The 10 Best Lines From Nas' "Life Is Good"

The new Nas album is a rare treat in an era of club raps and desktop beats. It's a carefully crafted work that combines lyricism and production into an unstoppable force of sheer musicality. Nas rarely throws a song away, instead stringing every beat into a chain that combines violence, luxury, and soul over 18 tracks while never saying the same thing twice.

Surefire Grammy material, Life Is Good is an unhindered look at Nas' personal life, Queens today, and the divide between wealth and reality. The album is a showing of Nas' fortitude and control over music, and may very well be a future classic.

To break down Nas' new album, we linked with RapGenius to bring you The 10 Best Lines From Nas' Life is Good, selected from the master MC for complexity, impact, and the amount of classic Nas storytelling. Fire up the LP and prepare for some heavy analysis.

Song: "A Queens Story"

The Calvary Cemetery in Queens is directly beside a courthouse, giving Nas a focal point within the area to build the story. The individuals being tried there have often murdered so many people that their list of crimes resembles an obituary. It's just another tragic element in Nas' vivid narrative.

Song: "No Introduction"

Nas was one of the first to protest the gross injustices of the banking industry. Starting in 2008, he actively joined protest groups and sought solutions to the financial crisis before Occupy Wall Street existed. Not surprisingly, Nas has a few plans for the New World Order should he get the chance to create it. After gathering a billion “black motherfuckers” in the previous line, Nas sets out to crush the banks that everyone hates: JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.

Song: "Loco-Motive" f/ Large Professor

How does a man born in poverty-stricken Queens survive? Blackmailing God! Career stalls become irrelevant at that point.

Song: "Back When"

Nas condemns the bias and hate within his own rap community, where slurs against race and religion are often justification for failure and crime. Blaming “Jews” or stereotypes for career fouls is typical, so prevalent that the stereotype in Nas' eyes actually becomes the hateful man. Nas has faced loss enough times in his life to know that the driving force behind success is his own efforts, rarely the responsibility of another.

Song: "Stay"

“Enemy” is a loose term, as we often respect or value the people that we dislike. Nas' old rivals and former friends are impossible to shake without some acknowledgment. While he would gladly see his enemies dead and buried, Nas is quick enough to know that the best revenge is success. This twisted respect becomes the true “thug mystery,” leading Nas to question how far hate can go.

Song: "Cherry Wine" f/ Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse's premature death led to the release of last year's duet “Like Smoke,” where Nas and Winehouse shared close desires in love but could never connect. Still lamenting the death of his close personal friend, Nas' newest duet strings a similar story upon a new web. Nas' contributions to “Cherry Wine” play up the girl who “likes the champagne [Nas] likes” and has values, while Amy desperately seeks someone “just like [her].” Nas personally provided the explanation to RapGenius for this song, stating that “Cherry Wine” is “a song about soulmates.”

Song: "Trust"

After years of pumping out some of the best lines in rap history, Nas sits at a position above rap, serving now as a mentor rather than a soldier. Comparing himself to the high-soaring, sharp-clawed eagle, Nas has the freedom to move where he wants and observe the game, keeping a close eye on the future and the streets below. In comparison, those below Nas who challenge his abilities find themselves nothing but a caterpillar, not only reduced to ground level, but also only able to reach a butterfly phase at best. Without ever stepping into Nas' shoes, they will always lack an awareness of his mindset.

Song: "Where's the Love" f/ Cocaine 80s

Noticing the hypocritical movements of hip-hop and its artists, Nas wonders if rap has lost its roots. Starting off as thugs and hustlers, rappers became CEOs and stars, garnering respect outside of the community for the first time and holding what Nas saw as more stable values. Nas is no saint, but watching the game he helped drive U-turn back toward a “goonie” stage makes him veer.

Song: "A Queens Story"

Much of Nas' career was supported by Queens' need for another star to win the feud over New York supremacy, and he was a rapper talented enough to defeat foes while representing his borough to the death. In the late '80s Bridge Wars, crews from the Bronx and Queens fought over the origins of rap, each claiming that their own neighborhood spawned the art of rhymes before the other. While the situation defused without real incident after the unrelated death of Boogie Down Productions' Scott La Rock, the legacy of the conflict was permanently cemented within Queens. The battle left behind a slew of memorable songs and a reputation as the first hip-hop feud, but a line from Boogie Down's infamous “The Bridge is Over” diss track inspired Nas' remark:

Citing the conflict and Boogie Down's willingness to leave Queens out of the picture of early rap, Nas reminds listeners that Queens was still winning because of its prolific drug dealers, whose habits helped mold hip-hop culture beyond music.

Song: "Nasty"

“Ezekiel's Wheel” references the Bible, where the prophet Ezekiel witnesses God's chariot, shaped like a wheel, descending from Heaven. The message is clear: Nas is gifted by God to come to Earth, live it up, and heal through rhymes. Somehow, Nas steers clear of religious blasphemy and produces a line that sums up the entire message of not only the album, but his career. If we can combine good times, good music, and the comforts of home, life actually is good.