| The Lost Tapes 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | July 19, 2019 (2019-7-19) | |||
| Recorded | 2006–2017 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 59:37 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | ||||
| Nas chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Lost Tapes 2 | ||||
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The Lost Tapes 2 is acompilation album by American rapperNas, released on July 19, 2019 byMass Appeal Records andDef Jam Recordings. It is the sequel to the compilation albumThe Lost Tapes, released in 2002.The Lost Tapes 2 features unreleased tracks from Nas’ last four studio albums:Hip Hop Is Dead (2006),Untitled (2008),Life Is Good (2012) and the album scrapped in favor ofNasir (2018).[1] It includes production from producers such asRZA,Swizz Beatz,Pharrell Williams,Kanye West,No I.D.,Pete Rock andThe Alchemist, among others.
In 2002, Nas releasedThe Lost Tapes, compiling previously unreleased tracks that were discarded from recording sessions for Nas' studio albums,I Am... (1999) andStillmatic (2001). A follow-up compilation,The Lost Tapes 2, was originally intended to be released on December 16, 2003, and include unreleased recordings, remixes, andfreestyle tracks.[2] However, its release was delayed,[3] and in 2006, Nas signed toDef Jam Recordings.[4] In a June 2010 interview forHot 97.5 KVEG, he talked about a follow-up toThe Lost Tapes, "I do got a lot of songs that really didn't make no album, that's just sittin' around [or] got lost. So I've got enough actually, for aLost Tapes 2 and3 by now. So I've just got to set it up, put them together – 12 songs for one album, 12 songs for another album, and figure it out. That's all it takes."[5] In September, he announced plans to releaseThe Lost Tapes 2 on December 14.[6] However, its release was further delayed by Def Jam, whom Nas accused of mishandling the project and its budget in a personal e-mail sent to label executives.[7] Reports of the project's delay incited fans to create anonline petition in December asking for Def Jam to release the album.[8] After losing time to the project's delay, Nas began recording for a new studio album and put plans forThe Lost Tapes 2 on hold.[9][10]
In 2012, American singerFrank Ocean and producerHit-Boy created a track entitled "No Such Thing As White Jesus" that went unreleased. The track was reworked as "Royalty" featuringRaVaughn. Ocean still received songwriting credit for the track.[11]
On June 11, 2019, Nas shared a promotional video via hisInstagram account, announcing the release ofThe Lost Tapes 2 in the near future.[12] On July 2, a trailer was released to announce the album's cover art and production credits, alongside its track listing and a release date of July 19, 2019.[1] The trailer included a preview of the album track "Lost Freestyle".[13]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 58/100[14] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [15] |
| HipHopDX | 3.1/5[16] |
| The Independent | [17] |
| NME | [18] |
| Pitchfork | 5.1/10[19] |
| Rolling Stone | [20] |
AtMetacritic, which assigns anormalized rating out of 100 from mainstream publications, the album received anaverage score of 58, based on 7 reviews.[14]
Roisin O'Connor ofThe Independent concluded thatThe Lost Tapes 2 "sounds like an artist rediscovering his love for hip hop in the most joyous and satisfying way", naming the songs produced byKanye West,Swizz Beatz andRZA as the standout tracks.[17]Rolling Stone's Christopher R. Weingarten praised Nas' performance, calling him "a rap legend at his most stylistically diverse", however, he described the album as "a messy display of the many sides of Nas" at both "his most essential and least essential".[20]
The Lost Tapes 2 debuted at number 10 on theBillboard 200 with 23,000album-equivalent units, of which 12,000 were pure album sales. It is Nas's 13th US top 10 album.[21]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "No Bad Energy" | 3:02 | ||
| 2. | "Vernon Family" |
| Williams | 3:00 |
| 3. | "Jarreau of Rap (Skatt Attack)" (featuringAl Jarreau andKeyon Harrold) |
| 3:18 | |
| 4. | "Lost Freestyle" | Statik Selektah | 3:24 | |
| 5. | "Tanasia" | RZA | 3:50 | |
| 6. | "Royalty" (featuringRaVaughn) | Hit-Boy | 4:50 | |
| 7. | "Who Are You" (featuring David Ranier) |
| Eric Hudson | 3:44 |
| 8. | "Adult Film" (featuringSwizz Beatz) |
| Swizz Beatz | 4:10 |
| 9. | "War Against Love" | 3:47 | ||
| 10. | "The Art of It" (featuring J. Myers) |
| Pete Rock | 4:08 |
| 11. | "Highly Favored" |
| RZA | 2:23 |
| 12. | "Queens Wolf" |
| DJ Toomp | 3:46 |
| 13. | "It Never Ends" | The Alchemist | 3:32 | |
| 14. | "You Mean the World to Me" | Kanye West | 3:00 | |
| 15. | "QueensBridge Politics" |
| Pete Rock | 3:02 |
| 16. | "Beautiful Life" (featuring RaVaughn) |
| No I.D. | 6:41 |
| Total length: | 59:37 | |||
Notes
Sample credits
| Chart (2019) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Digital Albums (ARIA)[22] | 22 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[23] | 125 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[24] | 65 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[25] | 95 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[26] | 177 |
| UK R&B Albums[27] | 4 |
| USBillboard 200[21] | 10 |
| USTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[28] | 7 |
| USBillboardDigital Albums[29] | 1 |
