Nastradamus

The boy from Queens reintroduces himself as a hood prophet on his fourth album, and his masterful storytelling is rooted in bittersweet nostalgia and hard-earned confidence. Nas has plenty of shots for his fellow New York MCs on the strutting, funk-sampling title track and the cocky “Come Get Me”, taunting his haters over DJ Premier’s deft turntablism. But the highlight is “Project Windows”, a mellow R&B slow-burner where Nas paints a striking picture of growing up in the projects in the ‘70s.