Unified On The Asphalt

Nas “A Queen’s Story”

I have never been invested in Nas enough to be disappointed by any of his many records over the years, but I will say this: Life Is Good is a great rap album, and it’s enjoyable mainly because it seems like the guy has finally stopped struggling to do anything besides the sort of music that made him an icon in the first place. I understand why artists want to stretch out creatively or attempt to be relevant to younger audiences, but that can result in losing track of core strengths. The best tracks on Life Is Good, like the majestic “A Queen’s Story,” don’t sound exactly like Illmatic but they have the same essential glow. Nas’ style has shifted a bit too, but he sounds entirely comfortable in these beats – he has worked a lot of bad impulses out of his system by now, and every bit of technique he’s learned along the way is applied to a sort of flow that is entirely intuitive for him. Particularly on this track, he’s reconnecting with Queens, his earliest muse. There’s a touch of defensiveness in the song, but it’s welcome – as a former longtime resident of the borough, I can tell you, it is aggravating when people diminish that place out of laziness. Nas is rapping specifically about Queensbridge, which is not only one of the most fascinating projects in all of the world, but also a crucial spot in the creation and evolution of rap culture. When he raps about this place, you can feel him beaming through the track with a deserved sense of pride.

Buy it from Amazon.