Record Rack

Possibly more so than any other hip-hop artist, this Queens rapper has been able to walk the fine line between street-level respect and commercial success. Even on the radio-friendly songs on his first three albums, Nas kept his lyrics savvy, even brutal. Collaborations with Lauryn Hill, Puff Daddy and others helped increase his fan base, as did his memorable videos.

Nas’ relaxed rapping style dominates on his fourth album, and his insights and storytelling ability are as keen as ever. But his sense of urgency and emotion seem minimal, almost as if he’s numb after experiencing a life of real and imagined horror. “Last Words” recounts the final utterances of a slave who’s about to be hanged, even as it deals with modern-day situations, while “Project Window” describes the gloom of ghetto existence.

You’d expect rage and intensity on such potentially explosive songs. Nas, however, comes off as a mellowed-out griot, simply stating the facts without the expected venom. Similarly, many of the beats backing Nas sound too clean, glossed and polished for his heavy subject matter. It’s as if in graduating from the ghetto, he’s misplaced the gritty edge that made him a hero.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two (fair), three (good) and four (excellent). The albums will all be released Tuesday.