#Nas the lost tapes 2 how to
“Then came the Juice Crew and the who’s who: G Rap, Rakim and, beats made in the QU.” Nas clearly knows how to honor his fellow giants of the genre - sprinkling a few Biggie and 2Pac lyrical bites across The Lost Tapes 2 advances that cause in its own right. “The early 80’s, we babies… was changing hip-hop,” Nas reflects. Yet this track was made largely in the template of Hip Hop is Dead tracks like “Who Killed It?” in its cinematic overview of the emergence and evolution of rap music. “Queensbridge Politics” was recorded much later on, as reflected by references to the 2017 passing of Nas’ fellow Queens MC, Prodigy of Mobb Deep, and the vandalism of his murals around town. It’s pretty easy to tell which record “Beautiful Life” was once destined to be on (hint: “life is good, I must admit it,” the chorus goes) and one imagines that the tracks that dive into hip-hop history may have previously been intended for 2006’s Hip Hop is Dead, an album that served as a reminder for younger rap artists to remember and honor their musical heritage. One element that should make The Lost Tapes 2 enjoyable for longtime Nas fans is the fun in guessing which old albums these various outtakes were pulled from. His concern for the well-being of the New York projects where he was raised remains strong narrative fodder. It’s a concept that evokes the hunger of the emerging 20-year-old MC who was “robbin’ foreigners, take their wallets and jewels, and wrip they green cards” way back in ‘94. Nas maintains this bold display of energy on “Lost Freestyle,” as he describes “smackin’ up the dude with the gun, take the jewels and the funds,” all so that this rich man’s “war with the bloodsuckers of the poor” can be brought to an end. Other early numbers benefit from Nas’ nimble flow, including “Jarreau of Rap (Skatt Attack),” which features an unusually playful chorus (“Melody, harmony, melody, steadily,” he bounces along) from the usually dead-serious urban storyteller.
Nas’ descriptions of rappers who have “ never shot nobody but be shooting people in their rhymes” echo the theme of hip-hop being capable of verbal violence and devastation that he previously explored on fan favorites such as “Got Ur Self A…” and “One Mic.” It’s a powerful metaphor that lifts this first track to standout status. Nas gets things started on a strong note with “No Bad Energy,” which is bolstered by a hypnotic choir wailing ominously over the rapper’s assurances that “ I’m oblivious to you skeptics,” and other boasts to that effect. While this new release inevitably lacks the cohesion of a proper LP recorded in one take, enough meaningful material and curiosity value have been salvaged here to make The Lost Tapes 2 worth a spin. Such a concept may seem rather scrappy, but it’s also reminiscent of the strategy behind the original Lost Tapes album from 2002, which endures as one of the finest hidden gems from Nas’ bulky catalogue. Released July 2019, The Lost Tapes 2 doesn’t really break this trend, as it largely consists of discarded tracks from Nas’ past albums- even going as far back as 1999’s I Am… - rather than any freshly-recorded vocals. Seven years have gone by since 2012’s Life is Good, and a seven-track EP is largely all we’ve seen from Nas during the interim- and even that was far from his most universally-acclaimed project. Why is it, though, that it’s taken Illmatic ’s anniversary to bring Nas back into the spotlight, rather than to keep him in it? Simply and unfortunately, a paucity of new material has doomed the rap legend to second-tier relevance in recent years. He’s recently been performing the album alongside the National Symphony Orchestra, who have translated hip-hop instrumentation into a classical score with astonishing fluidity, and the hip-hop press has widely taken note of this celebrated debut having reached its first quarter-century. Combing through Nas’ last few albums yields enough strong material to form a worthy sequel to 2002’s The Lost Tapes.Īs Illmatic turns 25 this year, its author will deservedly be thrust back into the spotlight.
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