With 3 CDs released in a little over a year, Nasir Jones has been very busy. Although, the critically acclaimed "Lost Tapes" were pretty much B Sides from "I Am" and "Stillmatic". After battling Jay Z and reaffirming his spot in the game with "Stillmatic", Nas seems like he is on a different mission this time around. After dealing with the death of his mom, Nas wants to take the mature approach this time around. This is understandable although many artists deal with personal loss in different ways. The CD starts out with "Get Down" and gets things off to a good start as Nas is basically freestyling over old James Brown beats. Eminem then shows up to produce "The Cross" and if you didn't hear Nas' voice, you would be waiting for Eminem or someone from D12 stepping up to rhyme. On Track 3 and 4, you have the best 2 songs on the CD in my opinion. The first single and video from "God's Son", "Made U Look", took a little while to grow on me because of the beat by Salaam Remi. While Nas is always on point with his lyrics, I was not used to hearing him rap to old school hip hop beats with the exception of some of his freestyles on mixed CDs. On "Last Real N**** Alive", Nas tells the truth about his dealings with The Notorious BIG, Raekwon, Steve Stoute and the Jiggaman himself. "Zone Out" includes a "sick" beat by Salaam Remmi and the Braveharts and Nas sound like they transformed back to "Beat Street" and "Krush Groove" for a minute as they spit 80s type rhymes. On "Hey Nas", Nas employs Claudette Ortiz from City High and his boo, Kelis, for Salaam Remi's Trackmasters' beat. I think they were in the studio somewhere when this song was produced. However, Nas does a good job in my opinion, of describing the type of female that he is looking for. On The Alchemist' produced "Book Of Rhymes", Nas combines old rhymes that we has written or employs that concept to have a combination of different rhymes that make sense. This just proves how innovative Nas is. From there with the Alicia Keys' produced "Warrior Song", "Thugz Mansion" (NY) with a verse from 2 Pac, "Dance" and "Heaven", Nas takes his personal feelings and how he dealt with his mother's death and takes you inside of his mind for a minute. While all 4 of these tracks may not be the strongest cuts on "God's Son", the more you listen to them the more that you will start to like these songs. There aren't too many things that are wrong with "God's Son". The next single, "I Can" borrows too much from Slick Rick in my opinion. It sounds like a 2003 "Hey Young World" and to make it worse Nas even sounds like MC Ricky D. "Revolutionary Warfare" serves a good purpose but the song could have done better without Lake rapping on the song. Missing from "God's Son" also are L.E.S., DJ Premier and AZ, which are usually essential parts of a Nas CD. Anyone who heard the AZ and Nas song "The Essence" will understand what I mean. Overall, "God's Son" is a very mature presentation from Nas. I admire Nas for not being afraid to try something different. There is nothing wrong with trying a new concept when you have accomplished what Nasir Jones has accomplished. This CD also includes a bonus disc with 3 songs, the best of them being track 3, "The God" and track 1, "Thugz Mirror (Freestyle). If you are a real Nas fan then you can't afford to pass this CD up. Although there will never be another "Illmatic", "The Lost Tapes", "Stillmatic" and "God's Son" are right up there as Nas' best CDs.

James' Top 5

1) Made U Look

...Stop comparing all of Nas' other albums to Illmatic. When someone makes an album as great as Illmatic, its hard to live up to that again... Anyway, Nas has never made a wack album. NEVER!!! Even Nastradamus had it's high points (ignore the commercial songs "Nastradamus" and "You Owe Me"). God's Son is an exceptional album. It starts off very strong with "Get Down", which is a sample from an old James Brown song. The Eminem-produced "The Cross" doesn't have the nicest beat you will ever hear, but REAL hip-hop listeners look past the beat and actually listen to the lyrics (woulda been nice if Em had added a verse on there himself though). "Made You Look" was a good single to start out with. "Last Real N---- Alive" may be the best track on the album. At first I didn't like "Zone Out", but after listening to it a few times, it wasn't that bad (quit dissin G-wiz & Jungle, they aint that bad). "Hey Nas" was decent. I never thought I would hear Kelis sing on anything other than a Neptune track but theres a 1st time for everything.

"I Can" is good for the kids. Nas always manages to put one real creative song on each of his albums, and "Book of Rhymes" is the newest edition. I don't need to say anything about "Thugs Mansion" as it speaks for itself. "Mastermind"... good stuff. Alicia Keys... "Warrior Song"... Who knew? "Revolutionary Warfare"... amazing. I won't comment on "Dance". It's a dedication song. Everyone needs those. And finally... "Heaven"... didn't really like the singing in it. But the flow is nice. Overall. Very good album.

Wow, this album is simply amazing. Hip Hop heads finally got what they deserve. Pure Hip Hop. No fillers, no [junk]...Straight up classic! The production on this album is tight. The beats are hot and suit Nas's style. Nas drops mad multies, metas, similies, and punches. He is an amazing lyricist! I don't hate Jay-Z, matter fact I got all of Jay-Z's albums but I would pick this one over "Blueprint 2". Nas did drop 3 classics in a row, "Stillmatic", "Tha Lost Tapes", and now "God's Son". The first song, "Get Down", is produced by Nas himself and is an AMAZING track with hot lyrics, hot beat, and intelectual concept. "The Cross" produced by Eminem, is a tight track with a very hardcore, Dre-Em type beat. Has a little west coast flavor to it also. Then is "Made You Look" which is a BRILLIANT track. Very catchy but very hardcore at the same time. Nas drops hot verses here. After that is "Last Real N___ Alive" which has an alright beat and tight lyrics. Then it's "Zone Out" which is a hardcore track. This track focuses on the lyrical content then the beat. I think the Bravehearts are OK, they are no Outlawz, but they are not whack. Next Nas kicks it with "Hey Nas" which is a nice track to chill too in the clubs or when with your girl. Then it's the inspirational anthem "I Can" which is a great joint, and it has nice multies. Nas is great storyteller, this track is a proof. After that is "Book Of Rhymes" which is Nas rhyming out of his old Rhyme books. After that is the well-known duet with Tupac Shakur "Thugz Mantion". This is not the version that appears on Better Dayz, but it's as hell. Nas drops 2 verses here, while Pac drops 1 verse. A very intelectual track which is "Mastermind" is next. This track is hot when it comes to the lyrical contnet. The beat is very oldschool and doesn't really fit Nas's verses too well. After that is the standout track, "Warrior Song" which is my favorite track on this album. One of my favorite Nas tracks. It's a wonderful duet with Alicia Keys. Nas drops some of his truest rhymes. Very smart verses, and hot beat to go with it. A definate stand-out. Then is "Revoulutionary Warfare" which features Lake. This track is very smart and has a good concept. Then is "Dance" which was in the Memory of Nas's Mother. The beat echo's in my head sometimes. It's a definate standout and it's one of my favorite Nas songs. He just drops such emotional lyrics, you want to cry with him. The last track "Heaven" has a good beat and amazing lyrics. Nas spits some of that emotional, powerful lyrics. On the bonus CD, Nas included 3 tracks. Those were "Thugz Mirror", "Pu**y Kills", and "The G.O.D." These are all hot tracks and if you didn't buy the limited edition CD, then download these tracks. The Bonus CD also unlocks exclusive content. Overall, this is a true classic. A must own for any music collector. A very powerful peice of art!!

God's Son is the best work done by Nas in his career. Tracks like "Made You Look" and "I Can" are the best songs recorded by the artist. The album is more street than hip hop, but is still good listening. Nas also focuses more on his music than his beef with Jay-Z and the Roc-A-Fella family. All tracks on the album live up to the name God's Son. Nas features artists on his album such as Alicia Keys, Kelis, and the late Tupac (2Pac) Shakur. The second bonus CD is also great even though it only contains three songs. This album is definitly worth buying and it's worth all 5 stars that have been given.

Nas has been busy over the past year or so. Dropping the classic "Stillmatic" and "The Lost Tapes" were breath taking but now "God's Son" Not since A Tribe Called Quest has an MC/Group released three classic albums in a row. This CD starts with the street banger "Get Down" and heads will love this joint. This track is followed by the Eminem produced "The Cross", "Made You Look" and the introspective "Last Real Nigga Alive". These are some nice tracks but it's the "Book of Rhymes" where Nas is reading his lyrics on paper and dissing himself. The concept is dope. Other standout tracks include "Warrior Song" produced by Alicia Keys, "I Can", "Dance" and "Mastermind" Man, there are so many dope songs on this album. I replayed the track "Heavan" several times the first day I heard the album. God's Son does have two mistakes. The always wack Bravehearts stop by on the weird song "Zone Out" and the bonus tracks could have been better. Regardless of those minor blows, "God's Son" is an album that is very personal and real to perhaps the greatest and most vivid MC of all time....Nasty Nas