I Am... is Nasir's second attempt at fully recapturing the greatness he captured in his debut, which gained him respect for all the hip hop heads and purists. His second effort, while not as technically good as Illmatic, let him cross over to the mainstream audience. So the question now was which group he would focus on for his third full length album. Well, the original plan was to cater to both, as Nas was all set to release a double disc album that would have been titled, I Am... The Autobiography. As the titled indicates, it would tell his life story and each song would feature some type of glimpse into his personal life. It was certainly a noble idea that would have sold him tons of copies. Ok, he would have sold millions of copies with whatever he released, but that's not the point. With such potential and good intentions I'm sure you're wondering what in the world went wrong.
Unfortunately for Nas, the original copy of Nas would infamously be known as one of the most bootlegged albums in music history. Leaks are almost expected nowadays, but this was one of the very first major label CDs that came out before it was supposed to. Most people would tell you that someone at Columbia was responsible for the debacle, but no one knows for sure how exactly I Am... got loose. Nas was so upset that all his fans had heard his unreleased work that he trashed the concept completely. The autobiography idea was out the window and he started recording all new material. Most of the songs from the original copy would later be spread out across Nastradamus and The Lost Tapes, but the actual tracklist was never confirmed. All we can do now is sit here and wonder how this project would have sounded in its purest form.
We're not going to be hearing the original version anytime soon, so I might as well embrace what we've been given...
1. Album Intro
Nas runs through short samples of some of his most famous songs off his previous albums, so I'm pretty sure this was the intro that was supposed to be used on the autobiography version. I've never really likes Nas' intros that much but you can't say the man doesn't out some effort into them. Not bad, but those creepy children screaming... man, I just don't know.
2. N.Y. State Of Mind, Pt. 2
So Nas decided to revisit what many people consider to be one of his best songs. Obviously the expectations where high but Nas does a good job of not completely letting everyone does. He's able to cook up another nice street tale that matches the topic brought up of the first New York State Of Mind. A few of the same samples appear on the sequel as well, but the beat is mostly different from the original. Can't say I prefer it, but Primo's first piece was a masterpiece. Not even close to the original but Nas turns in a valiant effort to recreate greatness.
3. Hate Me Now (Feat. Puff Daddy)
A ton of controversy surrounded this song when it dropped and some of it still remains. The video depicts Nas being crucified and carrying a cross, which I guess is a touch topic. Everyone agreed to take down the video but MTV accidentally aired the uncensored very. Puffy got pissed off and the situation eventually climaxed with Puff Daddy hitting Steve Stoute, Nas' manager, over the head with a glass bottle. Can't say all this fuss was necessary, but this song is still pretty sweet. One of Nas' strong suits has always been his singles and this song is no exception.
4. Small World
Caroline, the heroine addict gets a song dedicated to her, as Nas displays why he is one of the more underrated storytellers in our genres history. Think about it, the most common rappers associated with telling story are Slick Rick and Biggie, (Not a knock against them, I'm a huge fan of both) but songs like this show that Nas could hang in there with the best if them. The beat is a little too simple for my liking, though. I like this song, but its in more of a "this shit is good, but I'd never use it to show how great of an MC Nas is" type of way.
5. Favor For A Favor (Feat. Scarface)
Seriously, does Scarface ever disappoint? Obviously he's got more than a few great albums but his guest features are criminally underrated. Nas doesn't hold up as well, though. He sounds like he's trying way too hard to keep up with Face, when he all know damn well that he holds up just find normally. The instrumental in here is also unmistakably polished, especially for the subject at hand. Don't quote me on this p, but I'm fairly sure that beat comes courtesy of L.E.S., who inherited the throne of The Trackmasters. This would've been a disaster with out Mr. Jordan.
6. We Will Survive
Nas takes a song to pay his respects to 2pac and biggie, two artists that he had well documented beef with during their life times. With the level of tension between the artists, Nas is able to turn in a surprisingly genuine and heart felt ode. He also throws in one more verse, where he pretty much addresses the state of rap. Nas also brings up a very interesting topic when talking about how hip hop is the only genre in which two artists will threaten to physically hurt each other, or even have beef at all for that matter. The instrumental left quite a bit to be desired, but this song still gets a pass.
7. Ghetto Prisoners
Can't see any real reason as to why this song even made an appearance on the album. I don't hate this song or anything, but it just deals with such a generic Nas topic and ends up coming off as boring. You know Nas, this would've been a real nice place to throw in one of those personal cuts from the original copy. Oh well, I won't complain that much. This album has been surprisingly decent compared to my last listen.
8. You Won't See Me Tonight (Feat. Aaliyah)
Just like on It Was Written with Dr. Dre, Nas makes another collaboration with a high profile producer. This time it involves Timbaland, who was highly invitational at the time of this release. This also shares another characteristic with the Dre song: it kind of fucking blows. Nas just loves crushing all my expectations. With Timbo being such a player on Jay Zs new album, Id like to point out how much that mans stayed true to his style without getting repetitive. On the bright side, Aaliyah (R.I.P.) turns in a fine performance of the hook.
9. I Want To Talk To You
I don't care how much you want to talk to me, Nas, these sub par songs just aren't doing a damn thing for your album. Never mind, It would be really cool if Nas just decided to up and call me up on the phone just to have a conversation. If that ever happens ill let you all know and I'll try to get some type of collaboration review where we both just trash J. Cole. But yeah, there is a song here where Nas talks about wanting a word with the Mayor and shit. This beat is way too up beat and peppy for the subject and the song just fails as whole.
10. Dr. Knockboots
Nas, what in the fuck happened here. The Trackmasters suck, get em off your fucking albums and get Primo and Pete Rock in the studio. Nas' lyrics are just absurd in every way in this song, although I'll admit they got a little but of a chuckle out of me the first listen. Only the first listen, though, after that I realized what in the hell just happened. At least its short.
11. Life Is What You Make It (Feat. DMX)
At the time of this release, Nas was staring in his debut film, Belly. In that film, his co-star just happened to be DMX, so I'm just assuming that Earl went home with Nas for a sleep over after a hard day of filming movies. Chocolate chip cookies with a side of Yoo-hoo got the both of them pretty hyped up and this is the song they ended up recording. DMX was soon kicked out of the house after he told Nasir that he couldn't act worth shit. That may be true, but I still think it was a little harsh to let Nas down like that. Ahh, I can't even take this song seriously after typing that.
12. Big Things
So, this album is getting pretty repetitive and I'm just not really into it that much. As a result I've resorted to making up stories about Nas and his super friends in order to keep myself entertained. This song wasn't shit, though. As far as I can remember, this is the fastest Nas has ever rapped. I'm pretty glad that's not his type of thing but it was still kind of cool to here him have fun on this one. That hook just about a ruins it, though.
13. Nas Is Like
Awwwwwee shiiiittt son, this songs dope as hell. The first single from the album also manages to be what is easily the best song from the project. Nas is spitting like crazy but Primo's instrument flat out robs the show, as he delivers what is still one of the best beats of his career. The vocal sampling he does in place of a traditional hook is just awesome. Man, this song couldn't have popped up at a better time. I also recommend checking out the music video, although all I can remember from it right now is the color blue.
14. K-I-Ss-I-N-G
Just as bad as the title may indicate, I'm taking this song off.
15. Money Is My Bitch
So what my review of the previous track may not have indicated is that it was actually talking about his girl. That could all be a lie though, as this song shows that his bitch is in fact money. Now I just can't seem to get the image of Nas kissing and fucking his money out of my head. I don't even know what the hell they were thinking when this instrumental was conceived, but it just doesn't belong anywhere near Nas. Oh, Lord, this album is starting to get absurd.
16. Undying Love
Well, at least Nas knows how to close an album. This song is far from great but I can sleep at night knowing that a Nas album wasnt ended with a song like "Money Is My Bitch". The storytelling on the closer is also a highlight of the album and I really enjoyed the instrumental. Could have done without the singing on the hook, though.
Rating: 2.5/5
To be fair, its not completely Nas' fault that a majority of I Am... sounds awful. If you damn bootleggers would have let the man do this thing, then none us would be in this mess. In fact, there's a damn good chance that Nastrudamus never would have happened. At the end of the day, though, it was Nas who created this album. I don't want to shit on this thing too much, though. There's a couple fantastic songs that definitely deserves your hard earned cash. Songs like, "Small World" and "Undying Love" show why Nas is one of hip hops most underrated story tellers. That's about it with the compliments, though. A lot of these songs seemed rush and, with a few exceptions, the beats are nothing short of trash. I know I keep saying it, but I just would have loved to hear the original copy that The Source gave 5 stars. I know they love to ride Nasir's dick but 5 stars is still pretty special. Oh well, there's no reason for you to go out and buy this. For huge Nas fans only.