Favorite Song Special Edition

REPLACE THESE STARS WITH HOMEPAGE SUMMARY<-->
So, I was at a party this weekend and a friend of mine used the phrase "it ain't hard to tell". Naturally, I busted out the first few lines of the Nas song, and surprisingly I was met with confusion from the two females I was talking with. They'll remain nameless, but both of their names start with the letter C, one of them had a short-lived stint as a contributor to this blog, and the other DJs a country night at Spiderhaus on Sundays.

Anyway, I think both would consider themselves hip-hop fans, but didn't know this definition-of-a-classic. So I thought, HEY, TIME FOR A SPECIAL EDITION



I feel like It Was Written is a really overlooked album, but let's be honest, Illmatic is clearly the reason anybody still pays Nas any attention.



I once read a really apt quote that nailed Illmatic's importance. It asserted that if the genre of hip-hop was wiped clean and disappeared from history, you could reconstruct everything from Illmatic. There aren't many albums you can say that about.



Nas - It Ain't Hard to Tell (divshare)



BONUS:
This remix was released on an EP of Danger Mouse's early mash-up material. He puts Nas over a sinister Portishead sample and it sounds great.

Nas - It Ain't Hard to Tell (Danger Mouse Remix) (divshare)



DOUBLE BONUS:
A nice little remix of One Love, goes over well in loungey hip-hop sets.

Nas - One Love (Dimension Ball Remix) (divshare)

(divshare)

TRIPLE BONUS:
Recommended reading- the lyrics to Ain't Hard to Tell are after the jump.

REPLACE THESE STARS WITH FULL POST<-->
So, I was at a party this weekend and a friend of mine used the phrase "it ain't hard to tell". Naturally, I busted out the first few lines of the Nas song, but was met with confusion from the two females I was talking with. They'll remain nameless, but both of their names start with the letter C, one of them had a short-lived stint as a contributor to this blog, and the other DJs a country night at Spiderhaus on Sundays.

Anyway, I think both would consider themselves hip-hop fans, but didn't know this definition-of-a-classic. So I thought, HEY, TIME FOR A SPECIAL EDITION



I feel like It Was Written is a really overlooked album, but let's be honest, Illmatic is clearly the reason anybody still pays Nas any attention.



I once read a really apt quote that nailed Illmatic's importance. It asserted that if all of hip-hop disappeared, if the genre was wiped clean, you could reconstruct everything from Illmatic. There aren't many albums you can say that about.



Nas - It Ain't Hard to Tell

(divshare)

BONUS:
Nas - It Ain't Hard to Tell (Danger Mouse Remix)

(divshare)

This remix was released on an EP of Danger Mouse's early mash-up material. He puts Nas over that sinister Portishead sample and it sounds great.

DOUBLE BONUS:
A nice little remix of One Love, goes over well in loungey hip-hop sets.

Nas - One Love (Dimension Ball Remix)

(divshare)


"It Ain't Hard To Tell"

It ain't hard to tell, I excel, then prevail
The mic is contacted, I attract clientele
My mic check is life or death, breathin a sniper's breath
I exhale the yellow smoke of buddha through righteous steps
Deep like The Shinin', sparkle like a diamond
Sneak a uzi on the island in my army jacket linin
Hit the Earth like a comet, invasion
Nas is like the Afrocentric Asian, half-man, half-amazin
Cause in my physical, I can express through song
Delete stress like Motrin, then extend strong
I drank Moet with Medusa, give her shotguns in hell
From the spliff that I lift and inhale, it ain't hard to tell

The buddha monk's in your trunk, turn the bass up
Not stories by Aesop, place your loot up, parties I shoot up
Nas, I analyze, drop a jew-el, inhale from the L
School a fool well, you feel it like braille
It ain't hard to tell, I kick a skill like Shaquille holds a pill
Vocabulary spills I'm +Ill+
plus +Matic+, I freak beats slam it like Iron Shiek
Jam like a tech with correct techniques
So analyze me, surprise me, but can't magmatize me
Scannin while you're plannin ways to sabotage me
I leave em froze like her-on in your nose
Nas'll rock well, it ain't hard to tell

This rhythmatic explosion, is what your frame of mind has chosen
I'll leave your brain stimulated, niggaz is frozen
Speak with criminal slang, begin like a violin
End like Leviathan, it's deep well let me try again
Wisdom be leakin out my grapefruit troop
I dominate break loops, givin mics men-e-straul cycles
Street's disciple, I rock beats that's mega trifle
And groovy but smoother than moves by Villanova
You're still a soldier, I'm like Sly Stone in Cobra
Packin like a rasta in the weed spot
Vocals'll squeeze glocks, MC's eavesdrop
Though they need not to sneak
My poetry's deep, I never fell
Nas's raps should be locked in a cell
It ain't hard to tell



I love you all