The Lost Tapes (Nas album)
{{Infobox album
| name = The Lost Tapes
| type = compilation
| artist = Nas
| cover = Nas-the-lost-tapes-lp.jpg
| alt =
| released = {{start date|2002|9|23}}
| recorded = 1998–2001
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Hip hop
| length = {{Duration|m=43|s=02}}
| label = {{hlist|Ill Will|Columbia}}
| producer = {{hlist|The Alchemist|Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie|Hill, Inc.|L.E.S.|Poke and Tone|Precision|Rockwilder|Al West|Kanye West (co.)}}
| prev_title = Stillmatic
| prev_year = 2001
| next_title = God's Son
| next_year = 2002
}}
The Lost Tapes is a compilation album by American rapper Nas. It was released on September 23, 2002, by Ill Will Records and Columbia Records, who wanted to capitalize on what was seen in hip hop music as Nas' artistic comeback the year before, and compiles previously unreleased tracks that were discarded from recording sessions for the rapper's previous studio albums I Am... (1999) and Stillmatic (2001). It features production by L.E.S., The Alchemist, Poke and Tone, and Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie, among others. With low-key, sparse sounds and observational lyrics about urban life, the songs are largely autobiographical and nostalgic, departing from the thug persona of Nas' previous records.
Released with little promotion, The Lost Tapes debuted and peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200, selling over 70,000 copies in its first week. It received widespread acclaim from critics, some of whom viewed it as Nas' best record since his 1994 debut album Illmatic. A second volume of previously unreleased songs was planned before Nas had signed with Def Jam Recordings in 2006, but the project was delayed because of issues with his record label; The Lost Tapes 2 was eventually released on July 19, 2019.
Background
In 2001, Nas made an artistic comeback with the release of his fifth album Stillmatic and his highly publicized feud with rapper Jay-Z.{{cite web|last=Rabin|first=Nathan|author-link=Nathan Rabin|url=https://www.avclub.com/nas-gods-son-1798198227|title=Nas: God's Son|work=The A.V. Club|publisher=Onion Inc|date=February 3, 2003|access-date=November 20, 2012}} Both events revitalized his image in hip hop music at the time, following a string of commercially successful but critically subpar albums. Nas' record label, Columbia Records, capitalized on his comeback with a promotional campaign that included the release of two archival albums, the extended play From Illmatic to Stillmatic: The Remixes and The Lost Tapes, while leading up to the release of his 2002 studio album God's Son.{{cite web|last=Birchmeier|first=Jason|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/nas-p44732/biography|title=Nas|publisher=Allmusic. Rovi Corporation|at=Biography|date=October 1, 2003|access-date=November 20, 2012}}
Preparation
File:Nas-04.jpg in 1998]]
The Lost Tapes compiles previously unreleased tracks that Nas recorded during 1998 to 2001 in the sessions for both his 1999 album I Am... and Stillmatic.{{cite web|url=http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/4986291/a/Lost+Tapes,+The.htm|title=Nas – The Lost Tapes CD Album|publisher=CD Universe, Muze|access-date=November 20, 2012}}{{cite web|last=Higgins|first=Dalton|url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006IGU3|title=The Lost Tapes: Nas: Music|publisher=Amazon.com Inc|at=Editorial Reviews|access-date=November 20, 2012}} Several songs from the sessions for the former album, including "Blaze a 50", "Drunk by Myself", and "Poppa Was a Playa",{{cite web|last=Juon|first=Steve|url=http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2002_09_losttapes.html|title=Nas :: The Lost Tapes :: Ill Will/Columbia Records|publisher=RapReviews. Flash Web Design Exclusive|date=September 24, 2002|access-date=November 20, 2012}} were bootlegged prior to its release and leaked to the Internet through MP3 technology,{{cite web|last=Philips|first=Craig|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-feb-08-fi-6011-story.html|title=IBM Aims to Unplug Online Music Pirates|work=Los Angeles Times|date=February 8, 1999|access-date=November 20, 2012}} which led to their exclusion from I Am....{{cite news |last=Seymour|first=Craig|author-link=Craig Seymour|title=Nas's 'I Am' Isn't Quite; Rapper's Third Effort Thoughtful but Uneven |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=C.05|date=April 14, 1999}} Most of the compiled songs first became available as bootlegs on underground mixtapes before being selected and mastered for The Lost Tapes.
Songs on The Lost Tapes were recorded in several recording studios in New York, including Right Track Studios, The Hit Factory Studios, and Sony Studios in New York City, Lobo Studios in Long Island, and Music Palace in West Hempstead, as well as South Beach Studios in Miami, Florida and Westlake Studios in Santa Monica, California. Production was handled by The Alchemist, L.E.S., Poke and Tone, Precision, Rockwilder, Al West, Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie, and Hill, Inc. The album was packaged with a booklet featuring artwork by Chris "C-Money" Feldman and photography by Kareem Black, along with liner notes displaying the slogan "No cameos. No hype. No bullsh*t".{{cite AV media notes|title=The Lost Tapes|author=Nas|author-link=Nas|year=2002|type=CD liner|publisher=Columbia Records|id=CK 85275|location=New York, New York}}
Music and lyrics
File:Harlemnychahighrise (cropped).jpg pictured).]]
The Lost Tapes features introspective lyrics and themes of urban life, sociology, and despair.{{cite magazine|last=Seymour|first=Craig|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,353022,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905005555/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,353022,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 5, 2008|title=The Lost Tapes Review|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=September 27, 2002|access-date=November 20, 2012}} Its music is characterized by low-key beats,{{cite press release|title=The Lost Tapes Resurface |url=http://www.sonybmg.com.au/news/details.do?newsId=20030106114212 |publisher=Sony BMG |date=January 6, 2003 |access-date=November 20, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080814065741/http://www.sonybmg.com.au/news/details.do?newsId=20030106114212 |archive-date=August 14, 2008 |url-status=unfit }} sparse production, subtle string flourishes,{{cite journal|last=Capobianco|first=Ken|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/208906811.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+11%2C+2002&author=KEN+CAPOBIANCO&pub=Boston+Globe&desc=NAS+THE+LOST+TAPES+COLUMBIA&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131165153/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/208906811.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+11,+2002&author=KEN+CAPOBIANCO&pub=Boston+Globe&desc=NAS+THE+LOST+TAPES+COLUMBIA&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 31, 2013|title=Nas The Lost Tapes Columbia|journal=The Boston Globe|page=C.14|date=October 11, 2002|access-date=November 20, 2012}} mellow piano work, and subdued soul music loops.{{cite magazine|last=Caramanica|first=Jon|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/the-lost-tapes-20020925|title=The Lost Tapes by Nas|magazine=Rolling Stone|publisher=Wenner Media|date=September 25, 2002|access-date=November 20, 2012}} Stylus Magazine{{'}}s Brett Berliner said songs such as "Doo Rags" and "No Idea's Original" incorporate classical melodies, while songs such as "Purple" and "Fetus" feature neo-classical themes.{{cite web|last=Berliner|first=Brett|url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/nas/the-lost-tapes.htm|title=Nas – The Lost Tapes – Review|work=Stylus Magazine|date=September 1, 2002|access-date=November 20, 2012|archive-date=October 7, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007075116/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/nas/the-lost-tapes.htm|url-status=dead}} John Bush of AllMusic said the songs "have more in common with his early recordings; there's more of a back-in-the-day, wasn't-it-all-so-simple-then sound to 'Doo Rags' and 'Poppa Was a Playa,' two tracks that definitely wouldn't have fit on the raging Stillmatic."{{cite web|last=Bush|first=John|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-lost-tapes-r606482/review|title=The Lost Tapes – Nas|publisher=Allmusic. Rovi Corporation|at=Review|date=October 1, 2003|access-date=November 20, 2012}} Music writer Craig Seymour observed "spare beats" in the music and few boasts in Nas' rapping, while Chris Conti from the Boston Phoenix said the simple beats "counteract Nas's complex bars of braggadocio and street-life storytelling."{{cite web|last=Conti|first=Chris|url=http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/music/otr/documents/02493053.htm|title=Music
According to Robert Christgau, The Lost Tapes abandons the thug persona of Nas' previous work in favor of more sensitive, nostalgic, and autobiographical lyrics. Slate magazine's David Samuels interpreted "a message that begins with a rejection of the materialism of his ... rival Jay-Z" and "the home truth about how most kids in the projects feel about the real-life gangstas who live in their neighborhoods", citing "No Idea's Original" as an example.{{cite web|last=Samuels|first=David|url=http://www.slate.com/id/2074649/|title=Nas, the rapper from New York, is no Eminem. He's better.|work=Slate|publisher=The Slate Group|date=November 27, 2002|access-date=November 20, 2012}} New York Daily News writer Jim Farber commented on his lyrical observations, "Nas focuses on linear scenarios and on human motivations ... "unlike many hard rappers, Nas' tales of ghetto horror are not covert boasts but expressions of true fear". Farber took note of "a cinematic tale of self-destruction in 'Drunk by Myself,' and a compelling autobiography narrated from the womb in 'Fetus.' "{{cite web|last=Farber|first=Jim|url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/2002-09-22/entertainment/18215349_1_nas-singer-eva-cassidy-album|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609134357/http://articles.nydailynews.com/2002-09-22/entertainment/18215349_1_nas-singer-eva-cassidy-album|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 9, 2012|title=Overflow tracks from Eva Cassidy, Nas and Ryan Adams make terrific albums|work=New York Daily News|publisher=Daily News, L.P|date=September 22, 2002|access-date=November 20, 2012}}
{{Listen|pos = right
|filename = No Idea's Original.ogg
|title = "No Idea's Original"
|description = The song was produced by The Alchemist and recorded in the sessions for Nas' 2001 album Stillmatic.
}}
The opening track "Doo Rags" contemplates Nas' youth and society's cyclical nature.{{cite magazine|last=Hall|first=Rashaun|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fg0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA19|title=Albums – Spotlights|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media|volume=114|issue=41|page=19|date=October 12, 2002|access-date=November 20, 2012}} It features a contemporary piano loop and jazz tones. Richard Hazell from HipHopDX describes the song as "a piano propelled painting of time and space as seen through the third eye of Nas, which can easily be envisioned by any New York City dweller."{{cite web|last=Hazell|first=Richard|url=http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/album-reviews/id.213/title.nas-the-lost-tapes|title=Nas – The Lost Tapes|work=HipHopDX|date=June 20, 2011|access-date=November 20, 2012}} On "My Way", he meditates over his rise out of poverty to the "life of a rich thug", recalls the death of his childhood friend Ill Will, and concedes that he "still feels broke with millions in the bank."{{cite web|last=Chennault|first=Sam|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/5709-the-lost-tapes/|title=Album Reviews: Nas: The Lost Tapes|publisher=Pitchfork Media|date=October 7, 2002|access-date=November 20, 2012}} On "U Gotta Love It", Nas makes reference to the "'86 crack blitz" and discusses his own significance: "This thug life you claimed it, I make millions from entertainment / Now back in the hood, certain cats they wanna kill me / They ice-grill me, but on the low, niggas feel me."{{cite web|last=Alvarez|first=Gabriel|url=http://www.complex.com/music/2011/05/the-100-best-nas-songs/nas-u-gotta-love-it-2002|title=The 100 Best Nas Songs|work=Complex|publisher=Complex Media|at=#53. Nas "U Gotta Love It" (2002)|date=May 25, 2011|access-date=November 20, 2012}} "Nothing Lasts Forever" advises to appreciate life's small epiphanies and be optimistic about the future. On "No Idea's Original", Nas notes the similarities of people in life and views other rappers as creatively derivative, while distinguishing himself from them:{{cite web|last=Alvarez|first=Gabriel|url=http://www.complex.com/music/2011/05/the-100-best-nas-songs/nas-no-ideas-original-2002|title=The 100 Best Nas Songs|work=Complex|publisher=Complex Media|at=#45. Nas "No Idea's Original" (2002)|date=May 25, 2011|access-date=November 20, 2012}} "No idea's original, there's nothin new under the sun / It's never what you do, but how it's done / What you base your happiness around material, women, and large paper / That means you inferior, not major." He references the line "there's nothing new under the sun" from the Book of Ecclesiastes in the song's chorus. "No Idea's Original" samples Barry White's 1973 song "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby", a frequently sampled recording in hip hop music.
"Blaze a 50" features a violin-based instrumental and a complex narrative that follows a tale of murder,{{cite journal|last=Ryan|first=Chris|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mvzad9KEt0wC&pg=PT20|title=Nas, 'The Lost Tapes' (Ill Will/Columbia)|journal=Spin|publisher=VIBE/SPIN Ventures|volume=18|issue=12|page=140|date=December 2002|access-date=November 20, 2012}} sex, and betrayal. Nas narrates the tale in conventional fashion until the ending, at which the track rewinds to an earlier point and he revises his original ending.Bradley (2009), p. 173. "Everybody's Crazy" features complex rhymes and braggadocio rap by Nas: "Gangsta see, gangsta do / A Langston Hughes predecessor / Gun in my dresser, slang I use." In "Purple"{{'}}s narrative, Nas lights up a blunt and expresses his thoughts, including criticism of hoodlums and their effect on their neighborhoods: "The 'hood love you, but behind your back they pray for the day / A bullet hit your heart and ambulance take you away / That ain't love it's hate / Think of all the mothers at wakes / Whose sons you've killed and you ain't got a cut on your face?"{{cite web|last=Alvarez|first=Gabriel|url=http://www.complex.com/music/2011/05/the-100-best-nas-songs/nas-purple-2002|title=The 100 Best Nas Songs|work=Complex|publisher=Complex Media|at=#63. Nas "Purple" (2002)|date=May 25, 2011|access-date=November 20, 2012}} "Drunk by Myself" has lyrics concerning alcohol and self-medication.
File:Kanye West in Portland.jpg (pictured here in 2005).]]
"Black Zombie" is an impassioned, self-reflective critique of problems afflicting the African-American community, including prejudice ("You believe when they say we ain't shit, we can't grow / All we are is dope dealers and gangstas and hoes"), economic insolvency ("What do we own? The skin on our backs / We rent and we ask for reparations, then they hit us with tax"), and dependency ("I'm a Columbia record slave / So get paid / Control your own destiny, you are a genius / Don't let it happen to you like it did to me, I was a black zombie").Ross (2008), p. 325. Its socially conscious lyrics deride media stereotypes of African Americans, inequality in the educational system, and black-on-black violence. According to writer Dax-Devlon Ross, the song foreshadowed the themes and "world view" of Nas' subsequent albums. "Poppa Was a Playa" features uncredited co-production by Kanye West,{{cite web|last=Horowitz|first=Steven J.|url=http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.15636/title.d-dot-lashes-out-at-kanye-west-for-slandering-his-name|title=D-Dot Lashes Out at Kanye West for Slandering His Name|work=HipHopDX|date=June 20, 2011|access-date=November 20, 2012}} and discusses Nas' complicated relationship with his father, jazz musician Olu Dara, addressing his lusty, itinerant lifestyle throughout Nas' youth.Lazerine (2008), p. 121. Gabriel Alvarez of Complex calls it an "honest dedication to his old man: a jazz player, a rolling stone" and writes of the song, "The love is there despite the man's faults. Nas crafts a full picture of the past, looking at the infidelity and fights from both parents' perspectives."{{cite web|last=Alvarez|first=Gabriel|url=http://www.complex.com/music/2011/05/the-100-best-nas-songs/nas-poppa-was-a-playa-2002|title=The 100 Best Nas Songs|work=Complex|publisher=Complex Media|at=#66. Nas "Poppa Was a Playa" (2002)|date=May 25, 2011|access-date=November 20, 2012}}
An untitled hidden track follows "Poppa Was a Playa" and has Nas rapping from the perspective of his prenatal self. It was originally recorded for I Am... and had planned titles "Fetus" and "Belly Button Window".{{cite journal|last=Coleman|first=Brian|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/access/230180511.html?dids=230180511:230180511&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+01%2C+2002&author=&pub=Boston+Herald&desc=Discs%3B+Aguilera+strips+off+old+image&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107163846/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/access/230180511.html?dids=230180511:230180511&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+01,+2002&author=&pub=Boston+Herald&desc=Discs%3B+Aguilera+strips+off+old+image&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 7, 2012|title=Discs; Aguilera strips off old image|journal=Boston Herald|publisher=Herald Media|page=S.24|date=November 1, 2002|access-date=November 20, 2012}} The track opens with solemn guitar chords and the sound of bubbling liquid before being overlaid with a beat and a piano riff.Bradley (2009), p. 171. An introductory verse is delivered by Nas in a spoken word tone: "Yeah. I want all my niggas to come journey with me / My name is Nas, and the year is 1973 / The beginning of me / Therefore I can see / Through my belly button window / Who I am." The narrative follows the time before his birth, covering subject matter such as his parents fighting and his expectations for life.{{cite web|last=Alvarez|first=Gabriel|url=http://www.complex.com/music/2011/05/the-100-best-nas-songs/nas-fetus-2002|title=The 100 Best Nas Songs|work=Complex|publisher=Complex Media|at=#73. Nas "Fetus" (2002)|date=May 25, 2011|access-date=November 20, 2012}} In Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop (2009), writer Adam Bradley denotes the track's lyrical narrative of an MC's story of birth as "one of the core narratives in rap", having its roots in a similar autobiographical convention found in African-American slave narratives. Of Nas' narrative, Bradley states, "By endowing the insensible with voice, he aspires to an expressive level that transcends speaking for oneself, or of oneself, to one that self-consciously constructs itself as an artist giving shape to that which lacks coherence."
Marketing and sales
The Lost Tapes was released by Ill Will Records and Columbia Records, and distributed through Sony Music Entertainment.{{cite web|url=http://www.jr.com/product/music/pm/_459988/#productTabCredits|title=Nas – The Lost Tapes
On October 2, 2002, The Lost Tapes was reported to have sold more than 70,000 copies in its first week of release, giving it a chart debut of number 10 on the Billboard 200.{{cite web|last=D'Angelo|first=Joe|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1457889/elvis-1s-lp-hit-1.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209165333/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1457889/elvis-1s-lp-hit-1.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 9, 2012|title=The King Crowned #1 on Billboard Albums Chart|publisher=MTV News. MTV Networks|date=October 2, 2002|access-date=November 20, 2012}} It ultimately spent eight weeks on the chart.{{cite magazine|last=Crosley|first=Hillary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gRQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA33|title=More Than Words|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media|volume=120|issue=27|page=33, Tuned Out?|date=July 5, 2008|access-date=November 20, 2012}} It also charted at number three on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/2002-10-12/r-b-hip-hop-albums|title=Top Hip-Hop and R&B Albums & Charts|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media|at=Week of October 12, 2002|access-date=November 20, 2012}} By July 2008, the album had sold 340,000 copies in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Critical reception
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}
| rev2 = Boston Phoenix
| rev3 = Entertainment Weekly
| rev4 = HipHopDX
| rev5 = Pitchfork Media
| rev6 = Rolling Stone
| rev7 = The Source
| rev7Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite journal|last=Fredricks|first=Tony|title=Nas, The Lost Tapes (Columbia)|journal=The Source|publisher=The Source Enterprises|issue=157|at=Reviews|date=October 2002}}
| rev8 = Spin
| rev9 = Stylus Magazine
| rev10 = The Village Voice
| rev10Score = B+{{cite journal|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2003-02-04/music/the-prelude/1/|title=The Prelude|journal=The Village Voice|publisher=Village Voice Media|at=Consumer Guide|date=February 4, 2003|access-date=November 20, 2012}}
}}
The Lost Tapes was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 81, based on 12 reviews.{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/the-lost-tapes/nas|title=The Lost Tapes Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More|publisher=Metacritic. CBS Interactive|access-date=November 20, 2012}}
Reviewing for Entertainment Weekly in September 2002, Craig Seymour said Nas' "gritty, yet hopeful, reflections make Lost Tapes a real find." Rolling Stone critic Jon Caramanica hailed it as "the real Stillmatic", writing that it "displays Nas' gifts for tightly stitched narrative and stunningly precise detail." In The A.V. Club, Nathan Rabin deemed it a masterpiece whose assorted tracks cohere as well as any of Nas' official studio albums while reaffirming his reputation as "rap music's poet laureate of urban despair". Ken Capobianco from The Boston Globe said the leftover songs prove why Nas had so much promise early in his career, while Spin{{'}}s Chris Ryan viewed the record as a hip hop version of Bob Dylan's much-bootlegged Basement Tapes—"a raw document [that] still proves that Nas had it all along." PopMatters critic Marc L. Hill called it a "masterfully arranged" and "necessary addition to the collection of any hip-hop fan". In The Village Voice, Christgau was particularly impressed by the four autobiographical songs closing the album, preferring them to other songs he felt are nothing more than outtakes. In a less enthusiastic review, Brett Berliner from Stylus Magazine wrote that as good as the songs were, "they don't make a real album ... [more] like a superb mixtape", while Billboard{{'}}s Rashaun Hall believed the production on some of the songs sounds outdated.
In a retrospective review, AllMusic editor John Bush recommended The Lost Tapes to "hip-hop fans who want to hear some great rhyming with no added features" and commented that tracks such as "Doo Rags", "No Idea's Original", and "Black Zombie" "stand up to anything Nas has recorded since the original Illmatic." Jesal Padania of RapReviews commented that the album "proves remarkably consistent throughout, and is a superb listening experience", and considered it a studio release, stating "this is a short sharp shock of awesome lyricism, and many, unofficially, consider this to be the closest cousin we will ever get to Illmatic II."{{cite web|last=Padania|first=Jesal|url=http://www.rapreviews.com/news/View.php?ArticleID=1289|title=Jesal's Artist of the Decade Series – Nas|publisher=RapReviews. Flash Web Design Exclusive|date=August 25, 2009|access-date=November 20, 2012|archive-date=September 8, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908011137/http://www.rapreviews.com/news/View.php?ArticleID=1289|url-status=dead}} Pitchfork Media{{'}}s Ryan Dombal cited the album as one of Nas' "finest moments". About.com's Henry Adaso called it "noteworthy because of its superiority to half the stuff in Nas' catalog."{{cite web|last=Adaso|first=Henry|url=http://rap.about.com/od/nas/tp/NasDiscography.htm|title=Nas Discography – Albums by Rapper Nas|publisher=About.com. The New York Times Company|year=2010|access-date=November 20, 2012|archive-date=February 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207132140/http://rap.about.com/od/nas/tp/NasDiscography.htm|url-status=dead}} In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Chris Ryan was less enthusiastic about the album, finding it "somewhat inconsistent, and certainly too scattered to be considered an album per se," even though it features "some classics, such as the nostalgic 'Doo Rags,' that are not to be missed."Ryan (2004), p. 569. In its 2007 issue, XXL included The Lost Tapes in its list of "classic" albums to be given the publication's maximum "XXL" rating.{{cite journal|author=Staff|title=Retrospective: XXL Albums|journal=XXL|publisher=Harris Publications|issue=98|date=December 2007}} In 2012, Complex included The Lost Tapes in their list of "25 Rap Albums From the Past Decade That Deserve Classic Status".{{cite journal|last=Martin|first=Andrew|date=December 6, 2012|url=http://www.complex.com/music/2012/12/25-rap-albums-from-the-past-decade-that-deserve-classic-status/nas-lost-tapes|title=Nas, The Lost Tapes (2002) — 25 Rap Albums From the Past Decade That Deserve Classic Status|journal=Complex|location=New York|access-date=December 8, 2012}}
Sequel
{{Main|The Lost Tapes 2}}
A follow-up compilation, The Lost Tapes II, was originally intended to be released on December 16, 2003, and include unreleased recordings, remixes, and freestyle tracks.{{cite web|author=MTV News|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1479398/.jhtml|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120912040722/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1479398/.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 12, 2012|title=For the Record: Quick News On Nas, DMX And Eve, 'The Bachelor,' Foo Fighters, Phantom Planet & More|publisher=MTV News. MTV Networks|date=September 29, 2003|access-date=November 20, 2012}} However, its release was delayed,{{cite web|url=http://www.barks.jp/news/?id=52336477|title=Nas : ナズが10周年記念アルバムをリリース|publisher=BARKS. ITmedia|language=Japanese|trans-title=Nas: Release / Nas's 10th anniversary album|date=February 19, 2004|access-date=November 20, 2012}} and in 2006, Nas signed to Def Jam Recordings.{{cite web|last=Leeds|first=Jeff|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/23/arts/music/23rap.html|title=Rapper Nas Is to Join Label Led by Former Rival Jay-Z|work=The New York Times|date=January 23, 2006|access-date=November 20, 2012}} In a June 2010 interview for Hot 97.5 KVEG, he said of following-up The Lost Tapes, "I do got a lot of songs that really didn't make no album, that's just sittin' around [or] got lost. So I've got enough actually, for a Lost Tapes 2 and 3 by now. So I've just got to set it up, put them together – 12 songs for one album, 12 songs for another album, and figure it out. That's all it takes."{{cite web|last=Jacobs|first=Allen|url=http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.11381/title.nas-says-lost-tapes-volumes-2-3-is-possible|title=Nas Says "Lost Tapes" Volumes 2 & 3 Is Possible in September 2010|work=HipHopDX|date=June 2, 2010|access-date=November 20, 2012}} In September, he announced plans to release The Lost Tapes 2 on December 14.{{cite web|last=Dombal|first=Ryan|url=http://pitchfork.com/news/40086-nas-preps-the-lost-tapes-vol-2/|title=Nas Preps The Lost Tapes: Vol. 2|publisher=Pitchfork Media|date=September 16, 2010|access-date=November 20, 2012}} However, its release was further delayed by Def Jam, whom Nas accused of mishandling the project and its budget in a personal e-mail sent to label executives.{{cite web|last=Roberts|first=Steven|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1649508/nas-accuses-def-jam-skimping-on-lost-tapes-vol-2-budget.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110124181637/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1649508/nas-accuses-def-jam-skimping-on-lost-tapes-vol-2-budget.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 24, 2011|title=Nas Accuses Def Jam of Skimping on Lost Tapes: Vol. 2 Budget|publisher=MTV News. MTV Networks|date=October 7, 2010|access-date=November 20, 2012}} Reports of the project's delay incited fans to create an online petition in December asking for Def Jam to release the album.{{cite web|last=Jacobs|first=Allen|url=http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.13426/title.nas-fans-create-online-petition-for-def-jam-to-release-lost-tapes-2|title=Nas Fans Create Online Petition for Def Jam to Release "Lost Tapes 2"|work=HipHopDX|date=December 21, 2010|access-date=November 20, 2012}} After losing time to the project's delay, Nas began recording for a new studio album and put plans for The Lost Tapes 2 on hold.{{cite web|last=Rodriguez|first=Jayson|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1655194/nas-talks-lost-tapes-vol-2-label-issues.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105013835/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1655194/nas-talks-lost-tapes-vol-2-label-issues.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 5, 2011|title=Nas Talks Lost Tapes Vol. 2, Label Issues|publisher=MTV News. MTV Networks|date=June 3, 2011|access-date=November 20, 2012}}{{cite web|last=Koroma|first=Salima|url=http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.14407/title.nas-shares-thoughts-on-libya-updates-on-lost-tapes-vol-2|title=Nas Shares Thoughts on Libya, Updates on 'Lost Tapes Vol. 2'|work=HipHopDX|date=March 15, 2011|access-date=November 20, 2012}} In a May 2011 interview for MTV News, he explained why the sequel was abandoned:
{{cquote|When I released Lost Tapes, it was on Sony. Being at Sony for so long, I was used to things going easy. Kinda easy. At Def Jam, I just got there, I'm still in my ways at Sony. I'm like, 'yeah, this record'll come out this time, a few months later I'ma drop this.' But we just started working together, so they're like, 'We can do this, but wait, maybe we should do it like this,' and I wasn't used to that. And then there was no communication at all, and I wasn't used to that. With Sony, I wasn't used to a lot of communication, it was just, we understood what we were doing. [...] Def Jam, it was more, 'Let's sit down, let's have tea and talk this over.' I wasn't so used to that, and I saw kinda things falling behind. It kinda messed up my flow, I thought. The timing for that is gone. Now, it's all about the new record.{{cite web|last=Kuperstein|first=Slava|url=http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.15146/title.nas-says-time-for-lost-tapes-2-has-passed|title=Nas Says Time for "Lost Tapes 2" Has Passed|work=HipHopDX|date=May 17, 2011|access-date=2011-08-12}}}}
On June 11, 2019, Nas shared a promotional video via his Instagram account, announcing the release of The Lost Tapes 2 in the near future.{{cite magazine|last=Scott|first=Dana|date=June 11, 2019|url=https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.51727/title.nas-reveals-the-lost-tapes-2-promo-on-instagram#|title=Nas Reveals 'The Lost Tapes 2' Promo On Instagram|magazine=HipHopDX|access-date=June 12, 2019}} Its track listing and cover art were revealed on July 2, and the album was released on July 19.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/nas-gathers-unreleased-tracks-for-long-awaited-lost-tapes-2-854877/|title=Nas Gathers Unreleased Tracks for Long-Awaited 'Lost Tapes 2'|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=July 2, 2019|access-date=July 2, 2019}}
Track listing
{{Track listing
| total_length = 43:02
| extra_column = Producer(s)
| title1 = Doo Rags
| writer1 = {{hlist|Nasir Jones|Larry Gates|Michelle Lynn Bell}}
| extra1 = Precision
| length1 = 4:03
| title2 = My Way
| writer2 = {{hlist|Jones|Alan Maman}}
| extra2 = The Alchemist
| length2 = 3:55
| title3 = U Gotta Love It
| writer3 = {{hlist|Jones|Leshan Lewis|Carlos Wilson|Louis Wilson|Ricardo Wilson}}
| extra3 = L.E.S.
| length3 = 3:18
| title4 = Nothing Lasts Forever
| writer4 = {{hlist|Jones|Lewis}}
| extra4 = L.E.S.
| length4 = 3:52
| title5 = No Idea's Original
| writer5 = {{hlist|Jones|Maman|Barry White}}
| extra5 = The Alchemist
| length5 = 3:04
| title6 = Blaze a 50
| writer6 = {{hlist|Jones|L.E.S.|Jean-Claude Olivier|Samuel Barnes}}
| extra6 = {{hlist|L.E.S.|Poke and Tone}}
| length6 = 2:49
| title7 = Everybody's Crazy
| writer7 = {{hlist|Jones|Dana Stinson}}
| extra7 = Rockwilder
| length7 = 3:35
| title8 = Purple
| writer8 = {{hlist|Jones|Tommie Spearman}}
| extra8 = Hill, Inc.
| length8 = 3:39
| title9 = Drunk by Myself
| writer9 = {{hlist|Jones|Al West|Barnes|Oliver}}
| extra9 = {{hlist|Al West|Poke and Tone}}
| length9 = 4:03
| title10 = Black Zombie
| writer10 = {{hlist|Jones|Spearman}}
| extra10 = Hill, Inc.
| length10 = 3:35
| title11 = Poppa Was a Playa
| writer11 = {{hlist|Jones|Deric Angelettie|Allan Wayne Felder|Norman Ray Harris}}
| extra11 = {{hlist|Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie|Kanye West (co.)}}
| length11 = 7:09
| title12 = Fetus
| writer12 = {{hlist|Jon Shriver|Nasir Jones}}
| extra12 = Shrive Alive AKA Jon Shriver
| length12 = 3:19
}}
{{Track listing
| total_length = 53:40
| headline = Japan edition bonus tracks
| extra_column = Producer(s)
| title13 = It Ain't Hard to Tell
| note13 = Large Professor Remix
| writer13 = {{hlist|Highleigh Crizoe|Jones|William Paul Mitchell}}
| extra13 = Large Professor
| length13 = 2:51
| title14 = Affirmative Action
| note14 = Remix) (featuring Foxy Brown and AZ
| writer14 = {{hlist|Dave Atkinson|Barnes|Anthony Cruz|Jones|Inga Marchand|Cory McKay|Olivier}}
| extra14 = {{hlist|Dave Atkinson|Poke and Tone}}
| length14 = 3:23
| title15 = One Mic
| note15 = Remix
| writer15 = {{hlist|Tyrone Fyffe|Jones|James Mtume}}
| extra15 = Ty Fyffe
| length15 = 4:34
}}
- "U Gotta Love It" contains excerpts from the composition "Love Song" performed by Mandrill, written by Carlos Wilson, Louis Wilson, and Ricardo Wilson.
- "No Idea's Original" contains excerpts from "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby" written and performed by Barry White.
- "Poppa Was a Playa" contains excerpts from the composition "The Newness Is Gone" written by Allan Wayne Felder and Norman Ray Harris, performed by Eddie Kendricks.
- A hidden track begins at 3:49 of track 11.
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}
- The Alchemist – producer
- Julian Alexander – artwork
- Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie – producer
- Pablo Arraya – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
- Kareem Black – photography
- Kevin Crouse – engineer, mixing
- Chris "C-Money" Feldman – artwork
- Bryan Golder – engineer
- Paul Gregory – assistant engineer
- Hill, Inc. – producer
- Ken "Duro" Ifill – engineer
- L.E.S. – producer
{{col-2}}
- Nikki Martin – coordination
- Jonathan Merritt – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
- Nas – composer, executive producer
- Lenny "Linen" Nicholson – A&R
- Jake Ninan – assistant engineer
- Poke and Tone – producer
- Precision – producer
- Rockwilder – producer
- John Shriver – engineer
- Grayson Sumby – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
- Richard Travali – mixing
- Al West – producer
{{col-end}}
Charts
= Year-end charts =
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center;"
!scope="col"|Chart (2002) !scope="col"|Position |
| scope="row"|Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan){{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20031106073523/http://www.jamshowbiz.com/JamMusicCharts/2002_r&b2.html|archivedate=November 6, 2003|url=http://www.jamshowbiz.com/JamMusicCharts/2002_r&b2.html|title=Canada's Top 200 R&B; albums of 2002|website=Jam!|accessdate=March 28, 2022}}
| 174 |
|---|
| scope="row"|Canadian Rap Albums (Nielsen SoundScan){{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20031012032336/http://www.jamshowbiz.com/JamMusicCharts/2002_rap.html|archivedate=October 12, 2003|url=http://www.jamshowbiz.com/JamMusicCharts/2002_rap.html|title=Top 100 rap albums of 2002 in Canada|website=Jam!|accessdate=March 28, 2022}}
| 87 |
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book|ref=none|first=Adam|last=Bradley|title=Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop|publisher=Basic Civitas Books|date=February 23, 2009|isbn=978-0-465-00347-1}}
- {{cite book|ref=none|last=Ryan|first=Chris|chapter=Nas |editor=Brackett, Nathan |editor2=Hoard, Christian|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|edition=Revised and Updated 4th |publisher=Simon & Schuster|date=November 1, 2004|isbn=0-7432-0169-8}}
- {{cite book|ref=none|first=Dax-Devlon|last=Ross|title=The Nightmare and the Dream: Nas, Jay-Z and the History of Conflict in African-American Culture|publisher=Outside the Box Publishing|date=June 1, 2008|isbn=978-0-9817398-1-6}}
- {{cite book|ref=none|author=Lazerine, Cameron |author2=Lazerine, Devin|title=Rap-Up: The Ultimate Guide to Hip-Hop and R&B|publisher=Hachette Digital|date=February 29, 2008|isbn=978-0-446-17820-4|url=https://archive.org/details/rapupultimategui00laze}}
External links
- {{Discogs master|type=album|20260}}
{{Nas}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Good article}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lost Tapes, The}}
Category:2002 compilation albums
Category:Albums produced by the Alchemist (musician)
Category:Albums produced by Kanye West
Category:Albums produced by L.E.S. (record producer)
Category:Albums produced by Rockwilder
Category:Albums produced by Trackmasters