"What defines my name? First it was Nasty, but times have changed. Ask me now, I'm the artist, but hardcore."

Reminiscing about his multiple personas in "Nas is Like" off his '99 release I Am, the rapper Nas mused on his evolution as an artist.

Now, with Street's Disciple, he's written a double album eulogizing it.

But the question remains: Who is Nas now? Nas' long-awaited new release is an explosive medley of songs so varied, sometimes it's hard to believe they are on the same album -- or even the by the same artist.

One thing is sure, though, the ego is still there: The man who once labeled himself "God's Son" has continued his quest for transcendence, now as the savior of the streets.

Through 25 tracks, Nas provides a narrative testament to where he's been, where he could go and why he's stuck where he is. While quality beats and lyrics come in intermittently, they are inconsistent and often overshadowed by previous works.

After a short poetic intro, the first several tracks roll with slower beats spliced with a strong flow of lyrics, like on "A Message to the Feds, Sincerely, We the People."

Then, over swelling pianos and head-bobbing beats, Nas returns to being hard on "Disciple." He plays the reflective rapper on "Just a Moment" and "Live Now."

Here he's still hood, but now with perspective, the love of peace, paying tribute to those who have died (pour out malt liquor now).

He's conscious on "American Way" over a big(gie)-synthed beat evocative of "Going Back to Cali."

Nas shines on "These Are Our Heroes" by snubbing the black mainstream sell out to Middle-America audiences. But he later serves them on "Suicide Bounce," an embrace of mainstream rap values ("ice, whips, cash...").

So Nas regresses to his thug image on the first two cuts on the second album and, although he does salvage some of his former shine, it's without the same luster as his early epics. One exception is "Disciple," where a recurring violin yields one of the most intricate beats on the album.

Other tracks search for a new vision. "Bridging the Gap" and "Sekou Story" add a jazz and blues influence that stands out for their dynamism. "Bridging the Gap" is one of several songs telling the rapper's tale, and on this track he is able to go beyond himself to tell his family story through the perspective of music history.

Fittingly, many of these genres influence the album, including jazz, blues, funk, rock, R & B and hip-hop.

Old school meets the new with "Virgo," on which Ludacris unrolls a clever verse. "War" evokes the kind of off-beat sound that A Tribe Called Quest would put on, complete with a trumpet bouncing over a simplistic drum line.

And there are other tangents, too. On one track, Nas sings a tribute to his daughter, while a few songs earlier the rapper reflected on all the women he'd sexed in various ways.

But this tribute to his prowess also adds humor to the mix, which the next track, "The Makings of a Perfect B****," continues. Sentimentality follows on "Getting Married," as Nas sings a semi-sweet serenade to his wife.

And through it Nas wanders from style to style, joined by a slew more guest stars. Each of them, in turn, points him in a new direction, which he (hopefully) guides toward some distant shore.

Along the way the deliberate and affected "Thief's Theme" even stirred up hype with its sample of Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida."

One lyric on Nas' release identifies the crux he's reached. "Sittin' up drunk, shuffling thoughts, got paper but I'm lost."

The album tells the narrative of Nas, but looking back at times obscures the vision of the future and often leaves his representation without focus, only at times echoing his former glory.