"I Am..." is an underrated album

8pm at msg

8pm at msg

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Let's take a look at the track list:

1. Album Intro
2. N.Y. State of Mind Pt. II
3. Hate Me Now
4. Small World
5. Favor for a Favor
6. We Will Survive
7. Ghetto Prisoners
8. You Won't See Me Tonight
9. I Want to Talk to You
10. Dr. Knockboot
11. Life Is What You Make It
12. Big Things
13. Nas is Like
14. K-I-SS-I-N-G
15. Money is My B*tch
16. Undying Love

I honestly only see 3 skippable tracks there (You Won't See Me Tonight, Dr. Knockboot, Big Things). You have a certified banger with Hate Me Now, a classic collabo with Scarface, a Top 10 Nas track of all time with Nas is Like and the rest are good songs where Nas is still coming correct lyrically. So why the hate truly? Purists who can't accept change? Fans letting outside opinions effect theirs? I think this is a solid 7/10 album here.
 
IWW gets a 9/10 from me. Stillmatic is a 6.5/10, over time it has actually lost points with me. There are some quality tracks on it but I don't think it's held up well overall.
 
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I feel like "I Am" is just a slightly above average album. A good portion of the production sounds lazy and the follow up album did not do Nas any favors.
 
GL Rayner said:
I feel like "I Am" is just a slightly above average album. A good portion of the production sounds lazy and the follow up album did not do Nas any favors.
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There are some lackluster production moments but not enough to bring the whole album down IMO. Being grouped with Nastradamus is probably the deciding factor as to why I Am gets crapped on but it really is a worthwhile listen.
 
Dude your trippin Dr.Knockboot is classic.... You hear Em go in on that beat wen he went on hot 97 back in the day....
 
The version that got leaked/bootlegged was CRAZY! He switched those tracks out with a ton of filler and the jams ended up being on "Lost tapes."
 
LNW Malandro said:
Dude your trippin Dr.Knockboot is classic.... You hear Em go in on that beat wen he went on hot 97 back in the day....
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He was dropping real gems on dealing with broads but its one of those lazy productions I'll admit to with this album.
 
6 to 7 out of 10 seems fair, a bit above average but not one of his best efforts. Still there are classics on this and I can play most of it without skipping but it's nothing special outside of 6 or 7 tracks.
 
I Am... is in my top 5 NaS albums. I love this album. Very underrated. So many joints on here.

4.5/5 album in my opinion. You could delete one or two songs and it would be 5/5 for me.

You have been repped for making this thread son.
 
8PM at MSG said:
He was dropping real gems on dealing with broads but its one of those lazy productions I'll admit to with this album.
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What was Lazy about the production??? Sorry I'm not producer so I really don't understand when people say he had good/bad production on his CD
 
LNW Malandro said:
8PM at MSG said:
He was dropping real gems on dealing with broads but its one of those lazy productions I'll admit to with this album.
Click to expand...
What was Lazy about the production??? Sorry I'm not producer so I really don't understand when people say he had good/bad production on his CD
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I'm not either. It's more so sound quality. Nas sometimes sounds like he's spitting over casio beats. They are really simple, repetitive and don't necessarily capture your attention.
 
:wow:

Just looked up the tracklisting for the original version of this album... he should have released it like that.
 
I've never heard I Am in its intended make up but yeah the track list is beastly. Can't find it anywhere though.
 
It is a classic. You won't see me tonight is a CLASSIC. One of his most underrated songs.

I still have not sat through Big Things and Undying Love.
 
I agree. A lot of the negative criticism for it seems to stem from many being caught up in what the album could have been, due to it leaking early.

What could have been doesn't cloud my judgement, though; the album is dope.
 
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