Go Ask Somebody - Nas, THE LOST TAPES

___Across the street from Cooper Union, Norman's Sound and Vision has been selling classic material in the way of compact discs and DVDs for as long as I can remember. Today, for a really reasonable $9.99, I grabbed the official package of Nas collection of never officially released material called The Lost Tapes.

___Besides the fact that I listed the song "Purple" from The Lost Tapes release in my last post and the fact that Royal Flush's man Hill produced that joint as well as the "Black Zombie" track; this is really a great disc. Like Hershey's 5th Avenue candy bar, it isn't found often, and definately one of the best non-LP releases of the past 10 years avaialble from commercial/corporate-retailers.

___Shifting through the 11 tracks, plus one bonus "Fetus," Nas pumps perfection into some of his most prolific poetry ever. The Lost Tapes is a collection of rareties that were never mastered until the package was put together. The Lost Tapes, however random, may be a little underestimated when it comes to it's place in Nas' overall collection. Coming out in the victory-lap of Stillmatic; this disc is everything his fans could ask from him lyrically. Though all of these songs were recorded at different times it would seem as is Nas succeeds in carving out a "lost tapes" concept album. His Dutch-scratched voice comes out authentically-concious, raw and true. His poet/warrior style is on display in full force. Peep "Poppa Was A Playa" and "Drunk By Myself."