Rather than just wanting to be king of Queens, or king of New York, Nas now sounds like he wants nothing less than to be king of the world. Originally designed as a double album, dozens of songs were discarded after being put online in one of the industry’s first major MP3 leaks. In the five years since his debut album, Nas had grown from New York’s most visionary teenager into one of rap’s richest and most recognizable stars, and the struggle to maintain his superstar status without sacrificing his loyalty to the ghetto that created him had become more severe than ever.