The most frustrating thing is that this could have been a solid record. But now, how is Nas going to come off like he intended Untitled to be an unflinching look at race relations and yet somehow leave off the track he did with stic.man? Worse still, the righteous message of "Association" (strength through interaction with those who inspire you) is forsaken for the stilted, spoken-word ramblings of "Testify", in which Nas accuses white downloaders of being unwilling to "ride" with him for whatever reason. And what about the hallucinogenic "Esco Let's Go", where he fantasized about writing hood movies like Posse and Five Heartbeats" while summoning Elizabeth Taylor for career advice? Instead, we get an elderly German rhyming "knotty head" with "Nazi sled" ("America"), "Breathe" and its boring consumption rhymes ("First I cop/ Then I yacht"-- do go on!), and the gutless "Make the World Go Round" in which Nas, Chris Brown, and Cool & Dre top even Fat Joe in terms of trend-hopping insincerity, toasting to ballers, gangstas, hustlas, and the very same ringtone rappers he was willing to throw under the bus just two years ago when it was convenient for his public image. - Pitchfork Media