Nasir | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album (mini-album)by | ||||
Released | June 15, 2018 | |||
Recorded | June 2018 | |||
Studio | West Lake Ranch (Jackson Hole, Wyoming) [1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 26:29 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
| |||
Nas chronology | ||||
|
Nasir (stylized in all caps) is the eleventh studio album (a mini-album) by American rapper Nas. It was released on June 15, 2018 through Mass Appeal Records and Def Jam Recordings. It succeeds Nas album Life Is Good , released six years prior in 2012. The album features an appearance from Kanye West, who also produced the entirety of the album, as well as guest appearances from Puff Daddy, 070 Shake, Tony Williams, and The-Dream.
The album is executive produced by Kanye West, and is the fourth out of five, seven-track albums West produced in what has become known as the "Wyoming Sessions", with each album being released weekly. It follows the release of Pusha T's Daytona , West's Ye , and West's collaboration with Kid Cudi entitled Kids See Ghosts , and precedes the release of Teyana Taylor's K.T.S.E. . [2] [3] Nasir rose to No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and No. 16 on the UK Albums chart. [4] [5]
American musician DJ Khaled's 2016 album Major Key featured a track titled "Nas Album Done" with Nas which announced the completion of his album. The same year, Kanye West expressed his wish to produce an album by Nas, seemingly promising Barack Obama that he would achieve this. [6] [7]
In May 2017, Nas' brother, Jungle, made a post on Instagram in a recording studio with the hashtag #NasAlbumAlmostDone. [8]
In April 2018, Kanye West announced that he was producing Nas' new album with a release date of June 15, 2018. [9] West later released an incomplete track listing of the five albums he was working on, revealing the Nas track "Everything". [10] On June 12, West revealed a full tentative tracklist for the album, while the album title and cover art was revealed on June 14, a day before release. [11]
A listening party for the album took place on June 14, 2018 in Queensbridge, New York City and was streamed via Mass Appeal's YouTube channel. [11]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 5.8/10 [12] |
Metacritic | 58/100 [13] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [14] |
The A.V. Club | B− [15] |
Exclaim! | 5/10 [16] |
The Guardian | [17] |
Mojo | [18] |
MusicOMH | [19] |
NME | [20] |
Pitchfork | 6.1/10 [21] |
Rolling Stone | [22] |
XXL | 4/5 [23] |
Nasir was met with generally mixed reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 58, based on 16 reviews. [13]
For The A.V. Club , Colin McGowan praised Kanye West's "lavishly triumphant production" on songs such as "White Label" and Nas' political awareness on "Cops Shot the Kid" but observed filler in the "empty empowerment" of "Everything" and the "late-90s jiggy rap" of "Bonjour"; he concluded that Nasir was a less-than-definitive experiment for the rapper. [15] Elizabeth Aubrey of NME wrote: "Whilst stylistically Nasir may well have plenty of strong moments, its contradictions make it a difficult, problematic listen: it's the silences on here which so often deafen." She praised West's production and the album's brevity, as well as Nas' lyrical maturity and social awareness, however noted that the political beliefs shared sometimes "ring hollow", being at odds with views shared by West. She also believed the rapper's male gaze of women conflicted with the album's underlying theme of equality, while failing to address allegations of abuse by Nas' ex-wife Kelis: "It's a deeply troubling conflict on an album that manages to be so successfully woke on one level and yet so blatantly archaic on another". [20]
Alexis Petridis of The Guardian praised West's production and Nas' tackling of social justice issues but also criticised Nas for not addressing domestic violence allegations, as well as for the "mercurial" nature of his lyrics stating "[Nas'] rhymes shifting from acute, powerful indictments of racism to stuff that makes no sense, or seems to be there purely for the purposes of provocation" and describing some of the themes as "conspiracy theories". [17] In a review for Rolling Stone , Paul Thompson described the album as "a frustrating listen, with glimpses of greatness". He wrote that "Nasir is among the weakest Nas albums, but there's nothing spectacular about its failure", describing it as "unfocused and unclear", however noted that "there are interesting flashes elsewhere on the album", praising "Everything" and "Adam and Eve", as well as describing "Cops Shot the Kid" as "cogent". [22] Online hip hop publication HipHopDX described the album as "imperfect fine art", concluding that "When you factor in all its dexterity, randomness and overall generality, it's hard to truly believe Nasir was the album he had been cerebrally building these past six years." [24] Robert Christgau gave the album a one-star honorable mention ( ) in his capsule-review column for Vice , singling out "Cops Shot the Kid" and "Everything" as highlights while crediting Nas for "bringing the knowledge, mixing in the sophistry, and dropping a laugh line he knows the boss [West] can't top: 'Everybody's saying my humility's infectious,' what a card". [25]
While reflecting on the album, Nas expressed confusion as to why the album didn't resonate with audiences and critics. "I don't know what went wrong," Nas began. “I like "Cop Shot the Kid,' I like 'Adam and Eve. I like the music in 'Simple Things.' It's a short album. We just didn't get enough time. I wish we'd worked on it more.“ [26]
Nasir debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 with 77,000 album-equivalent units, of which 49,000 were pure album sales. [27] It serves as Nas's twelfth top-ten album in the United States. [28] The album dropped to the number 36 in its second week, earning an additional 14,000 album-equivalent units. [29]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Not for Radio" (featuring Puff Daddy and 070 Shake) |
| 3:22 | |
2. | "Cops Shot the Kid" (featuring Kanye West) |
|
| 2:47 |
3. | "White Label" |
| 2:58 | |
4. | "Bonjour" (featuring Tony Williams) |
| 3:21 | |
5. | "Everything" (featuring The-Dream and Kanye West) |
| 7:32 | |
6. | "Adam and Eve" (featuring The-Dream) |
| 4:10 | |
7. | "Simple Things" |
|
| 2:19 |
Total length: | 26:29 |
Notes
Samples [31]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse is the seventh studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on November 12, 2002 by Roc-A-Fella Records and Island Def Jam Music Group as a double album. The album serves as a sequel to his sixth album The Blueprint (2001). The album debuted at number one, shipping with first-week sales of 545,000 units. The album is certified 3x Multi-Platinum by the RIAA. In 2013, Jay-Z cited this album as his second-worst due to an overabundance of songs on the album. A one-disc reissue, titled Blueprint 2.1, was released in 2003.
Hip Hop Is Dead is the eighth studio album by American rapper Nas, released December 19, 2006, on Def Jam Recordings. His first album for the label, it was co-financed by Nas's previous label, Columbia Records, which once distributed for Def Jam. The album's title was inspired by Nas's view of the music industry and the state of hip hop music at the time. The album features appearances from Nas's then-wife Kelis, Def Jam label-mates Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Chrisette Michele, as well as will.i.am, Snoop Dogg, and The Game, among others.
808s & Heartbreak is the fourth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 24, 2008, having been recorded earlier that year in September and October at Glenwood Studios in Burbank, California and Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii. Dominating its production, West was assisted by fellow producers No I.D., Plain Pat, Jeff Bhasker, and Mr Hudson, while also utilizing guest vocalists for some tracks, including Kid Cudi, Young Jeezy, and Lil Wayne.
Kanye West Presents: GOOD Music – Cruel Summer, commonly referred to simply as Cruel Summer, is a compilation album by recording artists of American record label GOOD Music, released on September 14, 2012, by the label itself and its parent company, Def Jam Recordings. GOOD Music's founder, American rapper Kanye West, first revealed plans for the label's collaborative album in October 2011. It was preceded by four singles—"Mercy", "Cold", "New God Flow", and "Clique"—that saw mixed success on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album features West himself, alongside the label's then-signees Pusha T, Big Sean, Teyana Taylor, Kid Cudi, John Legend, Common, D'banj and Malik Yusef, as well as affiliates Jay-Z, 2 Chainz, Travis Scott, and Cyhi the Prynce, among others. Production of Cruel Summer was primarily handled by members of GOOD Music's production wing, Very GOOD Beats, which included West, Hit-Boy, Hudson Mohawke, Travis Scott and Lifted, among others.
Doggumentary is the eleventh studio album by American West Coast hip hop recording artist Snoop Dogg. It was released on March 29, 2011 on the Priority Records record label. The album was produced by Battlecat, The Cataracs, Gorillaz, David Banner, THX, DJ Khalil, Fredwreck, Jake One, David Guetta, Mike Dean, Jeff Bhasker, Lex Luger, Meech Wells, Mr. Porter, Rick Rock, Rick Rude, Scoop DeVille, Scott Storch, Warryn Campbell, Kanye West, DJ Reflex, among others.
Yeezus is the sixth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West. It was released on June 18, 2013, through Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. West gathered a number of artists and close collaborators for the production, including Mike Dean, Daft Punk, Noah Goldstein, Arca, Hudson Mohawke, and Travis Scott. The album also features guest vocals from Justin Vernon, Chief Keef, Kid Cudi, Assassin, King L, Charlie Wilson, and Frank Ocean.
Major Key is the ninth studio album by American disc jockey and record producer DJ Khaled. It was released on July 29, 2016, by We the Best Music Group and Epic Records. The album features guest appearances from Jay-Z, Future, Drake, Nas, Big Sean, Kendrick Lamar, Betty Wright, J. Cole, Bryson Tiller, Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, August Alsina, Jeremih, Rick Ross, Kodak Black, Jeezy, French Montana, YG, Yo Gotti, Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, Jadakiss, Fabolous, Fat Joe, Busta Rhymes, Kent Jones, Travis Scott, Lil Wayne, Meghan Trainor, Wiz Khalifa, Wale, and Mavado.
Bobby Tarantino II is the sixth mixtape by American rapper Logic. It was released on March 9, 2018, through Def Jam Recordings and Visionary Music Group. The mixtape features guest appearances from Logic's alter-ego, Young Sinatra, alongside 2 Chainz, Big Sean and Wiz Khalifa, with the production handled by Illmind, Marshmello and 6ix, among others. Bobby Tarantino II serves as a sequel to Logic's mixtape, Bobby Tarantino (2016).
Kids See Ghosts is the only studio album by the American hip hop supergroup Kids See Ghosts, composed of the rappers and producers Kanye West and Kid Cudi. It was released on June 8, 2018, through Wicked Awesome Records and GOOD Music, and distributed by Def Jam Recordings. Prior to the release, West and Cudi had collaborated on each others' work since 2008, although they experienced personal quarrels due to creative differences. The first studio sessions for the album began after the two reunited in late 2016.
Ye is the eighth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West. It was released on June 1, 2018, through GOOD Music and distributed by Def Jam Recordings. Following controversy surrounding an interview with TMZ, West re-recorded all the work on the album, with him completing it over the course of just two weeks at West Lake Ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Guest vocals from PartyNextDoor, Ty Dolla Sign, Kid Cudi, Charlie Wilson, Jeremih, and 070 Shake, among others, are included.
Daytona is the third studio album by American rapper Pusha T. It was released on May 25, 2018, by G.O.O.D. Music and Def Jam Recordings. The album features guest appearances from Rick Ross and Kanye West, and uncredited additional vocals by Tony Williams and 070 Shake. Kanye West also served as executive producer and produced all of its tracks, with additional production from Andrew Dawson and Mike Dean.
K.T.S.E. is the second studio album by American recording artist Teyana Taylor, released on June 22, 2018, by GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings.
"Cops Shot the Kid" is a song by American rap artist Nas featuring fellow rap artist Kanye West, and the second track off of Nas' eleventh studio album Nasir (2018). The track was written by Nas, West, Andrew Dawson, and Che Smith, with West handling production and Dawson providing additional production. The song samples "Children's Story" by Slick Rick throughout, and includes dialogue spoken by Richard Pryor from the film Wattstax (1974); both are also credited as writers.
YSIV is the fourth studio album by American rapper Logic, released on September 28, 2018, by Visionary Music Group and Def Jam Recordings. The album art, featuring a mugshot of Logic, is stylized similarly to the famous mugshot of Frank Sinatra and reminiscent of the artwork for Logic's second mixtape Young Sinatra, released in 2011. The album serves as a sequel to the mixtape Young Sinatra: Welcome to Forever, released in 2013, and is the fourth and final installment of the Young Sinatra series. The album is notable for being credited as an album in the Young Sinatra series, as the previous titles were released as mixtapes. It features guest appearances from all living members of Wu-Tang Clan, Wale, Jaden, Ryan Tedder and Hailee Steinfeld, among others.
Jesus Is King is the ninth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West, released on October 25, 2019, and distributed through GOOD Music. The album follows a Christian theme, different from his usual work. West described it as "an expression of the gospel". It features guest appearances from Clipse, Ty Dolla Sign, Kenny G, Fred Hammond, Ant Clemons, and the Sunday Service Choir. Production is included from West, Federico Vindver, Angel Lopez, BoogzDaBeast, and Timbaland, among others.
The Lost Tapes 2 is a compilation album by American rapper Nas, released on July 19, 2019 by Mass Appeal Records and Def Jam Recordings. It is the sequel to the compilation album The Lost Tapes, released in 2002. The Lost Tapes 2 features unreleased tracks from Nas’ last four studio albums: Hip Hop Is Dead (2006), Untitled (2008), Life Is Good (2012) and the album scrapped in favor of Nasir (2018). It includes production from producers such as RZA, Swizz Beatz, Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, No I.D., Pete Rock and The Alchemist, among others.
The Big Day is the debut studio album by American rapper Chance the Rapper, released on July 26, 2019. The album follows several mixtapes by the rapper including the reissue of his collaborative Merry Christmas Lil' Mama in 2017, and was his first solo project since Coloring Book in 2016. The album was heavily influenced by Chance's marriage to his then wife. The album was lauded by most critics, but certain aspects of the work found limited commercial success. The album received wide negative attention and backlash from fans on social media and other Internet communities citing inconsistencies of quality throughout the work. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, Chance's highest-charting entry to date.
Whole Lotta Red is the second studio album by American rapper Playboi Carti. It was released through AWGE and Interscope Records on December 25, 2020. The album consists of 24 tracks and features guest appearances from American rappers Kanye West, Kid Cudi and Future. Production was executively handled by West, who appears on the song "Go2DaMoon" and was primarily handled by F1lthy and Art Dealer alongside several other record producers, including Pi'erre Bourne, Maaly Raw, Lil 88, Jasper Harris, Ojivolta and Wheezy. Work on the album commenced in late 2018 and concluded in November 2020. The album serves as a follow-up to his debut studio album, Die Lit (2018).
King's Disease is the twelfth studio album by American rapper Nas. It was released on August 21, 2020, through Mass Appeal Records and marketed by Universal Music Group. It succeeds his eleventh album, Nasir, released two years prior. The album features guest appearances from Charlie Wilson, Hit-Boy, Big Sean, Don Toliver, Lil Durk, Anderson .Paak, Brucie B, Nas's supergroup the Firm, Fivio Foreign, and ASAP Ferg.
It's Almost Dry is the fourth studio album by American rapper Pusha T. It was released on April 22, 2022 by GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings. It served as his final release with the former label.