While most of these lame ass blogs were rushing their “best of…” lists in the final months of 2009, I kept mine on ice. You know, just in case Detox 2 was to secure a prosperous December 31st release date or something. But now that the 00s are a distant memory of crunk, emo and rappers not wanting to be rappers, it’s the perfect time to take a hindsight look over the best 5 releases of the decade.
Please note: the opinions herein do not represent a consensus from Steady Bloggin’. Nay, it’s just me bluffing my way through 10 years of hip-hop history and pretending to know things through a delicate mixture of disjointed hyperbole, speculative thought and advanced cliche. Enjoy!
No this ain’t the Mack 10 album, this is the newest compilation compiled by True King. Check it out as The Paper Route sports a few obscure gems, underground classics and get money anthems. –Philaflava
Here’s the culmination of the Nas: Remixes series. Check below for the Nas – It Was Remixed compilation.
Nas – Hope (Wyldfyer)
Nas at his best and his worst. In other words, A microcosm of his career post-2003. We’re given a glimpse of his lyricism at its vivid apex, a reminder that after all these years he’s still arguably hip-hop’s best storyteller – only to have it ripped away after a minute and a half so he can launch into some nonsensical tirade about the album title. And oh yeah, rather than pay to use the sample for his album mix, did he opt to run with some shitbag acapella version instead? Of course he fucking did.
Nas – 2nd Childhood (Soul Supreme)
Supreme provides some sultry soul for Nas’ classic meandering hood tale. A criminally underused producer, loved his Saturday Night Agenda album.
Nas – Thief’s Theme (Cookin Soul)
Maybe the last strong street single from Nas, this mix injects some 70s flavor. Can we get a Nas album half produced by these guys and the other half Soul Supreme? The only thing iller would be the sample clearance budget.
Nas – Life’s a Bitch (Arsenal)
This high octane mix breathes new life into the rather melancholy Illmatic original
Nas – Memory Lane (DJ Premier)
Drudging, heavy beat. A dope effort, but I can’t help feeling slightly underwhelmed. It is Premier after all.
Gaffled the cover from an old 12″ compilation, cuz they wasnt rockin it right. This download is fully tagged up and tweaked to slide right into your iPod/Zune/whateva, enjoy.
01 Nas – Stillmatic Intro (Soul Supreme)
02 Nas – It Aint Hard to Tell (Nick Fury)
03 Nas – Life’s a Bitch (Arsenal)
04 Nas – NY State of Mind 2 (45 King)
05 Nas – Take it in Blood (Alternate)
06 Nas – Street Dreams (K-Def)
07 Nas – Halftime (The Butcher)
08 Nas – Bridging The Gap (Marley Marl)
09 Nas – Made You Look (Single rmx)
10 Nas – The World Is Yours (DJ Hollywood)
11 Nas – One Love (LG)
12 Nas – 2nd Childhood (Cookin’ Soul)
13 Nas – Ether (Soul Supreme)
14 Nas – It Ain’t Hard To Tell (Large Professor)
15 Nas – Memory Lane (DJ Premier)
16 Nas – Ghetto Prisoners (45 King)
17 Nas – Lifes a Bitch (Buckwild)
18 Nas – Surviving the Times (Cool & Dre)
19 Nas – The World is Yours (Q-Tip)
20 Nas – Family (Cloudkickers)
21 Nas – Street Dreams (R Kelly)
22 Nas – The Cross (9th Wonder)
23 Nas – 2nd Childhood (Soul Supreme)
24 Nas – Thief’s Theme (Cookin’ Soul)
25 Nas – Hope (Wyldfyer)
MPC wiz and protégé of Marley Marl, K-Def’s jazzy mix quickens the pace and throws in his trademark drum patterns. Not only a fantastic remix, it’s notable if only for K being the antithesis of Trackmasters. Wasn’t it great when a producer could flip an original and make you feel like you were listening to an entirely different song?
Nas – The World Is Yours (DJ Hollywood)
Popped up on DJ Mike Nice’s Please Listen To My Demo mixtape from 2008. The second verse is Nas at his finest, it’s a shame he never revisited these unused lyrics.
Nas – Stillmatic Intro (Soul Supreme)
Fantastic usage of The Moments’ “What Is Your Name” sample. Any beat that can go up against the Hangmen 3 original should be applauded.
Nas – Halftime (Butcher)
DJ Bubie sticks fairly close to the script on this one opting to maintain the original drum rhythms while fusing in a latin feel.
Nas – Bridging the Gap (Marley Marl)
Queensbridge’s finest producer and emcee on the same track. Nice horns. I forget which 80s track used this break, answers on a postcard please.
I don’t believe in none of that shit ya facts is backwards. Day Three.
Nas – NY State of Mind 2 (45 King)
Water dripping from rust-punctured pipes lining abandoned inner-city tenements. If ever there was a successor to the “Come Clean” beat, it’s this. The fact that it instantly gives Nas’ verses new life is a mere bonus. Again, peace to Vaporized from Philaflava for the blend.
Nas – The Cross (9th Wonder)
Oozes soul. Why he departed this formula for the forgettable tripe he produces these days boggles the mind.
Nas – It Ain’t Hard to Tell (Large Pro)
LP decides to flip Bizmarkie’s “Highly recognized as the king of disco and” line from “Nobody Beats the Biz.” The rest is history.
Nas – Ether (Soul Supreme)
Victory music only slightly hampered by the fact that it uses the clean acapella. Falls off a little on the last verse too.
Nas – One Love (LG)
Smooths the edges of one of Nas’ sharper efforts. The LG Experience even manage to layer the hook with an R&B refrain without it soundin’ corny.
It has come to my attention via The Bridge ’94 blog that you are the producer of the classic unreleased Nas song “Dejavu.” It may seem odd to label an unreleased track as a classic but over the years, “Deja Vu” has earned this status. Despite the fact that only relatively lo-fi, unmastered versions have made it to listener’s ears, it is apparent to any rap fan that the song is a bonafide gem. Nas’ masterful lyrics combined with your perfectly suited sounds like heaven with a few hisses, so a higher quality version might well be the holy grail for us aging hip hop heads. I speak for the vast majority of our 1,100 subscribers (and thousands of other followers and assorted visitors) in saying that I’ve been fiending for a CD-quality version of this song for what seems like centuries.
It is unfortunate that shady business kept this song from seeing the light of day on a proper release. I understand that this experience must have been hugely frustrating. I also see how it could lead you to believe that there is little interest in the song itself. On this point I beg to differ. Nas’ unreleased and rarities catalogue is deep and has been extensively covered on the internet. There was even a popular blog devoted entirely to such songs. Time and time again, “Deja Vu” is mentioned as one of the shining stars of this unreleased catalog, the rough draft of what should have been a perfect album cut on It Was Written. Not only does the song include the verse that later appeared on “Verbal Intercourse,” it contains a second verse which is arguably even better (the “swimming pool/ sinning fool/ winning jewel” rhyme is some next shit). You produced a monumental song featuring one the genre’s most beloved rappers at his peak and it deserves to be heard – crisp and clear.
Do the right thing, Chris Winston – release a CD quality version of Nas “Dejavu.” Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of pairs of ears eagerly await this.
— Thun, speaking on behalf of The T.R.O.Y. Team, and hip hop fans worldwide.
READERS: If you agree that “Deja Vu” should be released in CD quality format, you should do the following:
1) Respond to this post with a message showing support for the release of “Dejavu” in CD quality. To save time just type “RELEASE IT ALREADY”.
2) Retweet this post on Twitter, and link it on Facebook.
Dirty basement jazz courtesy of Kamaal. Some Nas fans will tell you his 2nd verse on here might just be one of his best. “Switch the flow speed, I’m gettin’ vexed/ Guiliani is 6-6-6.” Can’t hate on that.
Nas – Street Dreams (R Kelly)
Released a month or so after the original, this mix featured completely different lyrics and production. Armed with a superb mini-story in the third verse, the lyricism is much more introspective with its cautionary tales for wannabe ballers. The R Kelly hook melds perfectly with the new beat making it one of the more memorable Nas joints to run some R&B.
Nas – Family (Cloudkickers)
Cloudkickers are DJ Eli and Shan Boogs, perhaps best known for their self titled Fondle ‘Em EP that dropped back in ’99. An assortment of strings and keys lace this one up nicely.
Nas – Made You Look (Single Remix)
Luda and Jadakiss join Nas to remix the song of the year. I need it from the top, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Kiss steals the show as usual. File Nas’s verse alongside his rhyme on “We Major” under ‘really? That’s the best you could fucking come up with?’
Nas – Life’s a Bitch (Buckwild)
The DITC crate-master gives Q-Tip a run for his money with this jazzed out piece of wonderful. Some nice cuts at the end too.
You know how we do. Five days, five tracks. At the end of it all, I’ll upload all joints used in a fully tagged compilation. Enjoy the best of Nas’ remixes.
Nas – It Aint Hard to Tell (Nick Fury)
Fury takes us to the Bridge and back complete with Bizmarkie and Shante samples. So fresh, so fresh. Especially for a remix made a decade late. If that wasn’t enough reason to check it, the alternate verses (including a never before heard Illmatic-era rhyme) should lock it. “I’m blessed with the finesse to express like Shakespeare/ The block’s “Cape Fear,” drop metaphors when the breaks clear.” Word.
Nas – Ghetto Prisoners (45 King)
Peace to Vaporized from Philaflava who concocted the brilliant idea that since I Am was infested with garbage beats courtesy of the usually dependable (if not predictable) Dame Grease and Trackmasters, then maybe adding some Tuff City grit might revitalize the record. The album beat for “Ghetto Prisoners” represents everything that was wrong with 1999 New York production. In other words it was a piece of shit. Which was a rotten shame because the lyricism on the track is some of Nas’ best work. Thanks to this blend, the song is finally listenable and unlike the ridiculously overrated off-rhythm noise that is Nastradoomus, it actually sounds pretty fucking great.
Nas – 2nd Childhood (Cookin’ Soul)
Spanish production outfit Cookin’ Soul serve up some 70s sounds over a Stillmatic classic. The horns and pipes combo is a definite winner and fairly reminiscent of DJ Quik and Pete Rock’s styles. In true PR fashion, there’s a little outro bonus remix of “Last Real Nigga Alive” too. This track is taken from Cookin’ Soul’s Streets Most Wanted Vol 2 tape.
Nas – Surviving the Times (Cool & Dre)
Taken from the Green Lantern and Nas “Nigger Tape,” this mix runs with an eerie ’95 ATLiens vibe. Love the hook, especially the “cause it ain’t hard to tell” link-up. Some people believe this to actually be the original version of the track that appeared on his Greatest Hits compilation. I don’t know about all that, but it definitely holds its weight against the Chris Webber mix.
Nas – Take it In Blood (Alternate Blend)
“Italiano motto, drink like Cus D’amato.” Who knew that an even better version of this cult classic existed? Peace to Justice from Soundcircuit for the blend. DJ Envy shut the fuck up.
Despite being the undisputed greatest rapper in the universe, Nas is easily the worst interviewee in hip-hop history. Boring, incoherent half of the time and usually sprouting off some faux-intellectualisms. But a recent press junket in London helped him top previous efforts as he skillfully sideswiped the real reasons for why he’s not on OB4CL2 and BP3. And what’s this? Nas is rumored to have been offered the presidency of Def Jam? Has his successful tenure at the helm of Ill Will/Braveheart/Whatever-the-fuck-it’s-called-this-week Records not guaranteed him as the rightful heir? Queensbridge we did it baby.
In any case, the post was actually just a sneaky promotional ploy to let you know that this week on steadybloggin.com, we’re running a Nas: The Remixes special. See what I did there?
