By Russell Wildermuth

Purchase Streets Disciple with the intentions of laying back on your favorite sofa and relaxing to the religious preaching’s of Nas and friends. Listeners won’t find an adrenaline rush from this two-disc compilation filled with gangster rants and heavenly prayers yet this is nothing new for those who are familiar with Nas’ old work.

The younger crowds, especially teenagers, look for an idol to sing their favorite songs. With this approach, they will pick up the Nas CD and be more confused than a little boy who has just received coal for Christmas. Little Timmy won’t be able to decide whether it’s ok to be a drug dealing gangster or a uniformed member of clergy, but that’s ok. Don’t worry sonny, Nas doesn’t really know which one he is either.

Don’t misunderstand, there are some worthy titles throughout but expect to come across some songs that will make you wonder if your CD player is playing tricks on you and has switched you to a ’70s radio station. Keep the aspirin close. Some worthy songs include: “A Message to the Feds” “These Are Our Hero’s,” and “Disciple”-all found on the first disc.

There is no doubt that Nas has a lot of talent but his nonstop flowing beats can get pretty boring. It is evident that Nas likes to concentrate most of his writing on the message rather than the music. You will feel like he is talking to you, not singing, and won’t find much difference of enjoyment if you took away the background beats but this is what makes rap so special. Rappers have been through so much and have so much to say that they find themselves often producing lectures on CD.

The CD content holds up fairly well when you compare it to most of the garbage that other rappers are talking about. Nas doesn’t dwell on the drugs and prostitutes that other so-called artists tend to beat to death. It seems as if rappers have run out of things to say and can’t come up with some viable message, so why not rap about smoking crack and getting high!?

If you are a Nas fan then by all means you will be interested in this compilation and you need not be persuaded to buy this CD. If you aren’t familiar with his previous work, it would benefit you to check out a song or two online before spending the $16 on something you may not enjoy. Keep in mind that many music fans either love or hate rap; you may want to decide that before you even look into it.