Ranking Nas's Albums

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)

Kendrick Lamar Names His Favourite Album Of 2012

There is just a couple of days left in 2012, and Kendrick Lamar, in a recent interview named his favourite album of 2012.

"My favorite album? Nas. Yup, yup. Life Is Good. Crazy album," Lamar revealed in an interview. "I'm definitely [picking and choosing certain collaborations]. It's really got to be about the song. Really, you know? I don't take the talent away from any artist. Everybody's unique in their own way. So you don't necessarily have to do the music I do. It has to be a great song and a great idea." (Rap-Up TV)











That's definitely my favourite album of 2012...his album, Good Kid M.A.A.D City is my second favourite, and Game's Jesus Piece album is my third favourite of 2012.

Game Speaks On His Love For Nas's Life Is Good Album

Game and Nas have always been close; they featured each other on the individual albums they dropped in 2006 and 2008. There was even talks of a 10 track Nas and Game collaboration album back in 2009, but no word about that since then. In a recent interview with Complex magazine, Game gave reasons why he loves the new Nas album, Life Is Good.

Number one, I got a daughter. Nas’ “Daughters” was a leak off the album that caught me early on. "Oh, Nas. He’s back on his Nas shit." His real Nasty Nas shit. You know, talking to his daughter and then talking to her boyfriend. It’s just that conceptual shit. When I heard “Daughters,” I felt the same respect that I felt when I had first heard “Rewind.” Of course, it’s nothing like “Rewind” but it made me feel that Nas was on his shit when I heard “Daughters.”

Then I heard another leaked track and it was “Accident Murderers.” I was like, "Damn, how genius is that for him to say niggas is accident murderers." You don’t really want to kill nobody, but everybody out here saying they killing, they shooting. That concept was dope and putting Ross on it was like Nas showing homage to the nigga doing it now like B.I.G. was doing it. Ross—no matter what you say—Ross is the big, black, fat nigga that’s getting it in and he’s reminiscent to Biggie. He’s wearing that fly shit and doing that. I thought that was dope.

Sitting on front of the album cover with Kelis’ wedding dress. We all know Nas and his album covers be on some other shit, but that just took the cake, man. That shit was ill. And just the title. After all of that. Going through a divorce and exposing that to the world. Then sitting on the couch with the wedding dress and with his lap with no woman in it is just ill in itself. So before I heard anything else, I was like, "Oh, this shit gotta be ill." He's on his Nas shit.

Then when Nas was in L.A., I kicked it with him for about a day. We chopped it up. He let me know where his mind is. When I heard the album—as a friend and a fan—I was taken back. It’s lyrically insane. It’s dope. It’s the Nas of the old and I think it’s a good listen for everybody. Especially, if you appreciate true hip-hop.

Global Sales Of Nas's "Life Is Good" Album

As of October 2012, Nas's 10th album, Life Is Good has sold 420,000 copies globally. In the U.S alone, it is still at 313,000 copies sold, but worldwide, it is at 420,000. I don't know if this album would make it to Gold status in the U.S, but it can possible make it to Gold worldwide.












He has already dropped 6 videos from the album (Nasty, The Don, Daughters, Bye Baby, Cherry Wine and Queens Story), which is unlike Nas; all these for promotion. I think maybe a world tour can push it to Gold. Right now, in the U.S, it is down to selling an average of 4,000 copies weekly.

Upcoming Videos From Nas's Life is Good Album

This is going to be the most "worked on" Nas album since he dropped his first in 1994. He has always had the habit of dropping an average of two videos per album, and just going "ghost" afterwards. Nas has never been the one to really promote an album by dropping enough videos to get the people's attention. But, with this album, I am started to think he most be working with an entirely new team or something, cos the promo on this album has been commendable.



He dropped the video for "Nasty" last year...even though Nasty ended up as bonus track on the deluxe version of the album, I still consider it a track on the album. Since Nasty, he has dropped 4 videos...Daughters, The Don, Bye Baby and the recent video for Cherrywine make it a total of 5 so far.

The Upcoming videos from the album, according to Nas himself via twitter, are Loco-Motive, and Queens Story. I know he really did want to shoot the video for Summer on Smash with Swizz Beatz, but Summer is over. But, I would love if he would shoot videos for Stay, You Wouldn't Understand, and Reachout.

5th Week Sales of Nas's "Life Is Good" Album

Nas sold 15,000 copies of his Life Is Good album, and this now brings him to a 5 week total of 260,000. He is about to release the video to Bye Baby; I hope that helps in bumping the sales of this album. I think it is great an album not to at least go Gold.

4th Week Global Sales of Nas' Life Is Good Album

Nas sold 27,000 copies globally of his Life Is Good album globally this week, and this now brings it to a 4 week global total of 310,000. It is moving close and closer to that Gold status worldwide.

Please note that these are global sales, and not nationwide sales. It is currently at a total of 245,000 copies sold in the U.S.

4th Week Sales of Nas's Life Is Good Album

Nas's 10th album, Life Is Good sold 19,000 copies in its 4th week in stores, and is now at a total of 245,000. The rate at which the albums sales is dropping every week, it would be almost impossible for Nas to make it to Gold status with this one.




He let his followers know on twitter 2 days ago that a video for "Bye Baby" is coming soon. I think making that track a single is a very wise decision as a lot of people have picked that as their favourite off the album. The song is straight from the heart, so it is bound to catch a lot of people's attention. Maybe this move would  boost sales a little...even if it just steadies the sales at 20k a week, it would help it go Gold in a couple of weeks.

Third Week Global Sales of Nas's Life Is Good Album

In its third week out, Nas's 10th album, Life Is Good sold 44,000 copies globally. The album is now at a total of 283,000 sold worldwide.







 It will surely go GOLD globally in a couple of weeks, but it will take a bit longer to go GOLD nationally. Right now, it is at a total of 226,000 copies sold in America.

Third Week Sales of Nas's Life Is Good Album

Nas's 10th album, Life Is Good has been out 3 weeks now, and on its third week on the charts, it sold 32,000 copies, and now totals at 226,000. I would love if this album could go GOLD, but with the look of things, it might just stall at 400k.





Nas needs to drop a new single/video from the album...their are a lot of tracks that are potentials singles, so that shouldn't be hard. Maybe Summer on Smash with Swiz Beatz or Reachout with Mary J Blige.

Second Week Global Sales of Nas' Life Is Good Album

Nas sold 63,000 copies globally of Life Is Good this week, and it is now at a two-week worldwide total of 239,000.







 Nationally, it is at a total of 194,000 copies sold. The album has gotten a lot of good reviews on the internet, lets just hope the sales steady at this pace, cos Nas's albums have a history of going off the chart fast.

Second Week Sales of Nas's Life Is Good Album

Nas's Life Is Good album sold 45,000 copies in its second week out, and is now at a 2 week total of 194,000. It is really going to be a long way to Gold status for Nas because he doesn't have any hot singles on the radio right now. This album is really great, and from all the good reviews it is getting on the internet, it would be cool to at least go Gold.

Nas Becomes First Rapper to Have Number 1 Albums in 3 Decades

With his 10th album, Life Is Good at number 1 on the Billboard top 200 albums chart this week, Nas becomes the first rapper to have number 1 albums in 3 decades. He dropped his first album (Illmatic) in 1994; although that didn't debut at number 1, his 2nd album, It Was Written (1996) made it to the top spot when it dropped. He also had a number one with his 3rd album (I Am) in 1999. That is 2 number one albums in the 90s.







Then he had 2 number one albums in the 00s- Stillmatic (2001), and Hip Hop Is Dead also made it to number one when it was released in 2006. Now, in 2012, he bags another number one with his Life Is Good album which dropped last week, and sold 149,000 copies in its first week in stores. Congrats to Nas on his longevity in the music industry.

First Week Global Sales of Nas's Life Is Good Album

Nas's 10th album, Life Is Good dropped last week, and after spending one full week in stores, it sold 176,000 globally. In the U.S, the album sold 149,000 first week, so judging from his global sales, his international fans bought 27,000 copies of the album.

Official First Week Sales of Nas's Life Is Good Album

Nas's 10th album, Life Is Good was released last week Tuesday, July 17th to be precise. And after a day in stores, projections by experts saw it doing 115-125k in first week sales. But, the album ended up selling 149,000 copies after a full week in stores, and now stands as the number one album in the country (America).

First Week Sales Projections of Nas's Life Is Good Album

Legendary New York Rapper, Nas dropped his 10th album (Life Is Good) on Tuesday, the 17th of July. After the first day in stores, the album was projected to sell between 115-125k in its first week out. But those numbers have increased since then. According to Weekend Chart Preview, the album is now projected to sell 135k in its first week in stores.

Read more below-

Nas will debut at #1 on next week's chart, giving Def Jam two titles in the Top 5. Frank Ocean, in his first week of wide release (sans Target), is being featured for $2.99 in Amazon MP3 store. Because of SoundScan rules limiting the pricing to no less than $3.49 in the first four weeks of release, these sales will not count on that chart. Our current projection does not include these sales. *Nas (Def Jam/IDJ) 125-135k Zac Brown Band (Atlantic) 70-80k *Kidz Bop Kids (Razor & Tie) 60-65k Frank Ocean (Def Jam/IDJ) 40-45k (Weakend Chart Preview)



Actually, as a Nas fan for over 13 years now, I was really disappointed with the first sales projections of the album I read. His last album, Untitled (2008), did 187k in its first week 4 years ago, and that didn't have as much promotion as this album. Nas has done everything from appearing in a Nicki Minaj video to having CNN interview him, and everything in-between. And with all the praise the album is getting on twitter, I really thought it would at least hit 200k. Maybe all those people downloaded it illegally.



Anyway, I am a bit happier with this increase in projections. I think if it would make it to like 150k first week, it would be cool. I know he would sell over 200k worldwide. He has a lot of oversees fans.

Pictures from Nas's Life Is Good Release Party

On Monday, Nas held the release party for his 10th album, Life Is Good which was set to drop the next day. Swizz Beatz, Busta Rhymes, Wale, Jay-Z, Beyonce, JD, Angie Martinez, Miguel and a host of other music industry people were present...you can check out some of the pictures from the event below. By the way, the event was DJ'ed Q-Tip, and hosted by MOET.-

Life Is Good Album from Nas Drops Tomorrow

I am really excited for this Nas album; being a fan and all, and having been listening to the leaked version since the weekend, I think this is going to be one of His most successful albums in recent times. On this album, he is on point on everything; lyrics, beats, production, flow...it appeals to a larger audience. In the last three days, I have literally read hundreds of tweets from people on twitter who are speechless to the greatness of this album. It is almost like Nas is this new rapper that just got in the game.



I urge every lover of hip hop to go out and support this album tomorrow; it is worth that $5 and much more. Before I go on, I want to touch on a subject that has been discussed in hip hop circles a lot  in the last 3 years or so- people saying Untitled and Distant Relatives were wac. The reason why that shit pisses me off so much is because the people saying this things are people that never took time to listen to the album in the first place. They probably heard someone say it, and just joined in. Or, they saw that it didn't go platinum, and just judged it on those standards.



I think those last two Nas projects, Distant Relatives- 2010 (with Damian Marley), and Untitled (2008), are two of his most creative albums to date. A lot of people probably werent feeling it because it didn't have the  catchy hooks, or heavy samples. If you tell me Hip Hop Is Dead (2006) wasn't so good, I will agree with you, but not Untitled. Untitled, I think is Nas's best album to date. If you don't think so, you are probably a band-wagon guy, and not a true hip hop lover, or Nas fan.



Back to Life Is Good. I think what makes this album really cool is that fact that Nas was able to balance dope lyricism and crazy flow while making some really cool radio friendly songs. Of cos he has some "back to the 90s" type of tracks (the first three tracks fit this description), but when the album gets lighter you hear tracks like "Reachout" featuring Mary J Blige, Summer on Smash with Swizz Beats and "You Wouldn't Understand" featuring Victoria Monet...and the last track on the non-deluxe edition, By Bye; You can't but get on your feet and vibe to it when these tracks come on. Nuff said, make sure you support Nas tomorrow and Buy LIFE IS GOOD!!!

Nas Says Life Is Good- Check Out New Interview With Guardian

Nas has been real open to the media of late, and in this interview with guardian.co.uk, he opens up on recording his 10th album, Life Is Good, an also why he has Kelis' wedding gown on his album cover...enjoy the read.




Ever since Illmatic, his classic 1994 debut, Nas has been hailed as the "greatest rapper alive", but the 38-year-old hasn't always enjoyed the best of times. On a blustery afternoon in London, wearing shades in a windowless hotel boardroom, he's prepared to weather whatever else the world has to throw at him. "Just so much happening, and me getting older," he says. "I mean I love getting older, but it's just a lot of responsibility, a lot of things on top of each other.








"I was seeing a lot of hypocrisy in the music industry, and seeing the world in such a bad place economically," he continues. "Meanwhile, I'm supposed to love Barack Obama being a black man as president. I'm glad I lived to see it – the flipside is, after we get over that, it's back to the politics, and it's something which doesn't have time for people, it's its own animal ..."






Then there are his specific troubles. "I ran into tax problems that really caught me off-guard," he says, referencing an ongoing run-in with the US Internal Revenue Service over a $6.5m (£4.1m) unpaid bill. "I was screwed over, and at the same time I had a very public divorce, with a young son I wasn't able to see."






In 2009, he filed to end his four-year marriage to Kelis, the R&B star, just months before the birth of their son, Knight Jones. He always brought an acute sense of self-awareness to his celebrated spats with rival Jay-Z in the early noughties, and age and maturity are recurring themes on his new album, Life Is Good. But the provocative cover artwork suggests a more youthful desire for attention. The image shows a forlorn Nas, clad in an immaculate white suit, alone in a club VIP lounge, his former wife's green wedding dress draped over his knee. Their split was followed by a year of expensive wrangling over support and legal fees.






If your dirty laundry is going to be aired in public whether you like it or not, you may as well take it to its logical conclusion and put the laundry on your album cover, I suggest. Did you see the dress in your wardrobe and think "that's going on the album cover"?






"I found it in my house and thought, it's going somewhere! Either on the cover of my album, or burning in a garbage can." He laughs. "I was angry when I first found it. Hurt and angry – but I don't think she left it deliberately to hurt me. It's just part of the dress, so I don't know where the rest of it is. But it made all the sense in the world for me to ... hold on to that." He pauses. "I guess that's just my personality.






"My wedding and my marriage was, for the most part, some of the most amazing times of my life." He clears his throat. "She's an incredible woman. It just ended really publicly, it seemed real bad. I guess this is my Here, My Dear album, that Marvin Gaye made. It might not be quite so much about the marriage or the divorce, but it's still that kind of record for me."






It's not just the last three years he's reflecting on in Life Is Good, especially now he's ridden out two decades in hip-hop, has two children, and is approaching his 40th birthday. His native Queensbridge in Queens, New York, the largest public housing project in America, looms large over the album: "fifth floor apartment in the projects", "elevators out of order", and on A Queens Story, even in the production: the epic violin sweeps could be straight out of a Broadway musical.






"It's about how I got here. An appreciation of the journey, seen in retrospect. I really love the era that I got into the rap game, and because I lived it, it was something that's been calling me. So I wanted it to feel like that 80s Queens sound, but to take it to where I am today, which is more mature."






He tried to harness that sound with the album's main producers, Salaam Remi and No ID – "but like, not too much of it," he clarifies. This was never supposed to be a retro album – with the exception of Reach Out, recorded with Mary J Blige. It's a reworking of a DJ Hot Day mastermix, a Queensbridge classic from 1987 that mixed hip-hop with New Edition. "I remember buying it from a flea market," Nas says. "When I hear Mary singing, I'm taken back to late 80s New York – to Queens, to Harlem, to the rest of the boroughs." It's funny to think that it's 25 years since the original, before hip-hop was a global phenomenon – and Nas is a touch wistful, reminiscing about local legends such as Marley Marl, MC Shan, and Roxanne Shanté. "It was storytelling, and it was super local – when you heard a record from Brooklyn, it introduced you to Brooklyn in a way nothing else could do. When hip-hop was smaller, this is how we found out about different places – and that still lives in all of us who love hip-hop."






Nonetheless, "hip-hop belongs to all of us now," he says. "I've matured, and my music is going to reflect that. I don't use words like 'bitches' as much as I used to in my daily life, but it's still in my music – music's my outlet, but it's not that mature yet. I'm not singing jazz yet, I'm not Sinatra."






Even if dwarfed by Illmatic, the new album is his strongest for several years. Among its highlights is Cherry Wine, featuring the late Amy Winehouse. On Me and Mr Jones from Back to Black, she'd sung about being pissed off at the prospect of missing a Nas gig; Salaam Remi worked on that record, and before its release in 2006, he effected an introduction. "He said: 'There's this girl, you guys are just alike, you write the same, you think alike, you share the same birthday," Nas recalls.






"She was wise way beyond her years, dude. She was too wise. Man, she would call me and I'd be laughing the entire conversation," he laughs. "We'd be talking about movies, music ... she wouldn't soften the blow when she said what she had to say, it didn't matter who she was talking about."






I remind him that the opening track on Life Is Good includes the disarming line: "I'm pushing 40, don't applaud for me, I'm exhausted." He doesn't seem exhausted. In fact, the album title's not tongue-in-cheek at all, is it? "I think if I heard someone else talking about their life, describing all the problems I've had, they'd look like they were through. Done. But there's something about me – I'm smiling. Those things are really not bad enough to put me in a slump. I'm smiling with the opportunity to wake up every morning."






He leans back in his chair and winds up the interview. "You know that saying, 'Don't run down and grab one cow, walk down and grab them all?'" I nod, lying. "I guess I'm just in a better  place now."

Snippets of Nas's Life Is Good Album

I just heard the snippets of all the tracks off Nas's Life Is Good album scheduled to drop on the 17th, and I am really impressed. In case you don't know, snippets are 30second play of tracks for promotional purposes before the actually album drops. Most of the tracks are really cool, but the ones that really stand-out in my opinion are the ones with Mary J Blige, Swizz Beats, and Large Professor.





I don't want to say too much, you can follow this link to check them out yourself- Life Is Good Snippets