Nas is another rapper who uses his past as motivation for others who have had the same rough upbringing as he has. He sends a possitive message to never accept faliure and never stop trying to reach your goals. Nas lets it be known that when you don't have much, it's easy not to expect much out of yourself, but that's what separates him from other people he grew up with that are either in jail or on the streets selling drugs. The fact is most rap albums already have explicit lyric labels on them to protect those too immature to listen to this type of music, but I think that it is insulting to those who make this type of music for critics to try to bury rap. Rap is real life.
Rap is about overcoming some of the hardest battles one can face and still be successful.