Impact
After the release of the song "Ether" and its album Stillmatic, Nas gained acclaim as the best rapper in New York, also known as the "king of New York". God's Son was a chance for Nas to either reassure his prolific status or prove to be an inconsistent artist. In a review of God's Son, Joseph Jones of PopMatters stated:
God's Son is monumental in terms of the current power struggle in hip-hop. Whether you like it or not, "Ether" did this. With God's Son, Nas has the opportunity to cement his status as the King of N.Y., at least for another 3-4 year term, or he could prove that he is not the savior that hip-hop fans should be pinning their hopes on.On God's Son, Nas referenced his feud with Jay-Z on various tracks. Most notably, Nas references Jay-Z's attacks on Nas "Last Real Nigga Alive" as "sneak attack" while he was caring for his mother. This track also revealed roots of his feud with Jay-Z including his feud with Jay's friend and now-deceased rapper, The Notorious B.I.G.. In fact, Nas ends the first verse of "Last Real Nigga Alive" by saying, "There's more shit than wanting to be this King of New York shit." Similarly, on "Mastermind," Nas says: "This King Of New York shit only last 15 minutes." Additionally, on "The Cross", Nas explained how he was the old king of New York rap, and soon reinvented himself to reign again as New York's king. Amy Linden of Yahoo! Music found it to be an album "worthy of landmark 1994 debut" Illmatic and elaborated on God's Son's significance at the time, stating "If this is the last round with Jay, as the surprisingly civil tone and anti-battle messages imply, then God's Son is going out on top."
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