VINYL FORMAT. I don't like to compare past and present works of artists, because contexts and times change, but that combination of lyrical inspiration and consistent production hasn't happened since Illmatic. His insight in dealing with black identity and race relations is staggering, and he never once sounds pretentious or preachy. He addresses the issues from a mature, intellectual, and rational point of view. Though he expresses his anger, he never resorts to what he refers to on "N.I.G.G.E.R." as "reverse racism", and calls out those who do, like when he refers to Obama's former pastor as "Jeremiah Wrong". He explains his new philosophy on "We're Not Alone" when he claims, "I used to worship a certain Queens police-murderer / Until I read the words of Ivan van Sertima / He inserted something in me that made me feel worthier". Just as Bob Dylan became music's representative of Beat generation writers, Nas has become hip-hop's literary ambassador to the values of scholars like Michael Eric Dyson, Cornel West, and the aforementioned Sertima. -popmatters.com