After pronouncing an entire genre dead, the progenitor of New York hip-hop turned his eye to a broader horizon: race relations. To that end, Nas originally intended to name Untitled an unprintable epithet, and though the moniker has changed, the album it represents is still blazingly incendiary.
Untitled’s tracks brim with expert production (notably, Polow da Don, Jay Electronica and stic.man) and Nas’ poetic wizardry, a testament to the struggle of tackling an issue this complex. “Sly Fox” is Nas’ long-awaited riposte to Bill O’Reilly—a deft potshot at Fox News, which he blasts as “visual cancer.” It’s unquestionably Untitled’s capstone: heavy guitar riffs buoy Nas’ crushing flow as he delivers lyrical bullets to the heart of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire.
Unfortunately, no amount of slick beats and swagger can camouflage Untitled’s defects. “Make the World Go Round” is an utterly forgettable club track, especially thanks to a phoned-in feature from the king of generic ballads, Chris Brown. “Hero” is the album’s other, much stronger, shot at the pop charts: a rollicking banger dense with rich synth harmonies and fiery verse. It’s unimpeachable as a single, but a Faustian bargain since Nas is employing the thundering percussion and computerized instrumentation of the “southern sound” that compelled him to declare hip-hop DOA.
This dichotomy ultimately gets exhausting. No matter how good the album sounds, it’s wedded to an all-too-ambiguous message. Nas self-aggrandizes as “the king of bling, jewels and Bentleys” in one line of “Farrakhan,” and then ponders his own mortality as a “revolutionary” in the next. Like Hip-Hop Is Dead, Untitled ruminates and points fingers without offering solutions.
Superlative prophet or aging grouch struggling for relevance, Nas splits the difference with a schizophrenic mélange of inspired lyricism and trite rap clichés. Hip-hop ain’t dead, but Nas can still kill it.
Listen to "Sly Fox" from Untitled
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The author missed the context of Nas' line about “the king of bling, jewels and Bentleys.”
To quote:
"Alphabet boys still plotting against me
To hush me up and stuff me in the pockets of history
You won't remember why they came to clip me
When time go by, you'll soon forget me
They say he was the king of bling, jewels, and Bentley's
Then they use one of my lines just to prove I'm guilty
Don't let them kill me"
So ironically, a line about being taken out of context has been taken out of context by Mr. Saba.
Dear Michael Saba,
This music was not made for everyone and obviously not for you. Dont try to understand it because you will fail as you did typing a trashy review.
In most reviews, the album is criticized for the beat selection, the irony here is that you applauded the production but attacked the lyrics of this album.
Lyrically, I would say this would the sharpest album the MC has put out, even topping Illmatic in that unlike what you said in your review, he actually does stay on topic for the majority of the album. You are the second reviewer to state his alleged hypocrisy - king of bling/revolutionary - on "Farrakhan" when he spoke specically about media outlets using snippets of his work to detract from his overall point in that very song. It makes me wonder if you (and other critics) actually listened to what Nas said on this album or simply wished to state he failed like you expected? I suggest the next time you listen to the album you read the lyrics from the with the songs, maybe then you will understand this album. He did alot more than you gave him credit for on this album.
This album is a Eye Opener. Nas completely impressed me in his political views, better yet "reality" This album was perfectly engineered for the ones that can relate, and also for the ones that can not relate that have an open mind. Nas if you can see this comment. You "killed it" Thank you. Love the album.
"Do You fools listen to music? Or do you skim through it?" Why make is so obvious that you didn't really take the time to LISTEN to the album. Every negative review of this album I have read have held absolutely no merit. In one review the writer insisted that had 2pac written the Song N.I.G.G.E.R. he would have made sure that it formed into an actual acronym when clearly in the song he says "Do i mean it like slave, master? N.I.G.G.E.R. No I'm Gangsta, Gotta Eat Rappers" Man I swear yall don't listen.
. In one review the writer insisted that had 2pac written the Song N.I.G.G.E.R. he would have made sure that it formed into an actual acronym when clearly in the song he says "Do i mean it like slave, master? N.I.G.G.E.R. No I'm Gangsta, Gotta Eat Rappers"
Wow, I absolutely love that song, but I never picked up on that. I found that line puzzling actually, but now that I get it it's great. Thanks.
Here's a little thing that i'd like to mention: All of these Onionhead critics always talk about how Nas said Hip Hop Is Dead. The thing is that he only said that so that everyone would be like "F**k that! It's not dead!" Therefor keeping it alive. He just wanted to wake heads up..
The album was masterful. It is obvious the reviewer did not really listen to this. Nas truly touched the spirit of a part of our American culture. How could you not hear that? Well Saba, it's like Nas said on the first track on of this record: "I'm over ya'll heads, like a bulimic on a sea-saw."
"most intellectuals will only half listen" Come on Saba open your mind baby boy. Don't fall for the "Oke-doke" that the media fools everyone with.
if you wanna read a good review check out popmatters.com. they also have a track-by-track analysis running in their blogs.