Nas

After staring down the nightmares of Illmatic, Nas falls into It Was Written's abyss of materialism, Mafioso fantasies and pop hop production. He's morally adrift, but artistically focused. Red dot plots unfold on "The Message," while Foxy Brown shows off her math skills (or lack thereof) on "Affirmative Action." Not classic, but not to be underestimated.