His lyrics are all over the place. NAS is one of my favorite rappers of all time, but he just doesn't deliver anymore. We don't "trust" him with the music he puts out these days, he's let us down on so many albums. It's like he doesn't even try to get his verbals on par with Illmatic anymore. He should sit and hone his lyrics. I think he lost the hunger.
As far as the subject matter, it's nothing new. Ras Kass articulated this subject with 5-mic lyricism that is still a gold-standard for pure lyricists. Here's what NAS should be aiming to do (and this was done back in '96):
YouTube - Ordo Abchao (Order Out Of Chaos) - Ras Kass
NAS - you're like Metallica. You need to put something out that's just like your old stuff. You would go multiplatinum and your message would be heard far and wide. You're too soft now.