The Source has admittedly made some mistakes when handing out the infamous 5 mic rating. They know that they slept on classics like “The Chronic,” “Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers,” “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx” and “Reasonable Doubt.” There are definitely more than that too, “ATLiens,” “Dr Octagynecoligest,” “Soul Food” and “Ironman” to name a few.
While they might have missed some, they have never given the rating undeservedly…that is until they gave Jay-Z 5 for “The Blueprint.” I know that many of you probably agree with them but I really believe that he only got that rating because of the hype building it up (not to mention the millions that Def Jam spends in advertising). That album was not the flawless classic that it is made out to be.
Now The Source seems to be making a habit out of it, next months issue will feature a review for Nas’ latest “Stillmatic,” and it will get the 5 as well. Now I think that this is a really good album and definitely his best since his true classic, “Illmatic,” but it is by no means a classic album. The mere inclusion of “Braveheart Party” brings it down to at least 4.5, but aside from that it just isn’t worthy of that praise. Nonetheless, Nas does become only the second artist(s) to receive the rating twice, A Tribe Called Quest being the other.
