Nas - 'One Love'

If you like music and you don't own Nas's 'Illmatic,' you have to get off your ass. In my mind, a more consistent hip-hop album has never been made - virtually every track is classic. Aside from Nas's techinical perfection and unprecedentedly complex lyricism, each beat is on point (the album's dream team of producers includes DJ Premier, Large Professor, and Q-Tip), and unlike Nas's later works, the album is noticeably permeated with his hunger and drive to reach the top of the rap game.

One of the less-ballyhooed of Illmatic's tracks is 'One Love.' It is notable as the only concept song on the album, a letter to Nas's friend in prison. The eerie xylophone-inflected beat (trademark Q-Tip) is easily the darkest on the album, and Nas uses it to spin one of the best laments of life on the streets the rap has ever produced.

Notably depressing is this passage in the first verse where he matter-of-factly informs his friend:

but yo, guess who got shot in the dome-piece?
jerome's niece, on her way home from jones beach, its bugged
plus little rob is selling drugs on the dime
hanging out with young thugs that all carry 9's

But the highlight here is the third-verse, which I think can get nominated for best hip-hop verse ever. Nas claims he had to isolate himself to cope with his frustration with the ghetto ('you see the streets had me stressed something terrible'), and upon returning spends time smoking weed with a naive twelve year old who is enamored with the gangster lifestyle. Nas attempts to dispense some wisdom, but eventually becomes fed up and details his exit in this passage:

then i rose
wiping the blunt's ash from my clothes
then froze
only to blow the herb's smoke through my nose

Anyways, 'One Love' is just one of 9 amazing tracks on 'Illmatic,' so again, if you haven't listened to this, get off you ass. My favorites include the gangsta posturing 'NY State of Mind,' the anthemic 'Life's a Bitch,' and the attempted pop-crossovers 'Halftime' and 'It Ain't Hard to Tell.'