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Aug 24, 2012An album of incredible songs.
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The SourceAug 22, 2012Nas once again reminds us that as long as he's got one mic, lifee--and hip-hop--are beyond good. [#254, p.87]
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Aug 7, 2012On Life Is Good, he's lyrically and musically rich as he's been for years now.
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Aug 3, 2012While his lyrics may not make complete sense and can be hypocritical at times, Nas is on top of his game with Life Is Good.
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Jul 31, 2012Despite a couple of missteps (particularly "Summer on Smash" and "You Wouldn't Understand"), Life Is Good stands as Nas' best album in years, and one of the best hip-hop releases of 2012.
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Jul 24, 2012To pretend that Life is Good is flawless would be misleading, but it's a thoroughly enjoyable return to form.
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Jul 24, 2012Life is Good the most exciting Nas album to come around since It Was Written.
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Jul 24, 2012Life Is Good leaves Nas in his comfort zone, where the vital music of his youth proves a rousing platform for commenting on matters of middle age.
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Jul 23, 2012The self-awareness of this conflict makes Life Is Good a more compelling listen than Nas has delivered in a while.
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Jul 20, 2012You can't recapture lightning in a bottle, or age backwards, but you can settle gracefully into strengths. Nas isn't back; he's just here.
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Jul 20, 2012This is Nas' strongest album in 18 years and three months--yes, since his debut album Illmatic.
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Jul 20, 2012The complete package displays an obvious maturation from the veteran that is effectively in tune with a focus many have considered missing for some time.
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Jul 19, 2012It's a solid album anchored by The Don, his best single since 2003's Made You Look and so raucous it belongs in raves and on runways.
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Jul 19, 2012Life Is Good is arguably Nas's best album since Stillmatic.
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Jul 18, 2012Life Is Good, finds him humbled and reflective after his high-profile divorce from Kelis. This doesn't diminish his impact, as these songs mix anger, nostalgia, and insight.
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Jul 18, 2012Life is Good is a well-crafted entry from a seasoned veteran that displays his vitality and vintage flow 20-plus years into his career in a genre where many MCs don't age gracefully.
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Jul 18, 2012What makes Life Is Good stand out is what also made his celebrated debut, Illmatic, so compelling. There's a sense of narrative unity here, a wide-angle look of the artist as a grown man.
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Jul 18, 2012On his new album, Life Is Good, we're hearing the most locked-in Nas has been in years, and the results are awe-inspiring.
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Jul 17, 2012[Nas] shreds any doubts about his MC prowess.
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Jul 17, 2012At times, Life is Good is Nas' most satisfying album since God's Son, and at times it is just as flawed as its predecessors.
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Jul 17, 2012Apart from these misgivings [middle-core sequencing issues and "Nasty" not making the grade], it must be said that Nas has truly delivered.
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Jul 17, 2012The man is just on fire throughout the album.
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Jul 17, 2012So Life Is Good becomes the latest Nas album that doesn't quite do what it could. While Nas is rapping as best as he can here, the album as a whole is decent but too inconsistent to be anything more.
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Jul 16, 2012Here, he exorcises the turmoil with a focused set of sustained brilliance.
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Jul 16, 2012Too many tracks here recount his salad days in the era "before Air Jordans."
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Jul 16, 2012[Life is Good] proves once again that Nas is one of the smartest and most skilled players in the game.
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Jul 16, 2012If the game needed Illmatic, this is the one Nas needed to get out of his system, acting as a clearing house for all venom and bile, plus some gloss that doesn't fit but needed to go as well.
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Jul 16, 2012Nas doing exactly what he does best.
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Jul 16, 2012Along with the anger and regret comes the usual hip-hop baggage of aggrandisement, recrimination and old-school reminiscence.
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Jul 16, 2012Maturity suits the ever-articulate rapper, and his recollections of his early years as a Queensbridge hustler... have added resonance here.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 161 out of 182
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Mixed: 10 out of 182
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Negative: 11 out of 182
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Jul 17, 2012
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Jul 17, 2012
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Dec 5, 2012