The “Times” Gives Nas A Nudge

Brian Raftery | December 14, 2006 11:30 am

Today’s New York Times review of Nas’ Hip-Hop Is Dead, written by Kelefa Sanneh, is a must-read for a number of reasons: It uses a recent anti-Nas rant by Young Jeezy to illustrate the regional/generational divide among rappers; it quotes a Pitchfork interview; and it clocks in at over 1,000 words, which ain’t too shabby for a publication that years ago was still pumping out story after story about Bavarian opera houses.

Most interesting, though, is that Sanneh combines a critic’s detached appraisal with a long-time fan’s enthusiasm-slash-frustration: He calls the album “impressive” and “grumpy [and] lovable,” but also notes that Nas grown into a “humorless scold”; clearly, Sanneh loves the guy, but you can almost hear his eyes rolling to the back of his head when Nasir pumps out his umpteenth bar of braggadocio (it makes a slow, squishy sound).

And if that’s not enough to convince you to read it, it also uses the term “ghetto verisimilitude,” which has not been printed in the Times since the Gay Talese era.

Nas Writes Hip-Hop’s Obituary [NYT]