#10: Nas -
Life Is Good (2012)
Released: July, 2012
Genre: Rap, hip hop
Length: 58 minutes
Nas is an artist that had one of those debut albums that he will always be compared to, in this case
Illmatic. Every time the rapper releases a new album people start comparing it to
Illmatic, and in many people's opinion the new album will always lose. It's hard not to compare his albums to his early discography of course... My opinion is that
Life Is Good is his best album since
It Was Written, his second album.
It's honest, mature for the most part, and it feels like Nas is heading in the right direction overall. Nas himself has said that the album focuses on his divorce with his (ex) wife Kelis, and that Marvin Ga'ye's
Here, My Dear was a big inspiration for him.
The album starts with the song "No Introduction", an introduction to the album which sets a dark tone with lyrics looking back on Nas' early life. The album lets up a few times on its way to the finale, "Bye Baby", but manages to stay on track for the most part. Some songs, like "Summer On Smash" (the worst song on the album), feel a little misplaced mixed together with personal songs like "Daugthers".
And it's the personal songs that are the best. "Cherry Wine" (featuring the late Amy Winehouse), "Stay" and "Bye Baby" are some of the highlights on this album. It's well-formed, personal, and a very good album despite some let-down tracks. And I wish Nas would've left Rick Ross off the good song "Accident Murderers", he makes me not want to listen to the song.
Rating: 3½ mics out of 5
Best song: "Cherry Wine"