Nas Album: “God's Son [Clean - Bonus CD]”

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.

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.

As the "bling bling" era of hip hop has produced nothing but materialstic and pointless rhymes, supplied with decent beats, Nas(ir) Jones has brought lyrics back in fashion in hip hop. "God's Son", his lates offering, is the perfect blend of rhymes and rhythms that keep both your head and your mind bumpin'.

The first four tracks alone almost make you forget there's eight more tracks left. You'd almost swear that you don't need anything else. And, word of warning: Don't skip to the hit single, "Made you look", or else you'll be missing the first two tracks, which are great ones in their own right.

Two of the songs in particular really stick out because of their originality and style. "Thugz Mansion" is a rap song without a dj. It's just an acoustic guitar, followed by Nas' rapping. And, if you think you hear 2pac throwin' in a verse in the middle, your mind isn't playing tricks on you because he is indeed featured on the track.

"Book of Rhymes" is also great, with Nas just tearing off lyrics that he once wrote in his notebook. Just listening to the song, you almost want to start a book of your own.

All in all, it's worth the drive out to your local record store.

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This is one of Nas' best albums ever made. Great beats, and great lyrics.

1)Get Down: 5/5 = The beginning song is one of the best songs. Nice beat

So as you can see, every song (except track 5) is what make the album worth your money. So if you're a true hip-hop head like me, go ahead and add this to your collection

What kind of a hater is the CDNOW reviewer who wrote the above review of Nas's GOD's Son?

FIRST OF ALL, YOU DO MAKE REFERENCE TO JAY-Z, which is stupid, because first of all Jay-z's blueprint is just an amalgomy of all the commercialized rap cliche's he's ever been able to think of this year. SECOND, Nas has finally come back to us with songs that are about something like "heaven" and dance" and you completely ignore those tracks in your review. TO ALL THE PEOPLE OUT THERE READING THIS, DO NOT PAY ATTENTION TO THE REVIEW GIVEN BY THIS SITE, TRUST ME, I'VE BEEN LISTENING TO HIPHOP AND FOLLOWING NAS'S CAREER FOR A WHILE, AND THIS IS A CD WORTH BUYING. THIRD, THIS IS BETTER THAN STILLMATIC, AND CLOSER TO NAS'S TRUE ALBUM ILLMATIC, SO FOR EVERY RAP LOVER OUT THERE WHO KNOWS WHAT REAL HIPHOP IS, DON'T DEPRIVE YOURSELF OF THE LYRICAL NAS. THIS ALBUM IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE ONLY RAP ALBUMS OUT THERE THAT IS "about something"