Happy 20th Anniversary to Nas’ sixth studio album God’s Son, originally released December 13, 2002.
Listening to God’s Son, the sixth full length album by Nasir “Nas” Jones, can be infuriating. Released 20 years ago, it’s a project that presents some of the Queensbridge emcee’s best tendencies and features some of the finest songs in his catalogue, but also includes a handful of questionable musical choices.
God’s Son came on the heels of Stillmatic (2001), released less than a year before, only months after The Lost Tapes (2002), a compilation of Nas’ unreleased late 1990s material. The former was recognized as Nas’ “comeback” album, while the latter is considered one of Nas’ best projects. Even as his third album in less than a year, God’s Son was both a critical and commercial success, eventually being certified Platinum and heralded by many respected publications. However, the album lacked the staying power of prior and future releases.
In some ways, God’s Son is the victim of the era during which it was released. The early ’00s were littered with albums by New York-based artists superficially claiming to be the “King of New York.” Unfortunately, during this era, skill alone didn’t make you the “King,” you had to have the sales to back up the claim. You can hear that struggle throughout God’s Son, as Nas provides examples of what made him great alongside dubious attempts to move units and stake his claim to the proverbial throne.
Nas also could well have been distracted by tragic circumstances occurring in his life, as God’s Son was released only months after the death of his mother, Fannie Ann, from breast cancer. Her death informs much of God’s Son. She’s likely the inspiration for the album’s title, as at one point he raps, “Your mother's the closest thing to God that you ever have, kid.”
When God’s Son works, it’s clear to see why Nas is still considered among the best rappers of all time. Nas’ lyrical ability is often unparalleled, from storytelling to braggadocio to delivery. Salaam Remi is the primary architect of God’s Son’s overall sound, producing five tracks, including all three of its singles. Remi had produced Nas’ “What Comes Around” on Stillmatic, as well as having an established working relationship with Columbia Records (his remixes for the Fugees, as well as his work on “Fu-Gee-La,” helped put the group on the map). Overall, he helps Nas find his voice for the project and does some dynamic work behind the boards.
Both Remi and Nas nearly outdo themselves on “Made You Look,” God’s Son most emblematic single. The track is the pair’s love letter to 1980s hip-hop, with Remi chopping up portions of the Incredible Bongo Band’s “Apache” breakbeat, and Nas invoking the spirit of Rakim and KRS-One through his three verses. It earned commercial appeal, but sounded unlike any other hip-hop single on the radio at the time, as Remi frequently flips the beat backwards, and intersperses sounds of breaking glass and shotgun blasts.
Nas is in top form throughout “Made You Look,” rapping, “Newness, here's the anthem put your hand up that you shoot with, count your loot with / Push the pool stick in your new crib, same hand that you hoop with, swing around like you stupid.” The song also features one of Nas’ best-crafted hooks, bolstered by his crew chanting “Bravehearts!” in the background. The track is in the conversation for being one of Nas’ best singles ever (at worst, it’s top 5) and one of the 10 best songs that Nas ever released.
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“Get Down” is also in contention for inclusion within that top 10 list. The album-opening track is another masterful partnership between Nas and Remi, and another late 1980s hip-hop throwback. It’s one of Nas’ finest narrative tracks, as he incorporates real life experiences and stories that he’s heard to paint a vivid picture of criminal life in New York City, Los Angeles, and the Southern states. He weaves in obscure references to real-life street O.G.s and the many people they interacted with. On production, Remi pieces together elements of three James Brown tracks, “The Boss,” “The Payback,” and the “Funky Drummer” break, with sections of the Blackbyrds’ “Rock Creek Park” and the intro to the Dramatics’ “Get Up, Get Down.” The fusion of all the musical and verbal elements results in one of the most street-oriented tracks of all time.
After that pair of all-time great recordings, the Remi-produced “Hey Nas” is a bit of a letdown. The song isn’t particularly bad, but comes across as a bland attempt at pop appeal. Remi fares better going full-on weird with the posse cut “Zone Out.” The beat sounds like the mutant offspring of Ohio Players’ “Funky Worm” and The JB’s “Blow Your Head,” laced with backward-masked drums.
Nas is joined by his brother Jungle and G-Wiz of the Bravehearts crew on “Zone Out,” with both kicking two verses to Nas’ one. Jungle sounds like he’s punching outside of his weight class, but Wiz does a solid enough job. For his part, Nas starts his verse using the K-Solo/DMX-inspired spelling style, then targets rapper Cam’Ron, delivering a few verbal haymakers to the Harlem emcee’s jaw.
Nas channels Slick Rick’s “Hey Young World” on “I Can,” the most commercially successful single from God’s Son, dispensing wisdom to the youth through a faux British accent. The track, also produced by Remi, is simple in its execution, as he hooks up a loop of The Honey Drippers’ “Impeach the President” drum break and lays them behind the piano from Beethoven’s “Fur Elise.” Some of Nas’ sentiments on the track are a bit hokey, and the history lesson that makes up the final verse is rife with inaccuracies, but Nas’ decision to commit to the premise is admirable.
The best non-Remi produced track on God’s Son is “Last Real N***a Alive,” which finds Nas recounting experiences from his recording career, focusing on the untold origins behind his various beefs in the industry. Over a solid beat by Ron Browz, Nas recounts the issues he had with both The Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z, framing them in the proper historical context, even explaining how Wu-Tang Clan figured into the former. Nas speaks about these broken friendships with a bit of bitterness but mostly acceptance. These days he’s on much better terms with Jay-Z, even joking about their beef on his most recent album King’s Disease III (2022).
The Alchemist contributes four beats: three for God’s Son and one bonus track. Over the years, I’ve made no secret of my feelings on The Alchemist as a producer: I believe he’s one of the best ever behind the boards, sitting somewhere in the top 10 producers of all time. That said, his work on God’s Son is inconsistent.
“Book Of Rhymes” is the most conceptually interesting of the Alchemist creations. Nas seemingly reads half-completed verses from his rhyme journal, demonstrating the breadth of the subject matter he can tackle on any given track. “Thugz Mirror (Freestyle),” from the album’s bonus disc, is a short but effective ode to street survival. The least successful Alc production is “Mastermind,” as Nas does a solid job at describing the discipline and skill required to be a criminal boss, but the track falters sonically amidst plodding synths.
The most glaring flaws of God’s Son come from the musical end, rather than the lyrical. Nas raps about carrying hip-hop on his back on “The Cross,” but he’s just as much carrying the soul-less Eminem-produced beat. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys produces and contributes vocals to “Warrior’s Song,” but the track is primarily held together by Nas’ evocative imagery, championing the voiceless street soldiers from economically disadvantaged areas around the country. He includes a particularly potent second verse about his efforts to cope with the loss of his mother.
Though Nas touches on his mother’s death throughout God’s Son, “Dance” is specifically dedicated to her memory, as he desperately pleas for a way to spend more time with her. Though it’s not my favorite song on the album, there’s undeniable power in hearing him vent his grief as he allows himself to be so emotionally vulnerable. Nas’ father, Olu Dara, pays tribute to his former bride by contributing a coronet solo at the end of the track.
The album oddly includes a remix of 2Pac’s “Thugz Mansion,” with Nas delivering two verses to Shakur’s one, with the two emcees envisioning paradise in the afterlife. At the time of God’s Son’s release, it had been over six years since 2Pac’s death, and the posthumous verses were well post their expiration date. However, the song fits in reasonably well with the album’s themes. It’s worth noting that producers have gotten much better at using posthumous verses in the last two decades.
Nas’ musical output throughout much of the ’00s is characterized by its inconsistency. He released a lot of outright brilliant material during this era, but it was mixed in with more than its fair share of poorly conceived ideas and creative misfires. Of these releases, God’s Son can be the most frustrating, because it seems like the building blocks for greatness were there, but it never quite materializes, hampered by many of the non-Remi production choices. Nas undoubtedly spins enough gold to make God’s Son an interesting listening experience, but there’s way more straw than there should be.
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