USF Bulls Radio

Until he finally made nice with Jay-Z and found himself in the Def Jam fold for Hip Hop Is Dead, Nas was a Columbia man. The ace MC's former label has compiled a dozen of Nas' pre-Dead "greatest hits," tacked on two bonus cuts, named it Greatest Hits, and pressed the collection for release on November 6. Not surprisingly, the set leans heavily on Illmatic, with a few highlights from the rest of Nas' Columbia catalogue thrown in for good measure. Greatest Hits, however, is not really meant to be a career overview. It's meant to be what greatest hits sets so often are: an end-of-contract obligation. One can understand why Columbia Records didn't include tracks from the Def Jam release Hip-Hop Is Dead, and as a document of the label's partnership with Nas, the record works. The opening track "Surviving the Times" details, with impressive candor, the early 1990s, when major labels invested in hip-hop and, specifically, when Columbia invested in the little-known, ninth-grade dropout Nasir Jones. Though he claims he was "destined to shine," the lyrics detail a career marked by luck and compromise—dealing with "a little laughter" about being a "rebel of hip-hop coming through a white rapper" (i.e. getting discovered by MC Serch) and capturing Columbia executive Chris Schwartz's attention after the label broke ties with Def Jam. The song ends with a satisfied assessment of finishing out the contract: "Here I am, completed my whole record deal." From the classics like "One Love" and "It Ain't Hard To Tell" from Illimatic to "One Mic" and "Ether" this album is sure to help fans reminisce about the days when it wasn't all business (Hint: song lyric). Nasir Jones, A.K.A. Nas is not done yet. The 34yr old hip hop veteran has recently stirred up controversy when he announced the title of his new album, N****r . Reverend Jesse Jackson criticized him, saying "The title using the 'N' word is morally offensive and socially distasteful. Nas has the right to degrade and denigrate in the name of free speech, but there is no honor in it. Radio and television stations have no obligation to play it and self-respecting people have no obligation to buy it. I wish he would use his talents to lift up and inspire, not degrade." N****r is set to be released on December 11, 2007 and will be his second album released under Def Jam. Below is the track list of his final album under Columbia Records. RATE: 4.5 of 5

. Less Than An Hour (w/ Cee-Lo Green)
2. Surviving The Times
3. It Ain’t Hard To Tell
4. NY State Of Mind
5. One Love
6. If I Ruled The World (w/ Lauryn Hill)
7. Street Dreams (Remix w/ R. Kelly)
8. Hate Me Now (w/ Puff Daddy)
9. Ether
10. One Mic
11. Got UR Self A Gun
12. Made You Look
13. Oochie Wally (w/ Bravehearts)
14. Bridging The Gap (w/ Olu Dara)