The Nation Compilation is the first release from Nigh Shield Entertainment. It is a new up and coming record label out of South Dakota. Now many of you might not be accustom to hearing music come out of South Dakota and you probably don't know what to expect. Night Shield Entertainment has a heavily influenced bay area sound but still add a little of their own flavor to it. The album does a good job of showcasing some of Night Shield's talented artists like Cinista Cin'Natra, Night Shield, and my favorite so far, Overflow. The compilation does a good job of giving the listener a wide range of sounds and styles including rap from all over the globe to R&B and even a reggae track. The R&B track is pulled off nicely with the sweet voice of Shayla Day. There is even a rap track from some cat named Psycomatic out of Germany of all places. I really couldn't get into this track cause I couldn't understand what the cat was saying but he sounded like he meant it. Other standout artists on the compilation include the Brikyard Dereliks and Silver Shadow D. However, the album doesn't escape the plague that has been dragging down compilations for the past 5 years, inconsistency. It just seems like Night Shield was trying to reach out too many helping hands or maybe they wanted to get this compilation out as soon as possible so they were accepting submissions from anyone. There are a few tracks on here that just don't seem fit to be on a professional product such as this compilation. You can tell that Night Shield put a lot of effort into this project considering the nice layout and graphic design. However, the sound quality at times sounds a bit amateurish. I think that is something the Night Shield camp will remedy over time with a bit of experience under their belt. They have a nice core of talent and there are some innovative beats and sounds on this album that make it worth listening to. Its only shortcomings are the filler songs and the quality at times. But make sure you keep an ear out from Overflow cause he seems to have what it takes to become a very successful artist. I am interested to see where the Night Shield camp will go after this release because with some higher quality recordings and a little more selection they are very capable of releasing some incredible music. All in all, this album is a good starting point and it shows a great upside. If you are looking to get a new sound from a new region with some new artists and don't mind a muffled sound at times then go ahead and check out The Nation Compilation. The songs that are tight on this album make you over look the bad tracks and the less then stellar quality. But don't get me wrong, its not like you are listening to real audios or something. It is cd sound but the music doesn't come through as crisp as it seems it should. And it’s a shame cause a few of these beats would be incredible if you got to hear them in high quality sound. But they definitely have what it takes to make a good name for themselves in this industry I just think the Night Shield camp needs to focus on releasing a 100% quality product next time and not let less average artists appear on their record with sub par sounding material.

Overall Rating-6
Beats-7
Lyrics-6
Originality-7
Replay Factor-6
Features-4
Skits-none