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- By date
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His gritty, yet hopeful, reflections make Lost Tapes a real find.
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A filler-free tour de force.
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two about his parents are juicier than the mother love gushing from God's Son. The Afrocentric pep song is so much deeper than the mawkish, misinformed new "I Can" that you believe he might yet get politics.
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Showcases Nas' incredible talent as a lyricist and social commentator.
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Nas has compiled an imaginative State of the Union address to the streets.
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SpinThe closet thing to Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes hip-hop has ever produced: a collection of songs from, and largely about, the past that bode well for the future and sound damn good today. [Dec 2002, p.140]
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Over subdued soul loops and improbably mellow piano work, The Lost Tapes displays Nas' gifts for tightly stitched narrative and stunningly precise detail.
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From start to finish, Nas sets aside the rhetorical frills, contrived interludes, and mediocre guest appearances that have plagued much of his work since the classic Illmatic and concentrates on delivering classic material.
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Separate, the songs all sound great, but together, they dont make a real album.
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MixerIntelligent, rugged and moving, Lost Tapes is everything Stillmatic should have been. [Dec 2002, p.76]
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Despite its flaws, though, The Lost Tapes is nice. Not a return to form, per se, but possibly as close as we're likely to get.
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From a few listens, it's clear most of these weren't bumped because they were low-quality; "Doo Rags," "No Idea's Original," and "Black Zombie" stand up to anything Nas has recorded since the original Illmatic.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 95 out of 111
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Mixed: 0 out of 111
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Negative: 16 out of 111
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Jan 6, 2016
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Jul 31, 2014
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Apr 11, 2013