Stillmatic [Bonus CD]

Disc 1
1	Stillmatic (The Intro) 2:11
2	Ether 4:37
3	Got Ur Self A... 3:48
4	Smokin' 3:47
5	You're da Man 3:26
6	Rewind 2:13
7	One Mic 4:28
8	2nd Childhood 3:51
9	Destroy and Rebuild 5:24
10	The Flyest / Az Izz 4:38
11	Rule / Amerie 4:32
12	My Country 5:12
13	What Goes Around 4:59
14	Every Ghetto Bonus Track 3:28
Disc 2
1	No Idea's Original 3:06
2	U Gotta Love It Snippet 1:33
3	My Way Snippet 1:36
4	Make It Last Snippet 1:57
5	Doo Rags Snippet 1:21

Barnes & Noble

Hip-hop scholars and fans alike hail Nas's Illmatic as quite possibly the finest debut album in rap history. But quicker than you can say "bling bling," the post-gangsta Queensbridge star cashed in his artistic cred for cushy beats and radio-rap stardom. Apparently, it took a few scathing dis tracks from his platinum peers to rouse him from his Alizé coma, because with Stillmatic, the official sequel to his 1994 masterpiece, Nas (a.k.a. Nas Escobar) takes no prisoners, reverting to the style that earned him initial acclaim. Even at his jiggiest, Nas's rhymes were impeccable; the difference here is in the attitude. On "Ether," he responds to Jay-Z's venomous "Takeover" from The Blueprint, drawing blood with lines such as: "You a fan/ A phony/ A fake/...I still whip your ass/You 36 in a karate class/You Tae-Bo ho ." Ouch! And the retaliation doesn't stop there. On "Destroy & Rebuild," Nas targets fellow QB natives Mobb Deep, Nature, and Cormega. In contrast, tracks such as "Rewind" and "2nd Childhood" recall the more reflective grit of his earlier offerings. From Nasty Nas to Escobar to Nastradamus, it's clear from his work here that Nas is at his best when he's just being himself -- one of hip-hop's most gifted MCs. Ron Hart

All Music Guide

Back on the hardcore block and with plenty to prove after two years without a record under his own name, Nas designed Stillmatic as a response: to the rap cognoscenti who thought he'd become a relic, and most of all to Jay-Z, the East Coast kingpin who wounded his pride and largely replaced him as the best rapper in hip-hop. The saga started back in the summer of 2001 with the mixtape freestyle "Stillmatic," Nas' answer track to an on-stage dis by Jay-Z. A few months after Jay-Z countered with the devastating "Takeover," Nas dropped the comeback single "Ether" and the full album Stillmatic; tellingly, Jay-Z had already released his response to "Ether" (titled "Super Ugly") before Stillmatic even came out. Dropping many of the mainstream hooks and featured performers in order to focus his rapping, Nas proves he's still a world-class rhymer. "Ether" relies on a deep-throat vocal repeating the phrase, "F*ck Jay-Z", while "You're da Man" hits the heights of arrogance with a looped vocal sample repeating the title over and over. "Destroy & Rebuild" is a solid defense of his Queensbridge home, and "Got Ur Self A..." is an outstanding track, the best here, complete with chant-along chorus. [The expanded version of this album includes the bonus track "Every Ghetto" plus a disc featuring "No Idea's Original" and excerpts of "U Gotta Love It," "My Way," "Make It Last," and "Doo Rags."] John Bush