Urban review: Nas, Untitled

Now that Nas (he wanted this successor to Hip Hop is Dead to be called 'Nigger') has wrung the last drop of controversy from the album title, the onus is on the New Yorker to find the words to outweigh the shock tactics. As ever, this most eloquent of rappers is stronger on zingers than philosophical coherence. But his dismal taste in beats strands his poetry in a sea of mediocrity.