POPSCREEN: Nas

Oh, Nas: He always knows how to get the tears flowing. In his video for “Surviving the Times,” one of the few new tracks off his newly released “Greatest Hits” album, he recalls the golden days of first crushes and dreams of fame. This, of course, is before he goes badass “gangsta” on us and reveals gritty images of prison life to the viewer.

But you won’t find gyrating booties or a waterfall of hundred dollar bills in this video, only Polaroid-style photo shots of Nas and his crew chillin’ through the years, while a mishmash of handwritten notes flutters across the screen.

The video begins in silence, with a shot of a classic black-and-white notebook labeled “Nas Rhymes” opening up like a fairytale book. Scribbled on the ruled paper inside is the declaration, “This is the story of hip-hop’s greatest poet...” Following this humble statement, a mysterious hand inserts a cassette tape into a car stereo, and the music begins.

Nostalgia remains the dominant theme throughout the video. “Surviving the Times” presents a scrapbook-style montage of images and memories from Nas’s life (and old videos). The video is so unpretentious and low-budget that if it weren’t for the occasional twinkle of old school bling or the sporadic glimmer of gold teeth, you might think you were watching an Indigo Girls video. Okay, only if you really squinted your eyes.

Just when you start to feel overcome with nostalgia as blurry images of the “poet’s” native Queens flash before your eyes, the video ends with a big, shiny, three-dimensional “NAS” spinning on the screen. Oh, right. He’s still a rapper.