Eli Jabbe: The holiday season definitely helped pad his numbers, but it was also genuine, because Dead achieved gold status in only three weeks, notably selling more than 100,000 copies in its second week, a respectable dropoff (especially compared to the rapid sales plummet of Jay-Z’s Kingdom Come). In the modern bootlegging era, a gold plaque appears to be more prestigious than in previous years. There was also a noticeable buzz surrounding the album thanks to the controversial title and unusually heavy promotion. Having the Def Jam machine supporting him was benefical.

Eglin: Excluding his sophomore classic It Was Written, Nas has never set the charts on fire with any release. The success of Stillmatic largely was lighted by the Molotov cocktail he cracked Jay-Z with in "Ether." Otherwise, he traditionally has never been a Billboard quarter horse but more of a marathon runner on the charts.

Jabbe: There have been rumors that Nas wanted Jay to release Kingdom Come before Dead so that Nas could listen to it and attempt to make a superior album, which may explain why Jigga’s album was released while Nas’ was delayed.

Eglin: There’s always going to be some conspiracy theory brewing in the background, such as Jay buying 200,000 copies of his own album, or the $2 million Nasir allegedly had to pony up to the Neptunes for a beat. A 355,000 first-week total doesn’t match up with the reclusive public nature of the Street’s Disciple, so we can perceive it was his Christmas present from Def Jam Chairman L.A. Reid.

Jabbe: What’s peculiar about Dead is that there were a total of six unreleased songs that failed to make the album because of time constraints or sample clearances. Many hardcore fans have argued that over the span of his career, Nas’ unreleased catalogue may closely rival that of his official releases.

Eglin: I’d agree, but you’ve got to take it for what it’s worth. A comedian isn’t going to have a lockbox guarding a manila folder full of lame jokes. But the quality of most of Nas’ underground records has been superior, and most fans view The Lost Tapes, his first compilation album featuring unreleased material, to be one of his most impressive efforts.

Jabbe: "Calm Down," "Serious," "Sometimes I Wonder" and "Understanding," which come from the early and later stages of his career, are simply amazing sets of classic gems Nas has recorded that the mainstream has been missing out on. If The Lost Tapes was any indication, his unreleased records have been well received, even surpassing many of his more popular songs and albums (Nastradamus, anyone?).

Fans should be delighted to hear that a sequel, The Lost Tapes 2, is scheduled for release this spring. It will also mark Nas’ final Columbia release.

Eglin: Many of us wish some red tape would have had prevented the Cliff-n-Claire drive-by intro on "Not Going Back," though.

Jabbe: The middle of the album, which includes their collaboration, is one of the strongest stretches on it, but thanks to that corny intro, it’s usually the only one that gets the skip treatment.

Eglin: Ironically, it seems that the strength of Nas’ album lies in its core, whereas Jay-Z’s release was widely viewed as a front- and back-loaded album.

Jabbe: Perhaps you might be onto something. A compilation album between the two would be the perfect ending to the rivalry between the two legends.

Eglin: If you can’t beat ’em …