Looks like rapper Nas and the Black Crowes have something in common ... besides their connection to all-star classic rock. The New York-based rapper was jarred, much like Chris Robinson and Co., when the lad mag -- known for its revealing pics of female actresses and models -- gave his upcoming album a 2 1/2-star review.

The rap star, who's been making hits since the mid '90s, wasn't dismayed by the thought of receiving a less than stellar critique, but was instead surprised that Maxim could even have an opinion on the incomplete project. A music reviewer at Maxim panned the Crowes' new album, 'Warpaint,' in the same fashion, and later admitted that he never even heard the LP.

The Crowes were bothered, to say the least, by the faux review. Nas, on the other hand, isn't as perturbed by the magazine's insubstantial opinion of his new project ... especially since the rapper hasn't even finished it.

"I'm finishing the album now, and it will be out April 22," Nas told the New York Post's Page Six. "I'd prefer [a review from] Playboy," Nas said. "That kind of stuff doesn't reach my radar or effect anybody around me. I don't know what a music rating from Maxim is ... I don't know what it even means really."

The Black Crowes themselves are not letting Maxim wriggle off the hook quite as easily as Nas seems to have. The wronged rockers have rejected the magazine's explanation for its non-review review and are demanding a public apology, calling the conciliatory words it has offered "self-serving damage control."