Today, the iconic rapper Nas, blessed us with his album The Lost Tapes 2, which curates a bunch of his previously recorded songs that never seemed to make the cut in his other projects. Though some of the tracks on the tape, like his jazz-infused single "Jarreau of Rap (Skatt Attack)" were met with mixed reviews, the project as a whole is a masterpiece in its own right, showcasing the artist's creative versatility. The Lost Tapes 2 featured a handful of features like RaVaughn, David Ranier, Swizz Beatz, and Al Jarreau, its the production credits which boast quite the hefty list of names - with people like Swizz Beatz, Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, No I.D., Eddie Cole, RZA, Hit-Boy, Eric Hudson, DJ Dahi, DJ Khalil, Pete Rock, and The Alchemist. Love it or hate it, you can't deny that Nas delivers each and every time in terms of lyricism, speaking on matters which sometimes go beyond the scope of most people's understanding.
For the track "QueensBridge Politics," Nas strips things down and pays ode to his late friend, and former collaborator, Prodigy. The two have a long and tumultuous history, they used to collaborate pretty often throughout their careers, but things got a little messy as time went on. A rift was formed between the two after Nas took shots at Prodigy on "Destroy and Rebuild," which he made as a response to the perceived shots Prodigy threw at him on Cormega's "Thun & Kicko." They eventually fixed their problems and even continued collaborating, that is, until Prodigy's tragic death in 2017. The beautiful and somber track is delivered as a reflection on his life as a whole, as well as their friendship, and the regrets Nas had that the two didn't "build more and get things correct" before P's death.
Quotable Lyrics:
It's QueensBridge over everything and everybody
I wish the 'book never came out
And everything got straightened out
Before you left, I saw you, it was all love
Except we needed to build more and get things correct
Now I gotta accept it, cause there's honor in death
Wish you was here with us P