I've been waiting long and hard for a Nas album that would totally redeem the man, show the world once and for all who was the king of NY, and convince the critics that Illmatic wasn't just a fluke.

There's really no arguing for that last case. Illmatic was one of the first rap albums I ever owned, and remains one of my favorites. I challenge anyone who questions the skill of rappers as writers and artists to look up the lyrics of "N.Y. State of Mind" and deny their brilliance (you can read them here). Over the years, through a string of mediocre albums, Nas's flow has maintained a hard-edged viciousness that consistently showed up Jay-Z and proved that somewhere, deep down there, the man who proclaimed, "Rappers I monkey flip em with the funky rhythm I be kickin," was still alive and well.

Sadly, Street's Disciple is not a return to Illmatic. On the other hand, it is his best since 1994, and manages achieve that honor in the form of the always-unwieldy double album. If reduced to a single disc, Street's Disciple could well be one of the more exciting albums of the year. As is it's a solid, if not brilliant album from an artist we've come to not expect too much from.

Nas's production team isn't trying to show him up here, and he fares well for it. Opening with the giant bass beat of "A Letter to the Feds," Nas sounds good, but then when he flips his style halfway through the track, while maintaining the same basic beat pattern, he sounds terrific. It's certainly the highpoint of the first disc, though both the overtly political tracks ("American Way" and "Coon Picnic") are great fun in their own way (rapping about Condoleeza Rice = fantastic). The overwrought "Live Now" is a bit much, though it does give collaborator Scarlett a chance to shine. Really, though, a lot of the first disc just blends together, feeling muddled with filler, stale beats, and a few too many throw away lines.

The second disc is the real keeper here. "U.B.R.," Nas's loving version of the story of Rakim is phenomenal, right down to his promise of a follow-up about KRS-One. The song cycle about marriage (he is set to marry R&B diva/blowjob queen Kelis) is touching, though the godawful "Remember the Times" is a horrid interruption. Nas is known for his filthiness, but his recounting of the girl that tried to eat his excrement, or the one who liked the Heineken bottle in her ass is entirely unnecessary.

Luckily, he ends on a high note. I've come around on "Bridging the Gap," one of two tracks on the album featuring Nas's father, Olu Dara, and actually now rather enjoy the blues/hip hop mish-mash. Where he really strikes, though, is on the unbelievable "Thief's Theme" (originally a concept raised on Illmatic). The song bounces off that "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" sample, and Nas's rhymes are tight, dark, and vicious: everything that's the mark of a great Nas song. This is easily among the best rap songs of the year.

But as a whole, how does Street's Disciple do? I really do think that, if he'd exercised a bit more self-control, Nas could have created a great single-disc album. As is, he approaches the double album from the most defensible position. The discs take on different themes, and the sequencing moves the album along quite well. It beats most of the other Nas material out there, and boasts Nas's best single this millennium, but it's still not that magical follow-up to Illmatic. Still, I don't see myself losing interest in Nas anytime soon.