Maps of Music

Life Is Good (2012)

Where the lyrics of Life Is Good take you, and where it was really made.

Nas wrote this album after his divorce, yet the cover shows the actual green wedding dress his ex-wife left behind.

Key places

Westlake Studios, Los Angeles (2012)

Recording site Westlake Recording Studios — Westlake Studios in Los Angeles is one of the studios named as a recording location for the album. The point marks the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Jungle City Studios, New York City (2012)

Recording site Jungle City Studios — Jungle City Studios in New York City is one of the studios where the album was recorded. The point marks the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Conway Recording Studios, Hollywood (2012)

Recording site Conway Recording Studios — Conway Recording Studios in Hollywood is named among the studios used for recording the album. The point marks the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

EastWest Studios, Hollywood (2012)

Recording site EastWest Studios — EastWest Studios in Hollywood is named among the studios where the album sessions took place. The point marks the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Oven Studios, New York City (2012)

Recording site Oven Studios — Oven Studios in New York City is named among the studios where the album was recorded. The point marks the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Instrument Zoo Studios, Miami (2012)

Recording site The Hit Factory Criteria — Instrument Zoo Studios in Miami is named as a recording location for the album. The point is placed at the city center, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Record One, Sherman Oaks (2012)

Recording site Record One — Record One in Sherman Oaks is named as a recording location for the album. The point is placed at the city center, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Life Is Good is the tenth studio album by American rapper Nas, released July 13, 2012
• Released by Jones Experience and Def Jam Recordings
• Guests include Large Professor, Rick Ross, Mary J. Blige, Miguel, and, posthumously, Amy Winehouse
• Producers No I.D. and Salaam Remi mix orchestral elements with golden age hip-hop references
• Themes of nostalgia and adulthood run through the record

Background

• Written after Nas's divorce from singer Kelis
• Follows Distant Relatives (2010), a collaboration with Damian Marley
• Tax problems and a costly, public divorce came before the birth of his son
• Nas likened the album to Marvin Gaye's 1978 album Here, My Dear

Recording

• Sessions took place at 4220 Studios, Conway Recording Studios, EastWest Studios in Hollywood, Instrument Zoo Studios in Miami, Jungle City Studios and Oven Studios in New York City, Record One in Sherman Oaks, and Westlake Studios in Los Angeles
• A track recorded with Frank Ocean and Hit-Boy, 'No Such Thing as White Jesus', was left off the album

Cover

• The cover photo shows Nas in a polished white suit in a night club VIP lounge
• He holds Kelis' actual green wedding dress, which he said was the only item she left him

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones on September 14, 1973 in Brooklyn, New York City; raised in the Queensbridge Houses, Queens.
• Son of jazz and blues musician Olu Dara; began as "Nasty Nas" in 1989 and recorded demos under Large Professor.
• Made his recording debut on Main Source's 1991 song "Live at the Barbeque"; signed with Columbia Records in 1992.

Career

• Debut album Illmatic (April 19, 1994) is regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop albums; selected for the Library of Congress National Recording Registry.
• It Was Written (1996) debuted atop the Billboard 200; single "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" featuring Lauryn Hill brought mainstream success.
• Feud with Jay-Z (2001–2005) via the diss track "Ether"; Stillmatic and God's Son helped restore his critical standing.
• Released Hip Hop Is Dead (2006) and Distant Relatives (2010) with Damian Marley, whose royalties went to African charities.
• King's Disease (2020) won his first Grammy for Best Rap Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.
• Released King's Disease II, Magic, King's Disease III, Magic 2 and Magic 3, all produced by Hit-Boy.
• Announced Light-Years with DJ Premier, a 2025 collaborative album.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Life is Good was met with widespread critical acclaim
• Metacritic gave it an average of 81 from 30 reviews
• NME's Kevin EG Perry called it a grimy, back-to-basics return to form
• Pitchfork's Jayson Greene said Nas had settled gracefully into his strengths
• The A.V. Club's Evan Rytlewski found the lyrics beautifully expressed and the music just as thoughtful
• Financial Times arts critic Ludovic Hunter-Tilney praised a richly varied album held together by Nas's fluent rap technique
• XXL's Carl Chery called it arguably Nas's best LP since Stillmatic
• Rolling Stone's Jon Dolan wrote that Nas cuts his rhymes with midlife realism and daring empathy

Reappraisal

• Some reviewers were less enthusiastic
• Robert Christgau gave a three-star honorable mention and cited 'Daughters' and 'Accident Murderers' as highlights
• AllMusic's David Jeffries called it a clearing house for venom and bile
• The New York Times' Jon Caramanica found the narratives sometimes distractingly fanciful
• PopMatters' Matthew Fiander found the production uneven
• Year-end lists: The Source and Okayplayer named it the best album of 2012; Rolling Stone ranked it 18th, Complex 12th, MTV 16th, The New York Times 7th

Records

• Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 149,000 copies in its first week, his sixth US number-one album
• Second week sales of 45,000 copies on the Billboard 200
• 354,000 copies sold by February 10, 2013, according to Nielsen SoundScan; charted 15 weeks on the Billboard 200
• Debuted at number eight on the UK Official Albums Chart and number two in Canada
• Reached number 24 on the German Media Control Charts
• Certified gold by the RIAA on April 21, 2020, for shipments of at least 500,000 units
• Nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The cover photo shows Nas holding Kelis' actual green wedding dress, which he said was the only item she left him
• The song 'Cherry Wine' was titled after Winehouse's guitar, which she called 'cherry'
• The track 'Bye Baby' samples 'Goodbye Love' by Guy, and Aaron Hall of Guy appears in its video
• The 'Nasty' video was filmed by Jason Goldwatch in Queensbridge, Nas's hometown in New York
• The 'Cherry Wine' video was dedicated to Amy Winehouse, who appears as a projection on a wall

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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