God's Son took shape after the death of Nas' mother Ann Jones in 2002, and that loss runs through the whole album. Hard New York street writing sits next to openly grieving and religious tracks. "Made You Look" rides a stripped-down Incredible Bongo Band break, "I Can" is built on Beethoven's Für Elise and speaks directly to children, and "Thugz Mansion (N.Y.)" is an acoustic reworking of a 2Pac song. Alicia Keys appears on "Warrior Song". The album originally came out in December 2002 on Columbia, not long after Stillmatic and the clash with Jay-Z. This edition is a 2-LP.