Nas' 'Nastradamus'; Classic!, Dope, Regular, or Garbage?

To have been in the rap game as long as Nas has, having a solid catalog, is the minimum criteria. But that’s not to say his catalog comes without a few blemishes like, perhaps Nastradamus. Or was it really a blemish? Let’s chop it up.

Nas released Nastradamus in November 1999. The album’s titled-track and first single, was accredited for sparking the beef with Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella.

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“You Owe Me,” the album’s second single, found Nas stepping into a sound we weren’t necessarily used to hearing from him. The Timbaland-produced track, featuring Ginuwine, was for the dance floor.

It may have rubbed his diehards the wrong way, it served him well regarding mass appeal. It was a hit on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, peaking at number 13 spot. In addition, it reached 59 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Nas did give us some street songs we were more accustomed to, such as “Shoot Em Up” and “Last Words.”

“Project Windows,” another street cut, featured Ron Isley helping Nas speak about the struggles of a young black male trying to make it out of Queens Bridge projects.

Nastradamus reached the 7 spot on US Billboard 200 and 2 on US Top/Hip-Hop Albums. It was certified Platinum.

Some of Nas’ bigger fans weren’t feeling the Nastradamus album compared to his prior releases, such as Illmatic or It Was Written. Nevertheless, it sold over a million copies, so maybe it wasn’t a bottom tier body of work.