Nas

Nastradamus

Columbia

When gangsta rap came under fire as a threat to America's moral values, a few people stood up and defended hip-hop artists as troubadours of the ghetto, even if artists that truly deserved that tag were few and far between. Nasir Jones (aka Nas, aka Nasty Nas, aka Nas Escobar, aka Nastradamus) was one such rapper. Nastradamus, his newest album, cements his reputation as urban troubadour or, as "Come Get Me" announces, "America's foremost young poet." From "The Prediction" to "The Outcome"--prophetic and apocalyptic spoken-word joints from poet Jessica Care Moore--Nas' album is a gritty mural of ghetto life at the turn of the millennium.

Forget the braggadacio of "Hate Me Now" and the "damn I've got money now" sentiment that seems to have infected every other major hip-hop artist; Nas has started wrestling with the issues at the core of life in places like the Queensbridge Projects, where he grew up. This is not to say that he has completely abandoned mindless thug banter, such as the "Kill, Kill, Kill/Murder, Murder, Murder" refrain of "Shoot 'em up," but he has certainly clawed his way into hip-hop's most elite circles of lyricism. Any doubters should check out "Project Windows," a track with Ron Isley that might make even Rudy Giuliani weep for the less fortunate. A-