AZ - N.4.L. hosted by DJ Absolut

If your like me than you always keep your ear to the grindstone anxiously awaiting any news about possible new projects from AZ. While he's not always busy and will usually drop an album before he drops any free street material (i.e. mixtapes) AZ has managed to put his "modern era hip-hop promotion" hat on and give the good people that which they always seem to be clamoring for.....a mixtape! Teaming up with DJ Absolut; who was one of my favorite DJ's from the late 90's and the early 2K up until he started selling out horrendously, AZ comes at his listeners with some serious new heat, that after they listen to I'm sure many will say is album worthy stuff. One can't help raising an eyebrow after listening to this tape as well due to, well, how can I put this...a title, subject matter and lyrical concepts that are strikingly similiar to AZ's old friend Nasir Jones's new quasi-untitled album. Before I go further into that dynamic of the tape, let's just pretend that we haven't heard Nas's new joint and just review this new and commendable AZ effort "N.4.L." AKA Niggas 4 Life. Many a Nas Hater will revel in iniquitous glee because of this tape's stellar work and somewhat stunning ability to outshine Nas's untitled and heavilly hyped new project. Undoubtedly, this is some of AZ's best work in the past few years, and definitely much better than his last album which was a mainstream "swing and a miss" at stardom and crossing over. A predisposition that AZ has been taking for the bulk of his albums post "9 lives". Even so, many like myself continue to solicitously seek out any type of original and new work from him. A lot of the new stuff that AZ has been releasing has been hit or miss, but make no mistake, N.4.L. is not at all apart of that recent underachieving archive that Sosa has doled out in the late 2K. Filled with penetrating skits, visual and vivid rymes, hardcore beats, and a solid, un-deviated theme, "N.4.L." is easilly the second best mixtape of 08' right behind Immortal Technique's leading achievement the "3rd World". I enjoyed this tape so much man...it's been so long since AZ tested the hardcore waters, I was beginning to wonder if he would ever compose another well recieved venture that had some real grit to it. Not to say that all of his good material was totally intransigent....."Doe Or Die" and "Pieces Of A Man" both had their fair share of "jiggyesque" and "playalistic" attempts, yet you always knew he was the caliber of MC that could make a solid whole tape/album of nothing but real and unadulterated heat. More than a decade after he first strolled onto the scene via "Illmatic", AZ can fianlly say to the critics that he has always been capable of doing what so many other greats did, except he did it for free and gave it to the fans when they needed it the most.

AZ wields his knowledge of oppression, ruthless street tactic and inner strength like lightening bolts through our cloudy ears on N.4.L., making it a tall order for any of his limited amount of guests (Starkim, Sheek, KC and Charlie Rock) to even hold a candle to his burning inferno of lyricism and diction. The much re-visited sample of The Dells' "Love Is Blue" resonates yet again on the powerful kick starting track "Knowledge Freedom", finding our friendly nieghborhood AZ comfortably dishing out a few quotables over the soulful sample. From there AZ begins his ode to his career and lifestyle over some slick, west coast-circa-1996 synths and a funky drum loop. A special surprise is the Raekwon guest feature; the Chef goes in and totally bodies the whole song, providing a good pace. So by this time, you've sat up and started to really listen....is AZ gonna drop some ole' classic shit? That's when the "Heaven And Hell" skit starts....immediately catching your ear as the great activist/author/comedian Dick Gregory (I think) describes with a small tone of humor the utter lack of compassion and the overt denial of just basic emotions that white slave owners had and kept from slaves on their plantations. That perfectly leads into arguably the tape's most powerful song/beat "12 Jewels", where we find AZ verbalizing his beliefs in Islam, describing his contempt for this country's racist template and recanting the atrocities of slavery. AZ hasn't sounded like this, or picked beats like this in quite some time....it's almost unusual to hear him gravitating toward real issues and toned down beats again. I know it hasn't been that terribly long since he's been making really good music, but when a talent like AZ stops making the kind of joints that he was for so long, it's like when Ron Harper stopped dominating above the rim in the NBA during the late 80's, and in exchange became a more mature and less than dazzling role player in the 90's. It's not necessarilly a bad thing, but you find yourself not anticipating watching him play like you used to. That was beginning to be the case with AZ until N.4.L..

So Now your really beginning to raise an eyebrow....AZ has delivered satisfaction without question for the first 5 tracks. This is not your ears playin tricks on you, rest assured....and press on. At this juncture the hardcore pleasantries begin. "Murder" and "Teks On Deck" both boast the type of hardcore stylings that the game currently lacks in a big way, and who better to revive that good ole' feeling than AZ? The production for both also is a refreshing retrun to better times, when claps didn't dominate and layering your snares and finding a dope soul sample to chop and re-arrange for a nice lil' 4 bar loop was the way real lyricists picked em'. "Negro Spiritual" is a mellow break from the action that catches us listening to a laid back groove while AZ references his younger days and momentarilly laments the loss of friends. Bouncing back from a more tender moment AZ shows off his rapid fire delivery and indefectibly balanced flow over a beat that most artists just woulden't be able to jump on and ride. "Conspiracy" provides AZ taking an introspective stance and examining the current dilapidated state of America's economy and racial bias over a melancholy Jimmy Kendrix production. "Runaway Slave" adds a nice touch of funk to a very hardcore outing and gives AZ a chance to flex his story telling chops, something that I think he's excellent at and doesn't do enough. "Nigga Games" and "I'm That Nigga" set off a tidal wave of powerful and important music that takes me back to the original points I was making about this project and Nas's latest offering, that is supposed to symbolize in a way, the new black experience in America. I find it incredibly amazing that AZ undertook the challenge of creating a project so similar to Nas's and then released it so quickly as well. Amazing and brash, lol. I think AZ is trying subliminally, to tell the extensive world of hip-hop something. I think he is trying to let everyone know that he is Nas's equal, if not his superior. He shows off throughout this whole tape in the form of razor sharp timing and delivery, goes out of his way to mirror some of the same topics that Nas has been touching on both in the media and all of this tantilizing sneering climaxes on "Originals", where he switches up his flow to turbo speed and then puts his old buddy Nasir squarely between his scope's cross hairs. "I'm as real as any rapper with a sneaker deal", delivers the BK wordsmith dismissively. Clearly sending a warning shot toward Nas and toward all his detractors who over the years discarded him as if he was some Nas crony, incapable of success without his "number one". It might sound like I'm reaching by pointing out that line, but I've been listening to AZ for a minute and I know that he practically perfected the art of the subliminal diss. He's most definitely trying to send a message and this whole tape and that line (and a few other lines) are definite swipes at Esco. We'll just have to wait and see if anything ever comes of this situation. With all the Hollywood crooning Nas does these days (catch that Colbert Report appearance?) and his penchant for alienating friends, I woulden't be surprised if he never even hears about this tape, let alone hears the line. It is a Shame however; that Nas might never hear his one time peer send a small jab right at his face.

For everything that AZ did do on this project he just coulden't keep it all the way pure, 100% authentic and without any filler. Yes, Sosa did submit but only one mis-step in the form of a cheesy "before we go to the club" type song in "I Just Wanna" that features the non-singing sensation Trey Songs and a very predictable Sheek Louch. AZ in fact kept it 99% real though, as he finishes up with the silky smooth outro "Self Savior" and lets the beat ride out for a good 9 minutes after he delivers a very effective and quick 12 bars or so. Truly, this was a very high-grade and competent piece of work for AZ to drop. While a whole lot of people will continue to say he's peaked, I think that after you listen to this, you will, as I did, consider it a magmatic regression to preferable moments in his career when he was deemed one of the elite in New York City and was your favorite MC's favorite MC. I can't say how pleased I am that the man finally decided to come home and drop something for the real heads. Something that is much easier to act like your doing already, rather than actually putting in the work to find a writing mode, beats and a direction that encompasses what you only might think the new "heads" are going to accept in 2008. It was a ballsy move, and a noisy one too. Not many people are going to be able to see past the cover and the theme, perhaps issuing accusations of "biting" and un-originality, but for those that take the time to listen and enjoy the music you'll instantly see and hear that AZ is once again creating pretty antecedent music, with tons of layers in it for us all to dig through and interpret. The Visualiza has truly returned, and not on anyone's heels, rather on his own and with a flair for rhyming that is both past and present. It looks like we all can once again continue to listlessly await his new stuff, as we always did, with great anticipation.

-BIG D O



01. AZ & DJ Absolut - Introduction
02. AZ & DJ Absolut - Knowledge Freedom
03. AZ & DJ Absolut - The Secret (feat. Charlie Rock & Raekwon)
04. AZ & DJ Absolut - Heaven & Hell
05. AZ & DJ Absolut - 12 Jewels
06. AZ & DJ Absolut - Murder (feat. Charlie Rock & Starkim)
07. AZ & DJ Absolut - The Teks On Deck (feat. KC)
08. AZ & DJ Absolut - Negro Spiritual
09. AZ & DJ Absolut - Never Gonna Stop
10. AZ & DJ Absolut - Conspiracy
11. AZ & DJ Absolut - Runaway Slave
12. AZ & DJ Absolut - ***** Games
13. AZ & DJ Absolut - I'm That *****
14. AZ & DJ Absolut - Originals (feat. Starkim)
15. AZ & DJ Absolut - I Just Wanna
(feat. Trey Songz & Sheek Louch)
16. AZ & DJ Absolut - Self Savior

http://rapidshare.com/files/133934400/DJ_Absolut___AZ-N.4.L.-2008-C4-YunG.rar