FFWD Weekly: April 15th, 1999

CD Review
by Frank Litorco

NAS
i am?
Columbia

• Third album for NYC rapper Nasir Jones.

• Guest contributions from Aaliyah, DMX, Scarface, DJ Premier, Puff Daddy and Timbaland.

Consider this release the true litmus test for Nas. After a dazzling debut, Illmatic, which scored with fans and critics alike due to his no-bullshit, streets-is-real lyrics, Nas became the toast of the rap world. But a lukewarm sophomore effort (It Was Written), followed by some pretty questionable projects that were the equivalent of candy rapping, has left a lot of people scratching their hip hop heads as to which side of Nas will appear on this latest release – the tight-rhyming, brooding rapper, or the lazy, Armani-wearing playboy with less-than-zero skills?

Thankfully, i am? demonstrates more of the former and less of the latter. For all the fame and success that Nas has achieved, he’s still got some fat-ass anger deep inside (which is a good thing). He manages to channel this energy into his lyrics and, fueled by some heavy duty beats (courtesy of Track Masters, Timbaland and DJ Premier), i am? throws down the thug goods like a terrorist bomb on the steps of a government building. The first person narrative that Nas employs – particularly on the tracks which deal with relationships – is not only powerful stuff, but given the nature of the subject, will likely cause sensitive PCers to identify him as a misogynist. Take "Undying Love," for example, which begins with Nas finding his cheating significant other in the act and ends in homicide/suicide.

There’s no denying Nas is still a bitter man and the venom spews over tracks like "Hate Me Now" and "I Want To Talk To You." But there are still a few brutal clunkers that manage to find their way on i am? ("Dr. Knockboot," "Money Is My Bitch") and undoubtedly the listeners will be spewing venom back at Nas as a result. That said, the album manages to succeed mainly through Nas’s storytelling lyrics, which few, if any, present-day rappers can match. Here’s hoping he remains pissed off.

3/5