Nastradamus  (Audio CD) 
by Nas

Some artists take years between CDs, and some just keep spitting them out. Put Nasir Jones in the latter category, as his fourth album is his second of 1999. Judging by the title and the semi-apocalyptic tone of many of the tracks, Nas has millennium tension and then some, but his fears and prophecies are all stuck in the same old--and by now played out--ghetto melodramas that have become the leitmotif of hip-hop. Nearly every track concerns the life on the streets, the Game, the 'hood, the mayhem and murder, and Nas's muse and old stomping grounds, the QB Projects. Not that Nas doesn't have something to offer on any of the above topics. You can, through the often clumsy production, hear fiery glimpses of the young child-poet who burst on the scene in 1994 and was instantly heralded as the successor to Rakim. But as one might expect from a disc that arrives seven months after its predecessor, Nastradamus seems half thought out, with Nas conflicted between glorifying the thug life and trying desperately to issue a cautionary tale. As always, the best cut is when Nas joins forces with DJ Premier, who may be incapable of a bad beat. "Come Get Me" is the nearly perfect marriage of voice and rhythms, and like the equally solid "Some of Us Have Angels" (produced by Dame Grease), shows why Nas--even with his shortcomings and missteps--can never be slept on. Now if he would just take a break and find new inspiration. --Amy Linden