece it was supposed to be and cross nas over into a new genre to make him more succesful..... absolutely NOT......

nas has always had fucked up business skillz and never could get it thru his head to grow & move to the next level, he regressed and has been ever since his first few albums.......he has ability but refuses to actually give the people what they are looking for...... so on one hand I can respect it, but on the other it's not something I want to hear personally

the is he spittin factor doesn't really mean shit, it takes more than "is he spittin" to make hot songs..... as has been proved a million times over in the hiphop game

[Mercury]

In XXL he said he don't make music for fans at all and he don't care who buys it LOL. I guess he too artistic for his own good b/c imagine the excitement if he was to do an Illmatic 2 with Primo and nem

[Qwasian]

I bet he start making music for fans after kelis spank his ass........ that's a corny ass point of view from him in my opinion, If he don't make music for fans all his albums should be free, d00d is on some bullshit which is why he's nas status instead of jay-z status, because he could have easily been above hova level if cards were played correctly........

he's mixed the fuck up........ first he's project nas, then he's suit nas, then he's half underground half g nas.... now he's reggae rap nas......

str8 fucking clown status in my opinion......... he can rap no doubt about it.... but he's bi-polar far as music goes.

[king]

you know something i've also noticed, alot of people say that something is a good idea, but when it comes down to it, they actually don't buy or bump the album.....
I know people that I could show the joint and they would be like "yeah that's a dope concept some new nas" and they realistically aren't even going to listen to it in rotation........ it's not feeding the appetite of music listeners....... you have to force yourself to listen to it and get into the concept instead of just automatically saying damn this is hot....... and people don't have time to wait on music to grow on em anymore, it has to be hot out the gate or it's lost. is he spittin on it? yeah.... are the beats hard? not in my opinion, no they are not..... does it blend well together and make the masterpiece it was supposed to be and cross nas over into a new genre to make him more succesful..... absolutely NOT......

nas has always had fucked up business skillz and never could get it thru his head to grow & move to the next level, he regressed and has been ever since his first few albums.......he has ability but refuses to actually give the people what they are looking for...... so on one hand I can respect it, but on the other it's not something I want to hear personally

the is he spittin factor doesn't really mean shit, it takes more than "is he spittin" to make hot songs..... as has been proved a million times over in the hiphop game


A good idea and a good idea with good execution are two different things

[king]

In XXL he said he don't make music for fans at all and he don't care who buys it LOL. I guess he too artistic for his own good b/c imagine the excitement if he was to do an Illmatic 2 with Primo and nem

Man I think thats just Spin.

[Nah]

I think Nas wants to leave an artistic legacy moreso than a billboard legacy. Maybe state that he's done it all opposed to being close-minded to not try something different...that along with his albums being a symbol of growth and a time capsule for the time that they were released.

[Iceberg]

I bet he start making music for fans after kelis spank his ass........ that's a corny ass point of view from him in my opinion, If he don't make music for fans all his albums should be free, d00d is on some bullshit which is why he's nas status instead of jay-z status, because he could have easily been above hova level if cards were played correctly........

he's mixed the fuck up........ first he's project nas, then he's suit nas, then he's half underground half g nas.... now he's reggae rap nas......

str8 fucking clown status in my opinion......... he can rap no doubt about it.... but he's bi-polar far as music goes.

You forgot Oochi Wally Nas

[Qwasian]

I think Nas wants to leave an artistic legacy moreso than a billboard legacy. Maybe state that he's done it all opposed to being close-minded to not try something different...that along with his albums being a symbol of growth and a time capsule for the time that they were released.

yeah but realistically nobody remembers the loser........... he is not in that type of mindframe where people cherish his music for years to come in that way

[Nah]

yeah but realistically nobody remembers the loser........... he is not in that type of mindframe where people cherish his music for years to come in that way

Clay Davis


XXL Freshman Fashawn is currently gearing up to release his Ode to Illmatic project—a mixtape that finds the Fresno, California artist rhyming over all of the instrumentals from Nas’s classic debut album, Illmatic.
Fash’ said that it didn’t take long to record the disc. “What took Nas 20 years to make took me like a week,” he said. “No bragging or nothing like that, but I’m a student of [Illmatic] ’cause that’s one of the albums you could use for an example of perfection. Those 10 songs were dope, dude. And that’s what birthed the whole idea.” - Fashawn

According to Drake, though, the former "Degrassi" actor sought out the audio work of Nas and OutKast's Andre 3000 to help inspire the work on his project. "I went back and I really studied Nas," Drake explained in a video recorded over the weekend and posted online on Monday (February 22) . "Nas was somebody that I used to listen to his raps and never understood how he did it. I always wanted to understand how he painted those pictures and his [rhyming] bar structure. I went back and really studied Nas and Andre 3000 and then came back with this album." - Drake

"Cause it’s a classic. Like, people study-you study the masters, you know what I’m saying? Everybody that’s rapping studied someone to learn how to rap. They had a rapper who was they favorite rapper that they wanted to be like and wanted to rap like, know what I’m saying? For me, I just look at it like I studied a master piece. I modeled my album after a master piece; and not song for song; not line for line; not beat for beat. It was more-for me it was like mood for mood. The way he set the mood on that album to me was just like incredible. And at the time in my life-like, I fell in love with ‘It Was Written’ when I was seventeen, eighteen-a very impressionable time-so I was like I love that album. That’s my favorite Hip Hop album, so it’s like why not base your album on ‘It Was Written’?" - Lupe Fiasco

"I'm ready for a new Nas Album" - Bow Wow (via twitter)

I'm drawn toward storytellers like Nas and Tupac. I'm realizing my own work in this day is generally not something that is out there. There is a lot of talent, but they just aren't putting out what I am. The whole game is exciting but nobody in a long time has come out with the skills for lyrical writing that I am coming out with." - J.Cole (via Spinner)

"Nas, Nas, like Nas is so ill," Fab told interviewer Karen Civil. "I think this younger generation of hip-hop really don't know, like, I got a dude who rolls with me, he's like 21, 22, he don't know any of the ill Nas, he don't know Illmatic, you just don't know that Nas that I grew up with. I wish Nas would just let these young boys know he's that dude."- Fabolous

[Cherry Almond Jergen's]

Clay Davis


XXL Freshman Fashawn is currently gearing up to release his Ode to Illmatic project—a mixtape that finds the Fresno, California artist rhyming over all of the instrumentals from Nas’s classic debut album, Illmatic.
Fash’ said that it didn’t take long to record the disc. “What took Nas 20 years to make took me like a week,” he said. “No bragging or nothing like that, but I’m a student of [Illmatic] ’cause that’s one of the albums you could use for an example of perfection. Those 10 songs were dope, dude. And that’s what birthed the whole idea.” - Fashawn

According to Drake, though, the former "Degrassi" actor sought out the audio work of Nas and OutKast's Andre 3000 to help inspire the work on his project. "I went back and I really studied Nas," Drake explained in a video recorded over the weekend and posted online on Monday (February 22) . "Nas was somebody that I used to listen to his raps and never understood how he did it. I always wanted to understand how he painted those pictures and his [rhyming] bar structure. I went back and really studied Nas and Andre 3000 and then came back with this album." - Drake

"Cause it’s a classic. Like, people study-you study the masters, you know what I’m saying? Everybody that’s rapping studied someone to learn how to rap. They had a rapper who was they favorite rapper that they wanted to be like and wanted to rap like, know what I’m saying? For me, I just look at it like I studied a master piece. I modeled my album after a master piece; and not song for song; not line for line; not beat for beat. It was more-for me it was like mood for mood. The way he set the mood on that album to me was just like incredible. And at the time in my life-like, I fell in love with ‘It Was Written’ when I was seventeen, eighteen-a very impressionable time-so I was like I love that album. That’s my favorite Hip Hop album, so it’s like why not base your album on ‘It Was Written’?" - Lupe Fiasco

"I'm ready for a new Nas Album" - Bow Wow (via twitter)

I'm drawn toward storytellers like Nas and Tupac. I'm realizing my own work in this day is generally not something that is out there. There is a lot of talent, but they just aren't putting out what I am. The whole game is exciting but nobody in a long time has come out with the skills for lyrical writing that I am coming out with." - J.Cole (via Spinner)

"Nas, Nas, like Nas is so ill," Fab told interviewer Karen Civil. "I think this younger generation of hip-hop really don't know, like, I got a dude who rolls with me, he's like 21, 22, he don't know any of the ill Nas, he don't know Illmatic, you just don't know that Nas that I grew up with. I wish Nas would just let these young boys know he's that dude."- Fabolous

and they all named old shit which is what I said before...thats the only thing keeping his name out there....all these people are pretty much yearning for a REAL nas album....not this experimental reggae bullshit

dude hasnt been hot since his beef with jayz...

[Mercury]

what song has he done in the last few years do yall feel is the sound he should be currently doing?

I'ma give the album a good listen tonight, but I can't really fault where he wants to go with it. If its in his heart to want to do Africa type stuff then I can't really control where his mind is at right now. I can either give a thumbs up or thumbs down.

Like I didn't like Heartbreaks and 808s like everybody else did, but that was a direction he wanted to go based on how he was feeling, so I couldn't really fault it at the same time.

[Meta4.ce]

I bet he start making music for fans after kelis spank his ass........ that's a corny ass point of view from him in my opinion, If he don't make music for fans all his albums should be free, d00d is on some bullshit which is why he's nas status instead of jay-z status, because he could have easily been above hova level if cards were played correctly........

he's mixed the fuck up........ first he's project nas, then he's suit nas, then he's half underground half g nas.... now he's reggae rap nas......

str8 fucking clown status in my opinion......... he can rap no doubt about it.... but he's bi-polar far as music goes.

but hov is boring now and has been for a minute...I'll still listen to that nigga, but there's no comparison...a nigga who got signed as a kid vs. a "dopeman" who bought his way into rap.
I'm a fan of both, nas moreso, even tho he rhymes on shitty shit shit beats....Hov is more like a product in control of himself. Nothing real about it. Niggas naturally switch their ways, especially if you're on some smart (not money smart...I know retards who can get bread...but they're still dumb as shit, they're just smart in that aspect...just like art smart retards who remain broke...) shit, you relate to multiple angles. I ain't heard the album, nor do I wnat to...I like dancehall...roots reggae is aight, but I'm not into that shit.

[Mr.T]

thats the album title? I will leave it on the shelf for that alone...nas is like.....

kool g rap to me right now....I still respect him.....but not enuff to give 15 bucks for the cd....or even burn that shit off the net.....but i would burn a new G Rap......just keeping it a hunnit

[Qwasian]

what song has he done in the last few years do yall feel is the sound he should be currently doing?

I'ma give the album a good listen tonight, but I can't really fault where he wants to go with it. If its in his heart to want to do Africa type stuff then I can't really control where his mind is at right now. I can either give a thumbs up or thumbs down.

Like I didn't like Heartbreaks and 808s like everybody else did, but that was a direction he wanted to go based on how he was feeling, so I couldn't really fault it at the same time.

songs that I think have the nas sound i'm going for would be

SLY FOX - N/Untitled Album
THE FLYEST - STILLMATIC
ETHER - STILLMATIC
ONE MIC - STILLMATIC
MONEY OVER BULLSHIT - HIPHOP IS DEAD
YOU CAN'T KILL ME - HIPHOP IS DEAD
BLACK REPUBLICAN - HIPHOP IS DEAD
HUSTLERS - HIPHOP IS DEAD

and it's a few others here & there......but I could take his last 3/4 albums and make 1 album that I like from them, way too many smooth cuts, he didn't come in the game with "ANY" smooth cuts..every track used to be hardbody boom bap beats. aggressive sounding music.... now he has 80% smooth shit and he might have a hard cut here & there.

and as far as those other people respecting his music, that's not hard to believe, his first few albums are so ill you have no choice but to respect it and study it.... but when they study they wont' be studying his newer material, it will always be the older stuff. jay-z got bigger & blended in with time, nas fell off...... he still can spit, but he no longer allows people to give him direction for his music that actually know what they are talking about in hiphop. when he fucks with jay-z, banger, when he fucks with game, banger..... see what I mean? he's venturing outside of hiphop and his core audience too much over & over again. all he would have to do is consult a production cast similiar to what drake, or jay-z or any of the other kats who are putting out hot music right now would do and he would be fire.... get 1 or 2 features and bang out classics back to back... he's a hiphop artist, he's not a rap reggae artist and never has been. this person is one of the greatest to ever touch a mic, when you pick up his last few albums NONE OF THEM reflect that.

[Qwasian]

but hov is boring now and has been for a minute...I'll still listen to that nigga, but there's no comparison...a nigga who got signed as a kid vs. a "dopeman" who bought his way into rap.
I'm a fan of both, nas moreso, even tho he rhymes on shitty shit shit beats....Hov is more like a product in control of himself. Nothing real about it. Niggas naturally switch their ways, especially if you're on some smart (not money smart...I know retards who can get bread...but they're still dumb as shit, they're just smart in that aspect...just like art smart retards who remain broke...) shit, you relate to multiple angles. I ain't heard the album, nor do I wnat to...I like dancehall...roots reggae is aight, but I'm not into that shit.

hov might be boring to you..... but his sales & fanbase reflects otherwise. I can listen to jay album I can't even listen to nas joints

[AliAllWorld]

I just peeped the Cd and I also read all the posts.........

Overall it's what I expected. You all know he was not gonna come out full blast like he was doing the next Nas album or something.

The more I listened to it the more I kept asking myself what was the motives behind this collabo. I know on Damien's last album they did a track and that pretty much planted the seed of doing an album together. I really think this was an calculated effort to get those international sales. I don't know the numbers behind it all but I can imagine with distribution all throughout the islands, europe, africa and the US this album will sell.

It will be interesting to see the numbers once this is released worldwide.

[Qwasian]

I can tell you what the numbers will be........... zero........... worse than the firm joint, nas is a terrible business man

[Mercury]

I know who WON'T buy this album...AZ lol

He's been asking for a collab album for at least a decade LOL

[Qwasian]

Nas on some other shit, he don't wanna fuck with az

[Illy]

I can tell you what the numbers will be........... zero........... worse than the firm joint, nas is a terrible business man

Firm went Gold...it wasnt bad...

[Qwasian]

Firm went Gold...it wasnt bad...

I liked the firm album, given the lineup it was supposed to do way more, I still play the firm album from time to time, that shit was fire to me............

[Jeff Sticks]

I agree, it was good but...it should've been great! It didn't even have that many songs on it and they had four or five rappers in the group (was nature in there).

[Nerd Motivation 101]

I agree that Nas is done with appealing to the mainstream to make money. He made his money, now he's trying to cement his legacy.

50 years from now, no one will care what any album sold in 2010. No one says Bitches Brew is better than Some Kind Of Blue because it went Gold faster. Popularity will only count when people consider impact which IMO is less important than quality in the grand scheme of things. I'm not saying that this album will be held in high regard in 2060 (haven't even listened to it) but all the greats experimented (for better or worse)...thats one of the hallmarks of artistic genius.

[Jeff Sticks]

Jay fucked wit R Kelly and did the rock album joint, I love when artists take risks and step out of there genre. I respect Damian and Nas tremendously, I'm going to buy this joint though, no bootlegging.

[Ju?]

This album is actually refreshing to me.

[Qwasian]

Nas isn't cementing his legacy in any way shape or form with his recent albums, he's falling further & further out the lime-light...........

we are talking about Nas....... arguably the greatest lyricist of all time.... putting out albums on a regular rappers level..... just throwing shit out...........

Nas could link with an allstar production line-up and a few features and be dropping classics right now easily.......


a just blaze joint, a kanye joint, a pharrell joint, a timbaland joint, feature with game, feature with jay, maybe a dre joint....

he is one of the greatest of all time, there is no reason he should not be following the blueprint of rap music..... but he is wylin out on some bullshit trying to do his own thing, that really his fans aren't looking for, nobody became his fan off of the music he's released lately or some rap reggae album...... that's just reality.......


we talking about the same Nas that released illmatic, it was written, I am......etc and used to run clue tapes with freestyles........... rockin with nature, cormega, etc etc.......

he is not a rap/reggae or smoothed out experimental artist....... he is a hiphop legend......


who honestly wouldn't check for a rae nas & ghost collabo? or a jay-z - nas collabo again? every hiphop listener in the game would check his album for that, yet he fails to deliver every time

[Nerd Motivation 101]

His last album will definitely be a huge part of his legacy. It'll be compared to It Takes A Nation Of Millions and By All Means Necessary. Its probably his true conscious album...thats a milestone in rap history. You don't hear albums like that anymore, not from major artists anyway.

I don't really see how someone can really truly like rap and not like that album. I mean truly like the music and not the spectacle of who is winning, who is selling. He spit like Chuck D on a album that had beats produced by DJ Toomp and Polo Da Don. He rapped about negative effects of food with Busta Rhymes. And ended it with My President. That shit was groundbreaking.

[Nah]

Note:
Hip-hop is an amalgam of all music. It's only in this genre of music, wherein we can sample any music and make it hip-hop. That's hip-hop. The embodiment of any and all rhythms underneath limitless lyricism. In short, a big ass auditory puzzle.

[Qwasian]

your opinion of nas is so hilarious it's hard to even debate the point......I literally started laughin at the screen.......

were you alive when the public enemy or bdp albums came out? obviously not, because if you were, you would know what type of attention they had, and nas don't have it..........

he making nastradamus' over & over at this point..... shit is average at best.

do you even know who nas is man? seriously? honestly? do you know who nas is?


I was introduced to Nas with this track on his first song/first album

Nas - New York State Of Mind
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKjj4hk0pV4

and I haven't felt a song/vibe like this from nas in the last decade.


Nas - ShootOuts <--- this the nas I know
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5SI3DG4coA



aight now lets go 3 albums in........ 3 albums deep into nas career.......at this point this is my favorite artist PERIOD...... nobody could tell me shit about Nas or anyone was better right here...Nas WAS IT as far as hiphop mc went in my opinion


I was literally ready to stick up the world when I heard this song the first time

Nas - Hate Me Now
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2-rN-98kFQ


that album also had Small World, Ny State Of Mind 2 etc..... also a demo joint with blaze a 50, drunk by myself and all types of crazy fire nas music was released around this time.........


every since that album...... he been losing me a little more with each new album & changin direction............

it's like he used to always have atleast a few bangin ass tracks on his joints, but he never have any tuff joints anymore, he just have average shit here & there and then more filler joints than hot joints..........

the new joint is average at best...... definately not the caliber you would think he would put down........ which joint is even the single? which joint on that shit is supposed to carry the weight?

he got good ideas, not "GOOD MUSIC" and thats where he fucking up, he not translating those good concepts into good music......

that nas & busta rhymes shit is wack to me...... he's rapping over them weak ass beats.........


the polow the don joint is hot I like that joint w/ keri hilson

the toomp beat isn't really very exciting, pretty boring.........

I never knew Nas as a revolutionary rapper...... I don't think it suits him as well as his original music themes did.........

his shit just ain't coming together like it used to.... I used to bang Nas albums till they shit was worn out & had to go get another.......I don't see his last album as a major part of his legacy at all, and if it is I only could see it that way based on the title/controversy surrounding it not the actual music

[Qwasian]

Note:
Hip-hop is an amalgam of all music. It's only in this genre of music, wherein we can sample any music and make it hip-hop. That's hip-hop. The embodiment of any and all rhythms underneath limitless lyricism. In short, a big ass auditory puzzle.

the rap over top of the music is what makes it hiphop/rap.........the style that the lyrics are delivered....... that's really with any music.......

guns & roses took hiphop drum loops & made rock & roll music out of it.....

you can borrow elements with any/every music.

[Qwasian]

also heard younger kats smash nas on his own beats...... never heard that back in the day


Stack Bundles - Da Minimum
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR-_CetxMVw

[Nah]

Hip-hop made it popular to do so.

Would Guns-and-Roses done that if Run DMC didn't existed?

I mean I could be wrong though. I know that Guns-and-Roses were influenced by the Beatles, who experimented with different instrumentation all the time. Who knows(?)...

[Qwasian]

in my opinion....... hiphop came from people wanting to make music with a lack of talent.......

you can't really compare any rock & roll or other genre of music artist to a hiphop artist.........

hiphop is sorta a bastard of music...... that shit just comes thru & steals what everyone else is doing and makes it work........

would guns & roses be str8 without hiphop? Im pretty sure they would considering they have outsold the best of the best hiphop artists by atleast double.......

they released an album in 08 when rock isn't even popular like it used to be & smashed any/every hiphop artist sales all across the board........

people who can actually play instruments/know music is a whole different monster

I mean run dmc was getting rock bands/drummers to play they drums, it's not like rock was sampling run dmc.......

[Nah]

Hmmm...
http://www.minnpost.com/client_files/alternate_images/7318/mp_main_wide_FriedbergTrimbleColeman022609_452.jpg
...okay, I can feel that.

[Rotten]

I like this album, and I appreciate Nas, and Marley for it

Right now, what I have been banging is the MY Generation song (eventhough it has LIL Wayne) and the Promise Land joint......

Dont know how well this Album will do in the states, I expect it to go under the radar, similar to Heavy D's reggae Joint (that joint was banging to)

Its a good look though in my opinion.....

I was surprised, cause I didnt know they had the guest stars they had on this joint

Solid effort.....may not be mainstream, but a definite must if you are a fan of Reggae\Dance hall\Nas

honestly when I first heard it, I didnt know how they was going to pull it off.....they definitely should have have released a different lead single

I probably would have went with the My generation joint.....or Friends, or The Africa must wake up joint......

but probably the MY generation joint would have a been a good lead out of the three I suggested.....

[Qwasian]

half of america is filthy rich compared to other countries, I don't think the revolutionary shit is going to go over as well in 2010.......the focus of injustice seems a little different.

[Rotten]

oh yeah, it helps if you dont mind listening to this type of music.. Pretty much if you a casual fan of Reggae music, international music....I dont know, you might not feel it...but from a music standpoint.. I feel like its a solid effort.

Just like R&B and Hip Hop, Reggae\Dancehall has been having some problems to with all the watered down bullshit....

Me and my boy (bestfriend from Trinidad) was watching either video soul, or bet jazz cant remember, looking at their island music video segment, and lol it was pretty bad......

IT look like both Nas and Marley took a authentic approach to making this album.....

[Qwasian]

I like reggae hooks & some reggae, I guess damian marley just don't grab me like that......... I like harder edged music, too much mellow for me

[Rotten]

I agree it is mellow and that why I'm feeling it.....I like edgy stuff too,.....but this aint a joint you going to get buck to...

[AliAllWorld]

in my opinion....... hiphop came from people wanting to make music with a lack of talent.......

I disagree with your statement. Hip Hop did not come from people wanting to make music but did not have any talent.

So being a MC expressing your thoughts, views and feelings in rhyme is a lack of talent?

A DJ using various beats and samples to create a new sound lacks talent?

These early Hip Hop artist used the resources that they had to create a new sound.

Hip Hop is a very creative form of music with all kinds of talent.

Maybe the early presence of Hip Hop did not incorporate live music from instruments, or the tracks were not written or scored like one of Beethoven's movements...but to say that it came from people wanting to make music with a lack of talent kind of belittles it a bit.

[Qwasian]

it deserves the belittlement....... most of the records were based on sampling & not creation of new music........

do the lyrics, voice, style, require talent, ABSOLUTELY!!!

do the dj's, producers, engineers require talent, ABSOLUTELY!!!


but I can't give an mc the same props on talent as a vocalist who can actually sing...

and I can't give a producer who plugs up an mpc and samples some shit the same props as I can a guitarist who went to school & learned music/practiced for years to create original melodies/songs

and I can't give a dj who scratches together records of other peoples original material the same props I can the band that created that material orginally.......

it's just not the same, it deserves to be in a lower level and hiphop's sales have always reflected that..........

typically you see r&b sells better than hiphop...... the more talent you have the more you usually sell..... and hiphop is sorta stuck in a rut on that aspect.

you see rihanna, jay-z, kanye, black eyed peas, puffy, are all having to reach out & fuck with live instrumentation to cross genre to a higher level out the hiphop box..... with just hiphop you can only go so far. which by all means is actually pretty far. and I love hiphop..... alot of talent there...... but lets be realistic about how much talent it actually takes to do hiphop music vs other genre's of music, it's a totally different approach

hiphop "ABSOLUTELY" came from people wanting to make music with lack of skill and still does.....and to prove that point

what school do you have to go to in order to create hiphop music? vs what school you would have to go to in order to create rock & roll music?

hiphop music = NO SCHOOL..............
rock & roll music = YEARS OF TRAINING, SCHOOL, KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICE.....................

[Cherry Almond Jergen's]

it deserves the belittlement....... most of the records were based on sampling & not creation of new music........

do the lyrics, voice, style, require talent, ABSOLUTELY!!!

do the dj's, producers, engineers require talent, ABSOLUTELY!!!


but I can't give an mc the same props on talent as a vocalist who can actually sing...

and I can't give a producer who plugs up an mpc and samples some shit the same props as I can a guitarist who went to school & learned music/practiced for years to create original melodies/songs

and I can't give a dj who scratches together records of other peoples original material the same props I can the band that created that material orginally.......

it's just not the same, it deserves to be in a lower level and hiphop's sales have always reflected that..........

typically you see r&b sells better than hiphop...... the more talent you have the more you usually sell..... and hiphop is sorta stuck in a rut on that aspect.

you see rihanna, jay-z, kanye, black eyed peas, puffy, are all having to reach out & fuck with live instrumentation to cross genre to a higher level out the hiphop box..... with just hiphop you can only go so far. which by all means is actually pretty far. and I love hiphop..... alot of talent there...... but lets be realistic about how much talent it actually takes to do hiphop music vs other genre's of music, it's a totally different approach

hiphop "ABSOLUTELY" came from people wanting to make music with lack of skill and still does.....and to prove that point

what school do you have to go to in order to create hiphop music? vs what school you would have to go to in order to create rock & roll music?

hiphop music = NO SCHOOL..............
rock & roll music = YEARS OF TRAINING, SCHOOL, KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICE.....................

yea, i pmb salute this

Thats why now in Hip Hop you have a bunch of talentless assholes who put together anything. It's easy to do. Get these same people to try to put together a rock album and they are history.

Look at the Linkin Parks, Metallica, Pink Floyd...great musicians who wrote and produced tracks from scratch.....

[Mercury]

I finally listened to the album and I liked it. Its easy to gauge whether or not you will like it ahead of time though. If you liked the Damien Marley "Welcome To Jamrock" album...then you will like this one because its basically the same lane, just with a Nas 16 on each song LOL. If you didn't like the Damien Marley album though, then you won't like this, because its basically the same lane, just with a Nas 16 on every song

The only thing I was kinda disappointed in though was I kinda thought they was gonna mash up the best of both worlds, which I don't feel they really did. It came across more like Nas jumped completely into Marley's area instead of blending both styles.

I'm definately gonna purchase on tuesday though. I liked it

[AliAllWorld]

I can see each of your points (Q and the PMB master).....but....to say Hip Hop is second class to other forms of music is a stretch for me.........only because in each genre you still gonna have talentless people.

I think Hip Hop has a problem of accessibility. Name another genre that can be embraced by all types of people. Name another genre that is more inclusive than Hip Hop. This is pretty much a gift and a curse to the music. That is why we have such diversity in Hip Hop, that is why there is so much regionalism in Hip Hop.

Factor in the accessibility and then the arcane business model that Hip Hop has you will see more Waka Flocka's hit the scene because it's like Hip Hop's general audience are drones to the hype machine and tactics of the big labels. Far to many good artist and producers are held back because they don't fit into what is supposed to be "in".

[Qwasian]

your being kinda one sided because you like hiphop.......

name another genre that is all inclusive? and can be embraced by all types of people?

all of them can and are....... why would you honestly say that? u don't think all nationality's of people listen to every type of music? kinda closed minded & definately not true.

you are really showing lack of knowledge.... that "what's supposed to be in" thing happens in every genre of music, especially rock & pop...... even more'so than hiphop.

I know you like hiphop and probably know more about hiphop than the other genre's but "C'MON SON"

hiphop is only "BASED" on what is supposed to be in, just like most other music.....

you can't measure the talent level of hiphop..... it's stolen samples over someone talking/rhyming/rapping......

you can physically measure the talent level of someone playing the guitar, keyboard, drums etc.....

hiphop is only based on HYPE........whatever is marketed the best wins....

[Mercury]

one thing that I do know...is playing an instrument is HARD

I played saxophone from 6th grade to 12th grade. I became decent but I was nowhere NEAR professional quality and that was with 6 years of training.

Now I'm not a professional quality rapper either but with the right mechanics i think I could turn out a decent song.

Not belittling rap either, I love it more than anything in the world, but instrumentation is NOOOOO joke. When you are in band, playing that "earth, wind and fire" type songs isn't easy.

Instrumentation has no rules. You could go from 4 beats in a bar, to 3 beats, to 2, then back to 4. BPMs can go from 67 to 95 within moments. Rap kinda has structure. You learn the structure, then you can create a song.

With that being said, rap gives a voice to those who couldn't afford lessons or instruments. It made something out of nothing and became a lifestyle. So I definately don't want to belittle it.

[Cherry Almond Jergen's]

one thing that I do know...is playing an instrument is HARD

I played saxophone from 6th grade to 12th grade. I became decent but I was nowhere NEAR professional quality and that was with 6 years of training.

Now I'm not a professional quality rapper either but with the right mechanics i think I could turn out a decent song.

Not belittling rap either, I love it more than anything in the world, but instrumentation is NOOOOO joke. When you are in band, playing that "earth, wind and fire" type songs isn't easy.

Instrumentation has no rules. You could go from 4 beats in a bar, to 3 beats, to 2, then back to 4. BPMs can go from 67 to 95 within moments. Rap kinda has structure. You learn the structure, then you can create a song.

With that being said, rap gives a voice to those who couldn't afford lessons or instruments. It made something out of nothing and became a lifestyle. So I definately don't want to belittle it.

If you shuffle those letters, guess what you get?

[Mercury]

Lol!!!!.....

[Nah]

...rap gives a voice to those who couldn't afford lessons or instruments. It made something out of nothing and became a lifestyle. So I definately don't want to belittle it.
*Stamped*

...and Q maybe you mean...

in my opinion....... hiphop came from people wanting to make music with a lack of resources.......
...sorta like go-go.

[Tully Blanchard]

I just finished listening to this collabo. I don't think that it's dumpster juice. It's not 5 mics. in the Source either. It's just okay to me.

[Qwasian]

*Stamped*

...and Q maybe you mean...

...sorta like go-go.

nah I meant lack of talent........ resources for music are pretty cheap and easy to come by..........

[AliAllWorld]

All of the Go-Go bands I used to hang with were musicians.......... they played keyboards, bass guitar, congos, trumpets you name it. Them dudes have talent.........

Interesting thing is that a go go band will take a rap song and learn to play it using instruments.

[Qwasian]

that is some of the craziest shit that blows my mind... and gave me a new found talent & respect for people who actually go thru the motions to learn music & compose it.........

people who actually know music can listen & pick up on pretty much any rap song and play it..... NO PROBLEM, because they are typically simple ass song structures.

when you have that backing knowledge & talent, you are able to create much more complex music

that's why alot of todays rap w/ the sampling & shit doesn't work, they are moving more towards shit with chords, melodies & song structure.....

the muthafucka Toomp laced T.I.'s what you know about that as far as song structure, he has some real nice setups.... not sure if that's him doing them though or just grabbing samples/musicians to set it up and him peicing it together.....

dre, timbaland, etc all had to have people come in & actually play the instruments borrow samples etc to make they sound work

[Mercury]

not to sound like a band geek, but yeah this girl could pretty much play any rap song by ear within minutes of hearing it. Thats how we learned to play certain songs...she would listen for 5 minutes, play it on the clarinet, then write the notes for it right on the spot. She was a BEAST with it.

I can do it on the piano/keyboard to a certain extent. But its just because rap songs are so easy composition wise. They use quarter notes exclusively for the most part. So you just gotta match the pitch for real.

[Mojo]

That's why I was so impressed a while back when somebody dropped the youtube vids of Ryan Leslie putting a beat together from the beginning. Dude was on the keys, trumpet, drums, and bongos.

[Mercury]

i LOVE ryan leslie's 1st CD. I haven't heard his second one yet. I don't think he's a good vocalist but his production is CRAZY to me.

[Nerd Motivation 101]

your opinion of nas is so hilarious it's hard to even debate the point......I literally started laughin at the screen.......

were you alive when the public enemy or bdp albums came out? obviously not, because if you were, you would know what type of attention they had, and nas don't have it..........


Yes, I was alive and you were listening to Garth Brooks when those albums were out..whats your point? I wasn't comparing it in terms of attention. That was a different era. That type of music was more popular back then. If those same albums came out today, they would get no more attention then Nas's joint.

The comparison is based on genre. All three albums are pro-black political Hip Hop. Its something you don't see a lot these days.



he making nastradamus' over & over at this point..... shit is average at best.


Actually, this album is the polar opposite of Nastradamus. Nas was obviously reaching for hit records with Nastradamus. He compromised his music for sales. But on Unititled..thats Nas unabashed, record sales be damned. He's making the music he wants to make.


do you even know who nas is man? seriously? honestly? do you know who nas is?


The question is do YOU know Nas. I would say not very well if you're comparing his last album to Nastradamus.

[Qwasian]

Yes, I was alive and you were listening to Garth Brooks when those albums were out..whats your point? I wasn't comparing it in terms of attention. That was a different era. That type of music was more popular back then. If those same albums came out today, they would get no more attention then Nas's joint.

The comparison is based on genre. All three albums are pro-black political Hip Hop. Its something you don't see a lot these days.




Actually, this album is the polar opposite of Nastradamus. Nas was obviously reaching for hit records with Nastradamus. He compromised his music for sales. But on Unititled..thats Nas unabashed, record sales be damned. He's making the music he wants to make.



The question is do YOU know Nas. I would say not very well if you're comparing his last album to Nastradamus.



your a corny ass clown who always say some sideways stupid shit........ nas fell off and that's really bottom line....... that new shit is weaker than the old shit period...... he didn't create a ground breaking political album that shit was overlooked..... be real with yourself, your living in fantasy land with those statements, I gaurantee you didn't own public enemy or bdp albums and i owned them both the day they dropped.......clown ass muthafucka.......

[Nerd Motivation 101]

your a corny ass clown who always say some sideways stupid shit........ nas fell off and that's really bottom line....... that new shit is weaker than the old shit period...... he didn't create a ground breaking political album that shit was overlooked..... be real with yourself, your living in fantasy land with those statements, I gaurantee you didn't own public enemy or bdp albums and i owned them both the day they dropped.......clown ass muthafucka.......

Jay-Z's new shit is weaker than his old shit.
Common's new shit is weaker than his old shit.
Busta Rhymes's new shit is weaker than his old shit.
Outkast's new shit is weaker than their old shit.

Once again, you've failed at having a point. No one ever argued that Untitled was on the level of Illmatic or It Was Written or anything of that sort. That doesn't make it wack by default. It doesn't mean its not an significant contribution to rap..in its own right.

I refuse to even argue this shit with you because its pretty clear that your gauge for quality is based on popularity. You dismissed an album because it was "overlooked". Not only is that short-sighted (Vincent van Gogh was overlooked when he was alive) but it displays the emotional maturity of a 16 year old and thats the lens you view everything through. Nothing I can say on this forum is going to make you grow up and help you develop opinions on your own.

[Qwasian]

or it could be that I just didn't like the shit and thought it was wack..... it's called having an opinion......which is obviously shared by many, since it was overlooked........:rolleyes: