Street's Disciple
A double album marking the end of Nas' Columbia Records tenure, released November 30, 2004.
Street's Disciple is the seventh studio album by American rapper Nas, released as a double album by Ill Will Records, Columbia Records, and Sony Urban Music. Originally scheduled for a September 14, 2004 release, the album was ultimately released on November 30, 2004. Named after one of his lyrics from "Live at the Barbeque" by Main Source, the album's cover art was digitally created using photos of Nas to create an adaptation of The Last Supper. The album marked the end of Nas' tenure with Columbia Records after ten years. Street's Disciple was well received by critics and debuted at number 5 on the US Billboard 200, selling over 232,000 copies in its first week of sales. It was Nas's seventh consecutive platinum record in the United States, having shipped over 1 million copies.
- Artist
- Nas
- Release year
- 2004
- Label
- Columbia Records
- Certification
- Platinum (RIAA)
Lore & Background
Most of the album's production was handled between Salaam Remi, L.E.S. and Chucky Thompson of Sean Combs' production team The Hitmen. Remi contributed production on eleven tracks, L.E.S. produced on eight and Chucky Thompson helped on six. Salaam Remi (who collaborated with Nas on his previous LPs Stillmatic and God's Son) led all with nine solo productions. L.E.S. only produced three solo outings, but one included the single "Just a Moment". Thompson, on the other hand, had one solo production credit ("Getting Married"). Other notable producers from the album include A Tribe Called Quest member Q-Tip (who had last worked with Nas on Illmatic's "One Love" and the remix of "The World Is Yours") and D.I.T.C. producer Buckwild ("These Are Our Heroes"). Nas himself produced "Suicide Bounce" and "U.B.R. (Unauthorized Biography of Rakim)", both from the second disc. Nas' father Olu Dara appears on the title track "Street's Disciple" and lead single "Bridging the Gap". Aside from Ludacris ("Virgo") and Quan ("Just a Moment") no other MC's actually deliver a verse on Street's Disciple. Busta Rhymes plays hypeman to "Suicide Bounce" and Doug E. Fresh beatboxes on "Virgo". Kelis (Nas' ex-wife) helps sing the chorus along with the bridge on "American Way". Nas also uses a voice synthesizer to make his voice high-pitched for his female alter-ego Scarlett, who appears on "Sekou Story" and "Live Now".
Reader's Guide
Street's Disciple was released by Columbia Records on November 30, 2004, to widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 80, based on 16 reviews. Chicago Sun-Times writer Jeff Vrabel called it "sprawling and ambitious", while Robert Christgau from The Village Voice found its double-CD length "ambitious not hubristic, imposing not indigestible", and wrote that Nas "finally seems comfortable with his (black) humanity. He's responsible, thoughtful, and compassionate, never mealymouthed". He later named it the 11th best album of 2004 in his year-end list for the Pazz & Jop critics poll. Rolling Stone magazine's Jon Caramanica said it was "the rare instance of hip-hop old and wise enough to look backward without forgetting what it was like to look ahead with awe and wonder". Noah Callahan-Bever of Vibe was less enthusiastic, finding much of the songs "routine", suggesting Nas "needs new challenges, enlightening experiences, and careful insights to inspire him".
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