ARTIST: Nas
ALBUM: Life is Good
LABEL: Def Jam
RELEASE DATE: July 17, 2012
The Good Life
Written by Dan Sinclair
Nas is obviously no longer feeling as though “life’s a bitch, then you die.” He has gotten out of an unhappy marriage and he is even friends with his longtime nemesis Jay-Z, so it’s no wonder his latest album is titled Life’s Good. Nas is one of the most respected rap artists in hip-hop and has been since his classic debut album, Illmatic (which dropped in 1994). Throughout a storied career that has featured many ups and downs, Nas always managed to rise to the top. Left for dead after many critics panned Nastradamus, he reissued a claim on hip-hop’s throne with Stillmatic, and Life’s Good should have a similar effect in placing Nas back on top of the game.
Life’s Good is an excellent blend of the retro and current rap sound. Nas walks the fine line between keeping the sound he is known for and staying true to that while attempting not to sound dated and old. Nas is able to effortlessly blend what he has always done musically with the current hip-hop sound, and the results are outstanding. The No I.D. produced “Loco-Motive” is a good example of this. Featuring longtime collaborator Large Professor over a classic ‘90s era-styled beat, Nas spits lyrical jewels like, “I know you think my life good ‘cuz my diamond piece/But life been good since I started finding peace.” Nas ends the line with a shout out to the seemingly forgotten segment of hip-hop fans that helped make rap the huge industry it is today by declaring, “This is for my trapped-in-the-‘90s niggas.” That helps to set the stage for a classic album from Nas that will be equally enjoyed by old school and new school rap fans.
One of the things that helps to make Life’s Good so complete sounding is the album’s production. Rappers used to have a producer or producers they used that knew their sound and would craft beats with that person’s rap style in mind. When rap really hit the mainstream and became about the bottom line, rappers started to go with whatever producers were making hits for someone else. This lead to many rappers using beats that did not necessarily compliment their flow, resulting in a lackluster song. Nas is one of the greatest rappers line for line, but this same problem has hindered some of his albums in the past. On Life’s Good that will not be an issue. Legendary producer No I.D. and longtime Nas collaborator Salaam Remi produce the majority of the album. Swizz Beatz, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League and Buckwild each produce one of the three songs not produced by No I.D. or Remi. This leads to a cohesion not typically found on rap albums presently.
Lyrically Nas shows he is still on top of his game and able to put words together in a fashion that only he can. On “Accident Murderers,” a thought-provoking track featuring current hip-hop heavyweight (literally and figuratively) Rick Ross, Nas is more than able to hold his own and outshine the boss with lyrics like, “Shooters, I knew them when they was babies, I used to test them/Make ‘em throw up they hands, choke ‘em out playing in wrestling/Watch ‘em grow to a man, I see them now they reppin’/But they cold-blooded, homie, wondering where the respect went?” The track “Daughters” finds Nas lamenting over how some of his decisions he has made regarding women have affected his daughter as she grows up and is now looking for love. “Reach Out” is another standout track featuring Mary J. Blige on the hook that showcases Nas over a classic Isaac Hayes-sampled boom-bap beat.
More soulful, poetic tracks like “Stay” or “Cherrywine” featuring the late Amy Winehouse could only have been made successfully by Nas. Over low-key tracks where the music is secondary, Nas keeps you enthralled and into the song with his poignant lyricism. If the album has a misstep, it is the Swizz Beatz-produced “Summer on Smash.” While not a bad song, and far better than some of Nas’s past attempts to make a party/club song, it just does not fit amongst the other songs.