With Nas’ eagerly awaited The Lost Tapes 2 hitting streaming platforms this month, many fans were understandably elated to find the new track “Jarreau of Rap (Skatt Attack)” — the first single — was released on Friday (July 12). However, it wasn’t what everyone may have expected.
With production credits that includes names like Kanye West, Pharrell, Swizz Beatz, Hit-Boy, Pete Rock, No I.D., Alchemist, and Statik Selektah, it’s fair to have anticipated music in the vein of his first Lost Tapes.
What Nas delivered, though, was a genre-bending (and obviously polarizing) Al Jarreau sampled track — that also features Keyon Harrold, a renowned trumpeter whose Hip Hop track record includes work with JAY-Z (“Roc Boys”), Mac Miller (“Stay”), and 50 Cent (“Touch the Sky”).
Fans, obviously, had their own takes on the track.
For others, the song made perfect sense. His father is renowned Jazz musician Olu Dara (who first collaborated with his son on the song “Life’s a Bitch” off of the holy grail of Hip Hop Illmatic). An experimental jazz record, paying a tribute of sorts to the late Jarreau, shouldn’t be as shocking as it is intriguing — especially considering his upbringing.
The project is set to feature outtakes from the sessions that led to some of his more debated later releases. Was “Jarreau of Rap” the warning shot you hoped it would be? Sound off in the comments.
The Lost Tapes 2 drops Friday (July 19) via Mass Appeal.
Anything in hip hop that contains more than five syllables a minute is controversial these days…
Ska-badabadabadoo-belidabbelydabbladabbladabblabab-belibabbelibabbelibabbelabbelo-doobelidoo
I’m the Scatman!!!
I didn’t see a problem with it.. Al Jarreau is a legend, Nas is a legend… But since it wasn’t in autotune, there’s a problem.
Yo this shot is real! The brain dead heads will hate on this! An innovator will respect this, but a true hip hop head will appreciate the fact that every bar bar has more than 8 words! That being said whoever is producing his shirt better step up his game. Dudes that only know hiphop and not soul, funk, jazz, rock, and a few others will never appreciate real shit when it’s heard, hip hop is really almost dead. Only a hand full of actual talent out there, the rest is just…… Even worst bubble gum music. Music at this present moment sucks, nas included! Maybe if the production was better, this shit would be fire!
Fuck Queensbridge is gonna cook nas for this one… lol! I love jazz but this song will be a no for me. Automatic skip. RIP Al Jerreau.
Lmao same with me. I listen to Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Harold Land, Duke Ellington, and more. Didn’t like this track from Nas. I get that he was being creative, but that doesn’t mean everyone will react positively to it. You have folks getting emotional telling those who don’t care for it to go jam the Migos and other trap artists lmao.
His flow pattern was insane on this track, the way he follows the beat even when it’s off kilter is the TRUE art form of rap. All these DUMMIES are just upset that it he wasn’t riding the Migos/Future/Young Thug flow into the ground like the rest of the industry & the beat wasn’t 808 driven…GROW UP!
Zombie herd cant keep up. All it is
He was doing something different, dumbasses. It’s literally an ode to skatt, the precursor of Hip-hop. Just listen to Drake and shut up.
Who else in his league, from his era can touch on topic he does, how the fuck y’all keep comparing a god to mortal? How tf yall gonna call this lame, do you hear the musicality, the skillful plays of the horn and all that went where… shit sometime I feel like quitting knowin yall fuckers dont know shit to wtf we do… just stay tf away and keep ur stupid comments for yall moms…
Is this another Donkey Kong sample lol
Ok, I appreciate the fact that Nas pushed new territory, but, if you want to be critical let’s discuss his last albums. Nas , get back to that project park and gritty witicizm, you gotta let the future know as you said hip hop ain’t dead. Grimy beats , like no ideas. Fan forever, but I’m waiting for you to “move the crowd”
Bruh, how the FUCK can anyone praise the bullshit being put out today and call it being “creative”, but hate Nas for ACTUALLY BEING CREATIVE? I actually like it, lyrical as fuck, no trap beat, and it was solid. Better than that “You Owe Me” or “Oochie Wally” shit he put out years ago.
Nas is my Fav but this is WACK!
Nas has attempted to do what very few are capable of doing. That is to fuse Hip Hop or Rap Sanging depending on what coast your on with Jazz. Great Job . Most wont understand because they are on the 1 or Baseline drivin. Al Jarreau Has a Vast catalog of Soulful rhythmic sides to choose from . Nas Chose a classical reprise. He can do that the World is His remember that classical?
Very high level of difficulty, and I love the originality and him not FEARING JUDGMENT, but I can’t say I love the song. But what I do love is that he is his own artist, not trying to duplicate his old self or the new trends. I’d rather have him do this than do some typical DJ Khaled track. I think this is a win more than a loss. Keep evolving Nas. Peace.
Bishop g, they told me I should come down, cousin
But I flatly refuse, I ain’t dumb down nothing
Nas fell off… I was at his concert last week in Palm Beach…terrible performance, he can’t even remember the lyrics to his own hits!!!
Secondly, he doesn’t appear like the brightest guy…while performing he asked for someone to “cut on the a/c”. Mind you, its in an outdoor amphitheater in Florida in the middle of July.
You can still have AC outside. Maybe they didn’t but you can have some generator AC unit outside for folks on stage. Learn something
This shit is flames.
Fuck who thinks otherwise.
This sounds like a wet fart, alright grandpas tell us again why our generations music sucks.
I don’t particularly like this track but if you want to make the comparison between generations, you have to compare it in context. Nas in his prime against Lil Uzi (or whoever) in his prime. But I guess we could also wait 20+ years and see what a 45 year old Lil Uzi (or whoever) is gonna sound like then. That is if any of these mumblers will still be around then, which I highly doubt.
Thank u Nas 4 this fire! This is originality in it purest form so no 1 who doesn’t know nor appreciate real music should b hating on this. Go back 2 that whack ass mumble, bubblegum/pop, rap b/s that ya’ll call music today. Also, everyone needs to stop w/ all these Jay-Z comparisons, it’s getting fucking old, they’re 2 completely different artists whose styles aren’t even the same.
Me personally, I didn’t like it but I respect it. I definitely didn’t think it was wack. He can flip any style & anyone who doesn’t respect this should just listen to the trap music they’re accustomed to and leave true hip-hop alone
this was fvcking awesome…just cos its not trap migos sh!t no one likes it..gtfoh
jazz, scat and hip hop. It’s different, very theatrical and it can’t be compared to “hot new rap”. As corny as it may sound the song is beyond standard hip hop. You can’t listen to it looking for that kind of gratification.
You are either supremely remedial, have not experienced or appreciated many genres of music or you just a hater if you think this song is whack. Maybe because I’m 42 then again nope, I been around music since I was yay high so the age thing is no excuse, but some folks haven’t been exposed to music in pure form, use this opportunity to see who Al Jarreau is and what song is Nas paying homage to, then see what song Al Jarreau himself remixed, which was just instrumentals til Al went to skatt on it. Folks music IQ is super low, they want it catered and handed to them on a platter. Back in the day we had CDs, made us read credits. The ones that follow the dotted line to see what this song is Al about will be a much better listener. You call this trash then you calling a bunch of jazz elites trash. Then Nas rode the beat and said some good shit too. Man I’m ashamed of y’all. Real talk.
I’m 46 I love Nas and Al Jarraau…but this is wack.
You throwing in your age and saying you love both artists will solidify your opinion? That trick is tired and whack.
Nah Lenny…any time you gotta use a paragraph to try to explain why something isn’t wack…it’s wack. This shit is wack.
I’m 38 and listen to everything but I can’t get jiggy with this shit.
So. A rap pioneer gives you literally a version of rap NEVER heard before and yall hate??? You just want 500 more Future and Migos clones??? Keep up the culture Nas… real ones appreciate it.
Shit is wack tho, can’t front…
I am not getting my hopes up. Nas has let me down consecutively since Stillmatic to now. Everything he has put out since then has been average at best. This current compilation is nothing more than left over tracks from mediocre albums. I strongly doubt that Nas will ever be able to put out a hot album again. I hope he proves me wrong though.
Life is Good is amazing.
That Dave Brubeck sample just isn’t doing it for me. I really wanna like this, but it doesn’t knock or vibe hard enough at all. Sounds kinda prog rock the was Nas has arranged this. Jazz fan here, but this isn’t for me.
Fuk who dont like it. Shits dope!
People are hating on this?….
We need some more shit to watch strippers slide down the pole to son. Hip hop fans are stupid.
An artist 25 years in needs to keep pushing boundaries. That’s why Jay Z’s last album was great. These dudes aren’t 25 anymore. I don’t want their shit from the 1990s anymore because I’m not 20 anymore either. Sucks for this generation that your music sucks and you have to say mediocre shit is great, but these dudes have already done it all and are from what people call the Golden Age for a reason.
It’s fire
?????
These comments range from pure opinion to str8 doo doo. At this point in a person career such as Nas, it’s hard to put out anything and get honest feedback. Everyone is a music critic with now musical education, journalism credit or worldly knowledge other than what gets retweeted or liked by other smaller brained people. There are a lot of unpleasant songs made that revenge of the dreamers wasn’t that great but did it stop that from going #1 no but not every record recorded was dope. If it’s not your vibe move on it’s okay
Ain’t nothing that bad about this song for whoever is trying to bash it , Nas had a good flow on this track and was spitting…..FOH if you think this weak it the greatest or was even trying to be just a solid track
So much flame… From the comments it seems most want what they have always gotten. This new single is a current take away of back packer era hip hop. It’s smart, skillful, and unlike much we have heard in 10-15 years. There was a time when we celebrated paying homage in hip hop… praising the Fela’s, And Jarreau’s of the world in our, hip hop way. This is Nas keep tradition alive. I am feeling it.
Daniel Maunick is a fkn moron
I know what your saying’ man. But c’mon let’s be real. The beat sucks. And the sound of the song overall sucks. Stop praising rappers because they have good lyrics. At the end it’s all about the complete song. And Nas hasn’t released a complete good song in over 5/6 years
Fuego
Clearly people have never heard “I Can” before!!!
It’s hilarious how some people can’t stand the fact that Nas likes to uses abstract beats/concepts from time tom time…he’s a true artist, he’s always been that way. I mean…if y’all want “jiggy” beats then go listen to Hov, why y’all want to force that shit on Nas?
I wouldn’t listen to a while rap skatt album, but individually this track is kinda dope
Most of the people who hate this are tone deaf retarded pill poppin mumble rap fans who think Future and Migos are more Lyrical….smh
Song kinda dope!
FIRE. I love it NAS. FIRE….
Article title makes no sense. The hate is not from Nas fans, it’s from new era Twitter twats. Nas is one of the GOATS period. I fux with this song and don’t care if Twitter doesn’t and never will. That shit will never affect my opinion.
Glad that my tweet was included in the article. For the best commentary about Hip Hop check out a podcast I do called “NO KNOCKSOFF RADIO” with @rmdest and @harlemfresh125 every Wednesday, Friday, Sunday from 9pm-11pm. Room code on Zoom is 252-574-2302.
I didn’t know what to expect. But I wasn’t disappointed. The song is dope to me. That’s Nas style, unorthadox. He really don’t make music for the masses but for a few. Those who really get him, true fans.. I liked his last release and I can’t wait to download this one on the 19th.
#haterskickrocks.
Couldn’t have said it better
Seems like Nas just ain’t getting it or adapting well into a 2019 version of himself and it sucks..i want some Got Your Self or One Mic type hits not this jazz shit..
I wouldn’t necessarily call this bad or wack but it’s definitely some shyt i don’t want to listen to…when i come to hear Nas i want hard hitting smooth hip hop with classic lyrics and flow, not sone jazz **** …bet you there wont be many ppl still bumping this in 6 months lol!!!
Definitely copping this..Dope and sonically duff for hiphop…
Hats off to Mr. Jones for showing the confidence and temerity to rap over Dave Brubeck’s classic jazz standard composition “Blue Rondo à la Turk” (1959)! Right out of the gate, he rode the track like a skilled bull rider. He kept constant control and rhythm matching the movements of the track. No slight to HOV, truly one of my choice emcees, but mass appeal doesn’t necessarily constitute G.O.A.T. status. Just ask music innovators and trailblazers such as Thelonious Monk, Tom Waits, Frank Zappa, and George Clinton. Timeless art is rarely appreciated during its time of release. Purists, philistines, traditionalists can all continue slaving to conventions and wallowing in nostalgia. Haven’t you snoots learned by now…you make up the rules as you play in this so-called game!?! Nas, continue moving the needle forward. Taking risks is the essence of this music. Posterity will be kind to you!