Being a
Nas fan for close to 20 years now, I consider myself an authority in
Nas studies. lol! With this post, I am going to be listing the best 10 songs in
Nas's catalog. He has 10 studio albums, and I could have just picked the best song from each album, but I didn't compile this list like that. The songs on this list are the best in his archives, based on the lyrical contents, delivery, and production.
So, here we go.
10.
Cherry Wine
Off his last album,
Life Is Good. It features the late
Amy Whinehouse. The production of the song was done by the legendary
Salaam Remi, so you know that was on-point.
Nas stuck to the subject matter of describing his ideal woman, and he did it perfectly with a smooth delivery.
9.
Ether
Off his 2001 album (Stillmatic). This song was a reply to Jay Z's
Takeover, which everybody thought had ended
Nas's career. I guess that was what made this song so great. This song is like that
Jean Claude Van Damme roundhouse kick after being beating to an almost unconscious state by his enemy. The beat is very simple, but the ferocity of
Nas's lyrics is what really made this song.
8.
Nas Is Like
Off his third album,
I Am. You know when
Nas and
Premo come together, they make magic. Through his career, him and
DJ Premier made great songs together, and this is one of them. The production on the song is just raw and uncut, and Nas drops some deep philosophical words on it. Personally, I think this track is timeless.
7.
Undying Love
The last track off
I Am (1999). How many rappers you know can tell a full story with a whole song, and not lose the technicalities of a rap song? Maybe
Slick Rick,
Eminem and
Biggie. Dude told a whole story, carried his listener along, and reached a climax of the tale at the end, without losing the listener. Not too many people can paint pictures with words the way
Nas does it. This song is ART at its finest. I was 18 when I first heard this song. There were a couple of songs playing on radio, and by mind was just wondering off at nothing, but this song commanded my attention immediately I heard it. This is one of the songs that made me a die-hard
Nas fan.
6.
Made You Look
Off his 6th album,
Godson (2002). A year after the critical acclaimed and commercially successful
Stillmatic, I didn't know what
Nas would come back with that would top it, or even come close to it. Then, I heard the first single off
Godson...and at first, when the beat came on, I was wondering, 'what is Nas gonna do on this funny beat.' And the he rapped,
'Now lets get it all in perspective, for all y'all enjoyment, a song you can step wit/y'all appointed me to bring rap justice, but I ain't five-0, y'all know it's Nas yo.' And I was won over once again. So many quotables on this song, and the fact that it was so different at the time made it really stand-out. It was something that could be played in the club, but you could also bump your head to while riding with the homies. There is even a rumor that a DJ played it in a club
Jay Z was partying at, and he jumped up to vibe to it immediately it came on. They were still at war at the time, but he couldn't fight the feeling.
5.
If I Ruled The World
Off his second album,
It Was Written (1996). This is probably the first song the whole world heard from Nas.
Illmatic is critically acclaimed, but must of the songs didn't get constant air-play on radio like that. With this song,
Nas linked up with label mate,
Lauren Hill, and she made a great chorus for the song. The production was nothing like the raw and uncut ones from his previous album, but
Nas's lyrical ability still shined bright on the song. I guess that is why this song great; the fact that anyone could listen to it and still like it, not just Hip Hop fans. This was definitely the first
Nas song I heard
4.
Hate Me Now
The third track off his third album,
I Am. People say you cement your greatness in Hip Hop with your third album, and
Nas definitely did it with his
I AM album. At the time when
Puff Daddy was well known for his crossover appeal songs,
Nas collaborated with him, and made a song that the streets loved, and could still be played on radio. It didn't have any radio friendliness with the beat, delivery, or lyrics, but it was too monstrous a track not to make it to radio. I think this is the biggest song in
Nas's career. Till this day, that song is very synonymous with
Nas in that people that don't even listen to Nas know that song was done by someone called
Nas once it comes on.
3.
Hero
Off his 9th album,
Untitled. I feel the album this song is on is
Nas's most underrated album of his career. The album is a germ, and my personal best
Nas album. Of cos,
Stilmatic is his best, but this album is my best. With this song, he was not beefing with a fellow rapper, he was beefing with the big wigs, the corporations, the black activists, and he even said the White House called Def Jam and asked them not to allow
Nas release with the Nigger title he wanted to name it. So, this song was like the last song recorded on the album, and acted as a rebuttal to all that were against
Nas and didn't understand his agenda. Lets not even talk of his delivery on this song...how can you go at such speed, and every one of your words is still audible and well understood.
Nas is a genius for this track. He didn't stray off the subject matter all through the song, and the lovely voice of
Kery Hilson on the hook was the icing on the cake.
2.
The World Is Yours
Off
Nas's critical acclaim debut album,
Illmatic (1994). This song is the root that birthed all the other
Nas songs we have heard so far in his career. The signature smooth flow, the kicking of knowledge, the flawless delivery, all and many more made this song great.
1.
One Mic
From
Nas's 5th album,
Stillmatic. What can I say about this song? What should I say. It is hard to explain a song when it encompasses everything you can think a great song should embody. It has a catchy commanding beat; the lyrics are out of this world; creativity is on another level (with the slow start, peak at the middle, and low climax at the end); story/narrative on the song is on-point. I remember being introduced to this girl that loved
Beyonce, and I was thinking, Oh My God, what am I gonna discuss with this girl. Until she found out I was a
Nas fan, and the first time she spoke about afterwards was how creative
Nas was with
One Mic. You got to listen to this song to understand why it is so great.
