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'Nasir' Review

'Nasir' Review

Zoe Taylor ·
The fourth in the series of five Kanye-produced albums has landed and now we've had a couple days to let it sit, it's the perfect time to review it. Yeezy has been behind 'Daytona', 'Ye' and 'Kids See Ghosts' over the past few weeks, and Teyana Taylor's album drops this week.  
This album marks Nas' 11th project and features Pusha T, Mobb Deep's Havoc and Chris Rock. This is his first work in six years and has a heavy political focus that addresses American's racial inequality, however, fails to discuss Kelis' claims that he beat her during their marriage. 
There's a maturity to 'Nasir', not unlike 'Ye'. "Grey hairs of wisdom mean you see something,” he raps. “Never sold a record for a beat / it’s my verses they purchase / Without production, I’m worthless."
Although the album is Kanye-produced, Nas took a very political approach to his lyrics which couldn't be further from Kanye's recent media attention. He addresses African-American rights and treatment, police brutality, African diaspora and slavery, as well as the 'forgotten ghettos', where the ruthless discrimination of a government who has failed its people is discussed.

Throughout the 7-track project, we are bombarded with samples and erratic beats, however, it seems to work for Nas with the emotion-inducing topics of his raps. He spits: “Abe Lincoln did not free the enslaved” and “SWAT was created to stop the Panthers”. Nas is also “buyin’ back the land owned by the slave masters.”

The length of this album and the tracks suits Nas's style, as previously he has been given free reign over time which means his messages end up convoluted and lost. With Kanye's production choices including his samples, the pair work well together to push Nas' points across. 

However, although Nas has made many incredible points about American racism, he doesn't address the allegations his ex-wife Kelis has made that she suffered "mental and physical abuse" in their relationship. This is a very obvious lack in the album, as his last album was practically all about Kelis, with the cover being him holding her green wedding dress.

The only other part of the album that feels somewhat underdone is his views on vaccination. Nas counts himself as part of the anti-vaxxer movement and in 'Everything' he spits “I thought you would protect me from this scary place?/Why’d you let them inject me? Who’s gonna know how these side effects is gonna affect me?” 

All in all, this album is a very poignant piece of art from Nas and Kanye and the sound translates very well. Considering 'Ye' has mediocre reviews, critics were sceptical that the pair could pull it off, however, they seem to have proved their haters wrong. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Header image from ConsequenceOfSound.com

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