Track Listing

1. Get Down
2. The Cross
3. Made You Look
4. Last Real N**** Alive
5. Zone Out feat. Bravehearts
6. Hey Nas feat. Kelis and Claudette Ortiz
7. I Can
8. Book Of Rhymes
9. Thugz Mansion (N.Y) feat. 2pac
10. Mastermind
11. Warrior Song feat. Alicia Keys
12. Revolutionary Warfare feat. Lake
13. Dance
14. Heaven

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20202 in Music
• Released on: 2002-12-16
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics

Amazon.co.uk Review
Despite its grandiose title, God's Son features a semi-repentant Nas. After his stunning debut, many moons ago, it's been downhill ever since for the New York MC. Embroiled in petty spats, overblown productions, large paydays and a huge case of ego-itus, his original brilliance seemed lost forever.

However the two-disc God's Son is a return to form. The first single, "Made You Look" is a barnstorming collaboration with Fat Joe. "The Book of Rhymes" is Nas back to his lyrical best, once again showing himself as the real inheritor to Rakim's MC crown. Nas goes deep into the funk on "Get Down", which features a heavy chunk of James Brown, another echo of Rakim's work to which Nas has openly aspired to. There are unsavoury moments. Nas's referral to sleeping with hookers on "Pussy Killz" veers between a sexual-health warning and a tongue lashing of women in general. He also advocates the creationist theory on "Dance". Perhaps he's trying to get the Texas Christian vote? However, such lyrical theorising will probably pass most by--those who just want to hear the beats. On this, God's Son delivers particularly well, especially with the Alicia Keys-enhanced tribalist "Warrior's Song".

God's Son suffered heavy bootlegging prior to release and the track listing changed radically. Plenty of (good) material wasn't officially released--undoubtedly there's another Lost Tapes album on the way. Tupac's appearance on "Thugz Mansion" is proof positive that the Tupac impersonator out there is doing very good business. Why didn't they work the same trick with Elvis? --Jake Barnes

CD Description
Sixth album from the man born Nasir Jones and the first to feature his real name on the cover. Moving away from the pophooks which filled his last few albums, Nas has gone back to a raw, minimal, old-school street sound and written lyricsof a more personal and introspective nature. Includes the singles 'Made You Look' and 'I Can'.

Customer Reviews

Emotional, Detailed, Vivid Hip Hop by the G.O.D.
This was a big suprise. Stillmatic was good, but this was a revelation to me. In "Get Down" nas once again proves that no one tells a narrative quite like him. Its followed by the eminem produced "The Cross" one of the highlights of the album. Nas tells it like it is- he paved the way and influenced a genration of aspiring rappers. Its his burden. His Cross. The beat is supplied by Eminem ,very simplistic but so effective. It works. A classic nas cut. Next "Made you look" this is such a dope track . A cut that can be played in the clubs but is in no way an overly commerical track. Next is the "Last Real Nigga Alive" in which nas takes us back to the early years of his career and his rivalry with B.I.G and Jay z. It also explains his relative absence from the rap scene following "It Was Written"- he had to tend to his sick mother (who died during the making of this album). Other standouts are "Revolutionary Warfare" and "Warriors Song" with alicia keys. "I can" is a history lesson for us all. Alot of people say it could have done with the kids chorus but its not all that bad.One of my favourites has to be the Alchemist produced "Book of Rhymes" which has Nas reading fragments of his rhymes from a scrap book before discarding them , turning the page and starting on another rhyme. He does this frequently on the track, and its a fantastic "concept" song. Concepts are not new for nas. On "It Was Written" it was "I Gave u Power" where he rapped from a gun's point of view (which likely influenced 2pac to write "me and my girlfriend") and on "stillmatic" it was "rewind" where he told a story backwards. The cut people are not feeling is "Zone Out". its not bad. the beat is original and dope and nas drops some great rhymes- too bad jungle and Wizz cant keep up but then again who can with nas? "Hey Nas" is an enjoyable little ditty with kelis, and the emotional "Dance", a dedication to his mother must rank as one of the most moving cuts ever in hip hop. Nas has been a victim of his own debut which forever marked him out as one of the greatest of his generation. I also have to send a shout out to Salaam Remi. He provides the beats for about 5 of the songs on this album. If he doesnt become hot property after this album it would be an injustice. The BONUS cd is a bit of a disappointment- theres just a picture slide and some new cuts but where are the interiviews with nas??. videos?? it seems pointless. However the songs are ok- "The G.O.D." is fun, "P***y Kills" could have done with less of the misogyny because it does warn us about the dangers of unprotected sex. The freestyle wasnt as dope as i was expecting but its not wack. with this album he has come full circle. He can now state his case for being considered the greatest of all time. Tupac will always be an icon, but for sheer lyrical ability nas has very few peers. Thank u Nas.U have restored my faith in hip hop.

Great follow up to Stillmatic, but this time more hip-hop
God's Son is a more mature album than any of Nasir Jones's previous efforts. The title of his latest instalment to the Nas series suggests there is a religious/spiritual undertone to this album, this is not entirely the case. Nas has not left all his deep thoughts and militancy on Stillmatic where he vents his frustration on issues such as oppression, poverty, racism & realism. Songs such as "Heaven", "Thugz Mansion" (featuring 2pac) and in particular "Revolutionary Warfare" demonstrate his effectiveness in voicing his opinions due to the emotive language he uses. Another heartfelt song "Dance" is a tribute to his mother who recently passed away. Apart from the songs mentioned above the rest of the album is real hip-hop. The beats, tunes, production and rhyme style are what hip-hop is all about, and this album has it all. "The Cross" (which happens to be produced by Eminem) and "Made You Look" in particular are excellent hip-hop joints. Nas' new album seems to be the only current well known rapper's album around representing real hip-hop, whereas Jay-Z's "The Blueprint-2", Xzibit's "Man vs. Machine", Ja Rule's "The Last Temptation" and Snoop Dogg's "Paid The Cost To Be The Boss" all seem to have major elements of commerciality, pop & r'n'b contained within them. In conclusion God's Son is a few touches more underground than Stillmatic, but it's this fact may cement his place as the best, realest and most intelligent MC of today. Jay-Z may be the self-professed Sinatra of rap, but the fact is Nas is the best MC in rap, and that speaks volume. - Usman Majid

God's Son brings the Holy Spirit
If you are talking straight lyricists - artists who can paint pictures in your mind with the use of clever wordplay, metaphors and words with double-meanings, it doesn't get any better than Nas and GZA. Both steeped in consciousness, MC battles, commercial success and New York City folklore, you would be hard-pressed to find any two MCs better than the Queens and Brooklyn-natives.

God's Son Across The Belly

This may be Nas' best album, lyrically. And in a pure sign of maturation and self-confidence, Nas selected production that is complimentary rather than overpowering. The music plays more like a soundtrack than a jukebox. To flip a phrase from Jadakiss : Nas doesn't use beats for help, he helps the beats.

God's Son is a theme album, a rare occurrence in Hip-Hop, where an artist is able to stay disciplined enough to emphasize a handful of important points over music that forces you to listen to the album rather than simply bump it in your system or leave it on as background music. No track-skipping necessary. You actually want to go where Nas is taking you.

Don't get it wrong, cuts like "Made You Look," "Revolutionary Warfare," and those on a bonus disc (there are 17 tracks altogether), certainly make your head bob and nod, but the star of the show is Nas' matchless ability to paint a picture. He is Hip-Hop's best pure novelist. Not story-teller, but novelist. On this album Nas shows that there is a difference.

Anyone who missed the Nasty Nas who blazed "New York State of Mind" in his 1994 debut album, Illmatic, need not worry, he has returned, as God's Son. And you don't have to wait long, Nas sets it off in the album's first track, "Get Down," (murdering an instrumental that Wise Intelligent from the Poor Righteous Teachers obliterated almost 12 years ago). That same flow of commentary, description and parables is evident on virtually every other cut on the album. Nas thoroughly addresses Jay-Z's legitimate criticism and that of others over which Nas will appear today - the materialistic, misogynist player; or the grand wazier? On this album Nas is 90% wise man. Finally.

The track that is sure to get everyone's attention - indeed already has everyone talking - is "Last Real N**** Alive" where Nas takes you behind the genesis of some of the drama taking place in the early '90s NYC Hip-Hop scene between Bad Boy (Biggie) and Wu-Tang (Raekwon) and Nas' relationship with both, and he even fits Jay-Z's emergence into that context. Deep and short. Nas gets it all done in a couple of minutes.

The initial reaction to learning that DJ Premier, Large Professor and Irv Gotti were nowhere to be found was that of surprise. It appeared that Nas was committed to marrying his foundational style with hot commercial tracks and an established squad. It looked like finally Nas might be able to have the best of both worlds, if he could figure out how to merge properly with Ja' Rule and Ashanti without having to show us how down with Murder Inc. he really was. Handsigns and all.

Nas obviously thought better of it and decided that his soul was more important than having it all. He "found" a gem of a producer in Salaam Remi, who has been putting it down for years, and an a la carte of production from Eminem, Alchemist, Chucky Thompson and even Alicia Keyes. Don't know how, but it works. Not necessarily feeling the collaboration with 2Pac in "Thugz Mansion" or "Zone Out" which features Bravehearts but these are a mere distraction rather than a disruption that destroys the album flow.

Don't expect Stillmatic II. It isn't that kind of party. Nas is more sage and teacher than baller or avenging rapper. He's social commentator, "Look how we treat pregnancy, women in the 'hood. Our values so low. Our values are no good." ("Book of Rhymes"); He's Big Brother, "B-boys and B-girls, listen up, you can be anything in the world , in God we trust. An architect, doctor, maybe an actress, but nothing comes easy it takes much practice..." ( "I Can"). And most poignantly of all he's a grieving son, mourning the loss of his mother on "Dance."

He is - God's Son, with the soul and Holy Spirit of Hip-Hop.