For hip-hop purists, there's nothing better than hearing Nas in full flight. The Queensbridge rapper's blistering closing bars on A Queens Story - nearly a minute of unmissable acapella rap fury - is proof that Nas is nearing 40 in the form of his career.
The biggest talking point about his 10th album is a previously unreleased duet with Amy Winehouse, but Life is Good has much more going for it than Cherry Wine's laid-back soul.
It's Nas' most mature, most complete album since his classic 1994 debut, Illmatic, and sees the rapper relaxing into himself after a career of towering highs and brutal lows.
Nas opens up and puts more of himself into these songs, like the breakdown of his marriage to Kelis (the slow-jam nu-soul of Stay), freaking out over his daughter's teenage antics (Daughter) and reminiscing about the good old days (the '90s throwback Back When).
Like most late-period Nas, there are a couple of duds, the dodgy R&B of Reach Out among the worst.
