The Lost Tapes in Bloomington, MN

Leading up to the release of
God's Son
, the second new
Nas
album in less than a year,
Ill Will
dropped a collection of "lost recordings" -- basically, tracks recorded for
I Am
and
Stillmatic
that just didn't make it. Though the liners are stretching it in parts ("these songs are famous for never having been officially released"), they definitely got it right when they said, "No cameos. No hype. No bullsh*t." From a few listens, it's clear most of these weren't bumped because they were low-quality;
"Doo Rags,"
"No Idea's Original,"
"Black Zombie"
stand up to anything
has recorded since the original
Illmatic
. In fact, they have more in common with his early recordings; there's more of a back-in-the-day, wasn't-it-all-so-simple-then sound to
"Doo Rags"
"Poppa Was a Playa,"
two tracks that definitely wouldn't have fit on the raging
. That's certainly no reason not to pick up this one, not just for
fans but for
hip-hop
fans who want to hear some great rhyming with no added features. ~ John Bush