Street's Disciple

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Too much, in more ways than one!
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

Not yet rated

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that strong imagery, evocative and visual, with lots of explicit sex, make this a CD that is definitely not for everyone (and definitely not for kids).


What's the story?

Monotonous rhythm tracks detract from the powerful imagery of the lyrics on Nas' STREET DISCIPLE, and the double CD includes many songs that feel like filler, begging the question: Why not release a single CD, with only the best of the artist's new songs instead of this bloated double-barreled blast? But the length of this incredibly tedious album is not its only problem. The songs boast some very poetic and visual imagery, but are performed in a jaded monotone that negates their visceral power. Lyrics often seem calculated to shock for the heck of it, rather than to make any kind of a real point. Sexual images (and there are a lot of them) are very specific, graphic, and somehow nasty.


Is it any good?

 

There's some good, substantial writing here, as well as some gem-like cameo performances and even quite a bit of substantive social commentary, if you can get past all the tedious posturing. The real question is, why bother?


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about whether it seems that some of today's artists are in the business of providing shock value rather than honest peformances (or is the shocking material a result of the honesty?).


This review was written by Kathi Kamen Goldmark
Adult
April 9, 2008
 
this reviewer is an idiot
Okay Karen Nas is a legend get that through your head. Second of all you reviewed a Death Cab for Cutie album before this and for some strange reason you rated it higher, in otherwards it should come from a less biased sorce. Third of all you compared nas' style to Ludacris which is in fact Ludacris thats like comparing Patrick Stewart to William Shatner, Sorry Picard but Kirk came first and you have no chance of beating him out. Fourth of all you mocked his monotone voice, hello have you ever listened to Nas. I think Karen should learn more about her subjects before she writes pathetic reviews.

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Parent of 4 and 19 year old
November 10, 2009
 
perfect for babys
it is awesome for my two yer old who listens to it every day in his training potty he loves it

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
Disapointment
As soon as i bought Street's Disciple and popped it in i was disapointed. I had expected more from *nasty* nas. There were some stand-out songs in my opinion such as Just A Moment, Theif's Theme, Bridging the Gap, and You Know My Style, but it doesn't have any old style Nas such as One Love, Made You Look, Hate me Now or even One Mic. The sexual content, violence and language are also not strong points but overall just an average rap album

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This review was written by Kathi Kamen Goldmark
Artist:Nas
Release date:November 29, 2004
Label:Sony Music
Genre:Rap
Parental advisory:Yes
Edited version available:Yes

This review was written by Kathi Kamen Goldmark
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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