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Variations on the f-word get quite a workout, making the warning sticker more than justified. The hit “If I Ruled the World” envisions a planet under Nas control-no rules, plenty of drugs and condomless sex, and all prisoners set free. Lewd references to oral sex (“Shootouts,” “Street Dreams”) and other casual encounters appear throughout, peppered with salacious slang. Numerous cuts glorify getting drunk and high. Drugs of choice include cocaine, marijuana, heroin, PCP and hashish. Tracks place faith in Islamic doctrines and leaders (“Album Intro,” “Nas Is Coming”). On “Shootouts,” the gang kills a policeman and a woman who betrayed them. The artist’s conclusion is that “every day crime pays” (“Live N-gga Rap”).
This number-1 debut disc spent its first month atop the pop and R&B charts. Amid a flurry of expletives, Nasir Jones promotes drug use, gang violence, misogynistic sex, cop-killing and related vices. Nas-ty stuff. It Was Written that teens should avoid this sleaze (Ps 101:3, Phil 4:8).
