Nas is considered one of the greatest rappers of all time, so today, I have decided to rank his albums from best to worst. He has 11 studio albums in total. For those that don't really know much about Nas, let me try and run through his story quickly before I get into the ranking.
Nas first got on the scene at 18 back in 1991, when he appeared on the Main Source song, Live at The Barbecue. His verse was so ill on the song that he became the golden child of Hip Hop. He got his deal the following year with Columbia Records. He started working on his album that same year, and dropped the first single for his debut album (Illmatic) before the end of 1992, titled Halftime. In 1994, he dropped his debut album, Illmatic, which many consider to be one of the greatest Hip Hop albums of all time. He has gone on to drop 10 more albums since then, and one of the highlights of his career is the highly publicized beef he had with Jay Z between 2001-2004.
So, let's get into the ranking.
1. Illmatic (1994)
Numero uno is Illmatic. This a flawless album; I mean, every rap line is where it is supposed to be...no words are out of place. And for someone that had just turned 20, living in the projects, his vocabulary and subject matter on the album is very impressive. It is 10 tracks, 9 songs, and every song is dope. (5/5)
2. Stillmatic (2001)
I was tempted to put this at the top, over Illmatic, but I would say the flow/deliver on Illmatic is still second to none while talking about Nas albums... this is where Illmatic shines over Stillmatic. But Stillmatic is a more rounded album; storytelling, lyrical depth, concept songs, delivery/flow, production...everything is so on point. Nas has a song on here where he is rapping backwards; he told a story backwards. The dude is just a musical genius, and I would say if any album proves that, it is this album. (5/5)
3. Untitled (2008)
I would say this is the most underrated Nas album. I still wonder why people overlook it so much. Production is on point. Concept is super on point- he had a song rapping about a cockroach. He had a song with Busta Rhymes where he and Busta are rapping from the point of view of friend chicken. He and Busta delivered their verses masterfully. The album is very political, but Nas is skilled enough to make politics interesting to an average joe. This album needs to get the respect it deserves. (5/5)
4. God's Son (2002)
This is another great album. He recorded this album a few months after his mom's passing, so he got a little personal and emotional on some songs like Dance, and Heaven, but still went hard on songs like Made You Look, and Last Real N*gga Alive. This, like Stillmatic showed how Versatile Nas can be. Production is on point too. (5/5)
5. It Was Written (1996)
Some people say this album is better than Illmatic. I guess that's their opinion. Although it is great, and shows a more mature Nas coming from Illmatic, but unlike Illmatic, it had some not so great songs. The first 6 songs on the album are straight fire, but then you have some songs from track 7 to 14 he could have left off the album. This is still his most successful album till date, selling over 3 million copies back in 1996. And he did that without totally leaving his roots, just switching things up with better production. I also love the fast paced delivery he used on most songs off this album. (4.5/5)
6. Life Is Good (2012)
After a 4 year hiatus, Nas came with this lovely album. Delivery is sharp. Production is sharp. And lyrics is on point as usual. (4.5/5)
7. Hip Hop Is Dead (2006)
Released as his first album on Def Jam. It sold 355k copies first week and went on to be certified platinum. I would say this album is pretty good, but not great in Nas's standards. (4/5)
8. I AM (1999)
This was around the time Nas started losing steam with his albums. Tupac and Biggie were gone and I guess there was no competition to keep him on his toes, till Jay Z woke the sleeping giant two years later. This album would be considered a 3.5/5 album. Although it had one of the biggest songs of Nas's career, Hate Me Now, it also has a wack song like Doctor Knockboot. (3.5)
9. Nasir (2018)
Released last year. The album felt rushed...Kanye even added the Diddy vocals to Not For Radio the night before the release of the album. There were some songs on the album that sounded like Nas needed to do a few more takes to get it right, but Kanye just went ahead with the first take or something. As I said, it is quite rushed. Nas even said it was recorded within 2 weeks. (3.5/5)
10. Street's Disciple (2004)
One of my favorite Nas albums, but it had just too many songs. It is a double Cd and has a total of 25 songs. If I was to pick 12 of the best songs on the album and make it into an album, it would be top 5 Nas albums for sure. (3/5)
11. Nastradamus (1999)
If ever I was to agree with DJ Vlad that Nas is the worst beat picker of all time, then this album would be used to buttress the point. Even though it is still in my personal top 5 favorite Nas albums because of the concepts of some of the songs on the album, there are a lot of songs on there with very dull beats, and Nas's rhyming wasn't the best on those songs. But still, you have top notch songs like Come Get Me, Life We Chose, New World, and Family (feat. Prodigy) on the album. (3/5)
That's it. So what do you guys think? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
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