Nas' gift and his curse has always been an abundance of ideas. Like every effort since his masterpiece debut Illmatic, Life Is Good—his tenth album—suffers from a violent lack of focus and an abundance of ideas that only occasionally gel thematically or sonically. The political intermingles sloppily with the personal and hard breakbeats get buried under the clutter of symphony orchestras. It's only when his producers give him some breathing room, stripping hip-hop down to its barest elements of little more than just a loop and a rhyme, on tracks like "Loco-Motive" and "Reach Out," that Nas is able to approach the glory of his early work. When he does, the flashes of brilliance still shine brightly, through artful turns of phrase like "sinister n**gas snicker through yellow teeth/ alcohol aging my n**gas faster than felonies."

Life Is Good is the 2012 eleventh studio album by American rapper Nas. It was recorded at various studios in New York and California, and produced primarily by No I.D. and Salaam Remi. Nas wrote the album after his divorce from recording artist Kelis and compared it to Marvin Gaye's 1978 record Here, My Dear. He wanted to vent personal feelings and address moments in his life in his songs, while drawing on 1980s hip hop influences for the album's production in order to complement its nostalgic tone.
Life Is Good features personal subject matter, themes of adulthood and nostalgia, and reflections on Nas' personal life and experience in hip hop. His rapping is characterized by a relaxed, plainspoken flow, internal rhymes, and a tone that veers from malicious to nostalgic and introspective. The album's production incorporates orchestral elements and musical references to both contemporary and golden age hip hop, including boom bap beats and old school samples.
Life Is Good was released by Def Jam Recordings on July 13, 2012, to widespread critical acclaim and debuted at number one on the American Billboard 200 chart.

Life Is Good is the 2012 eleventh studio album by American rapper Nas. It was recorded at various studios in New York and California, and produced primarily by No I.D. and Salaam Remi. Nas wrote the album after his divorce from recording artist Kelis and compared it to Marvin Gaye's 1978 record Here, My Dear. He wanted to vent personal feelings and address moments in his life in his songs, while drawing on 1980s hip hop influences for the album's production in order to complement its nostalgic tone.
Life Is Good features personal subject matter, themes of adulthood and nostalgia, and reflections on Nas' personal life and experience in hip hop. His rapping is characterized by a relaxed, plainspoken flow, internal rhymes, and a tone that veers from malicious to nostalgic and introspective. The album's production incorporates orchestral elements and musical references to both contemporary and golden age hip hop, including boom bap beats and old school samples.
Life Is Good was released by Def Jam Recordings on July 13, 2012, to widespread critical acclaim and debuted at number one on the American Billboard 200 chart.

Nas' gift and his curse has always been an abundance of ideas. Like every effort since his masterpiece debut Illmatic, Life Is Good—his tenth album—suffers from a violent lack of focus and an abundance of ideas that only occasionally gel thematically or sonically. The political intermingles sloppily with the personal and hard breakbeats get buried under the clutter of symphony orchestras. It's only when his producers give him some breathing room, stripping hip-hop down to its barest elements of little more than just a loop and a rhyme, on tracks like "Loco-Motive" and "Reach Out," that Nas is able to approach the glory of his early work. When he does, the flashes of brilliance still shine brightly, through artful turns of phrase like "sinister n**gas snicker through yellow teeth/ alcohol aging my n**gas faster than felonies."

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 debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 355,880 copies in its first week. His fourth U.S. number-one album, it had sold 764,000 copies by November 2008, eventually over time it went platinum by the RIAA. Upon its release, Hip Hop Is Dead received generally positive reviews from most music critics. Hip Hop Is Dead was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, ultimately losing to Kanye West's Graduation at the 50th Grammy Awards

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 debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 355,880 copies in its first week. His fourth U.S. number-one album, it had sold 764,000 copies by November 2008, eventually over time it went platinum by the RIAA. Upon its release, Hip Hop Is Dead received generally positive reviews from most music critics. Hip Hop Is Dead was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, ultimately losing to Kanye West's Graduation at the 50th Grammy Awards

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 debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 355,880 copies in its first week. His fourth U.S. number-one album, it had sold 764,000 copies by November 2008, eventually over time it went platinum by the RIAA. Upon its release, Hip Hop Is Dead received generally positive reviews from most music critics. Hip Hop Is Dead was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, ultimately losing to Kanye West's Graduation at the 50th Grammy Awards

Street's Disciple is the seventh studio album by American rapper Nas, released on November 30, 2004, by Columbia Records. It was a double album titled after one of his lyrics from "Live at the Barbeque" by Main Source, which was the song marking his musical debut. The album's cover art was digitally created using photos of Nas to create an adaptation of The Last Supper.
Street's Disciple was well received by most critics and debuted at number five on the Billboard 200, selling 232,000 copies in its first week. It was Nas's seventh consecutive platinum record in the U.S., having shipped one million copies.

God's Son is the sixth studio album by American rapper Nas, released December 13, 2002 on his Columbia-imprint Ill Will Records. Production for the album took place during 2001 to 2002 and was handled by several hip hop producers, including Salaam Remi, Chucky Thompson, Ron Browz, Eminem, and The Alchemist. Partly inspired by Nas's feud with Jay-Z and the death of his mother in early 2002, God's Son covers lyrical themes such as religion, violence, and his own emotional experiences. It has been recognized by music writers as a personal work by Nas.
The album debuted at number 18 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 156,000 copies in its first week. It ultimately peaked at number 12 on the chart and produced three singles that achieved Billboard chart success. Upon its release, God's Son received critical acclaim, with critics praising Nas' lyricism and viewing it as a progression from his previous work. On January 14, 2003, the album was certified Platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America, following sales in excess of one million copies.

God's Son is the sixth studio album by American rapper Nas, released December 13, 2002 on his Columbia-imprint Ill Will Records. Production for the album took place during 2001 to 2002 and was handled by several hip hop producers, including Salaam Remi, Chucky Thompson, Ron Browz, Eminem, and The Alchemist. Partly inspired by Nas's feud with Jay-Z and the death of his mother in early 2002, God's Son covers lyrical themes such as religion, violence, and his own emotional experiences. It has been recognized by music writers as a personal work by Nas.
The album debuted at number 18 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 156,000 copies in its first week. It ultimately peaked at number 12 on the chart and produced three singles that achieved Billboard chart success. Upon its release, God's Son received critical acclaim, with critics praising Nas' lyricism and viewing it as a progression from his previous work. On January 14, 2003, the album was certified Platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America, following sales in excess of one million copies.

Stillmatic is the fifth studio album by American rapper Nas, released December 18, 2001 on Columbia Records in the United States. In contrast to his previous work's gangsta rap themes, it contains socially conscious and philosophical themes similar to those of his debut album, Illmatic. Nas' lyrics address topics such as ghetto life, United States domestic and foreign policies, and his feud with rapper Jay-Z.
Stillmatic served as a commercial and critical success that helped re-establish Nas' career, following a period of critical disappointment with the release of Nastradamus. It debuted at number 8 on the United States Billboard 200 chart with sales of 342,600, eventually peaking at number 5 and selling over 2,026,000 copies in the United States. Upon its release, Stillmatic received generally positive reviews from most music critics.