Did you or someone close to you just have a baby?
Congratulations! Your life will never be the same!
Muhammad Ali was “The Greatest.”
Everyone knows that, but there’s something that seems to be lost in the deification of the man born Cassius Clay: he wasn’t unbeatable.
For three decades, ever since he first stole the show on Main Source’s “Live at the BBQ” all the way back in 1991, Nas has been crafting incredible rhymes and blessing microphones. He has a stack of classic verses, to the point that some of them don’t even appear on his own LPs.
Though undoubtedly one of the all-time greats, his career has had its highs and lows, his artistic ambition sometimes taking him to new heights, while other times leading him to stray from what made a living legend.
When he’s at his best, no one is better.
So which projects are his best?
Below is a list I created in November, 2013, in honor of the 20th anniversary of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). It was published on Medium and then republished by Hip Hop Golden Age. In honor of today – November 9, 2018 – being the 25th anniversary of the release of that album, I chose to post it here. Please keep in mind that this list hasn’t been changed, amended or updated in five years. Any projects that came out since then were obviously not considered. Reading back through the list, there are minor changes I might like to make – I think Cuban Linx…Pt. II is a bit too low – but it’s been out there for a half-decade so I’ll leave the list as it is. Please tell me how wrong I got it in the comments below.
Wu-Tang Forever!
-CP 11/9/18
You can’t learn everything in school.
In fact, many of the greatest lessons are found outside of the classroom. As someone that went to graduate school (twice) and did get an MBA, I will not diminish it by saying that reading some books is the equivalent of completing a postgraduate degree. It’s not. I learned a great deal from reading case studies, listening to lectures, and engaging with my fellow students.
However, there there were some gaps that business school did not address.
To fill in those gaps, I turned to books.
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I can remember the exact moment when I realized that mainstream hip-hop had passed me by.
It was when I heard Drake’s So Far Gone.
The Passion of Christopher Pierznik 