Support NeoGAF

[PhoenixDark]

MTV got to preview Nas' upcoming album, "Hip-Hop Is Dead ... The N"

MTV News had a chance to preview some tracks last week — and to dispel some rumors, Nas is not leaving his roots. His LP is very much street, and there aren't really any commercial tracks. Lyrically he still commands the vocal booth.

A bulk of his criticism the last few years has been his choice of beat selection. On Hip-Hop Is Dead, he worked with the best, including Dr. Dre, Just Blaze, Kanye West and others. You can hear the excitement in the producers' music — they've given him top-grade material.

The beat has the feel of the dark party track Dre gave 50 Cent for the "Outta Control" remix, but it has a bit more bite. Nas raps on the beat that he and the Game came to "sprinkle a little bit of heaven for your ears." The Game starts his verse by rapping that over a decade ago, he was a kid in a record store and had to decide whether to buy Nas' Illmatic or Dre's The Chronic because he only had money for one purchase. He decided to steal both albums.

"Game is a megastar, man," said Nas, who appears on the Game's upcoming The Doctor's Advocate. "That n---a shut down a whole crew by himself. That's big."

Oh snaps:lol

Kanye West raps on and produced "Still Dreamin'." Nas starts one verse scolding hangers-on who are looking for handouts, and on his second verse, he tells a story of a female newscaster who gets caught up in a drug dealer's lifestyle.

" 'Ye is that n---a," Nas told. "His music is right. I wish I could've got more time in with him, actually. He comes through. N---as just be kicking it. Next thing you know, he plays me his sh-- he's working on, I play my sh--, then it comes from there. He'll play me some sh--, and I'll say, 'Let me get that.' "

The song "Blunt Ashes," where Nas talks about the missteps and betrayals of R&B legends like Prince, Alexander O'Neal and Bobby Womack, came about from the wordsmith just kicking it in the lab with another one of his friends, Philadelphia 76ers forward Chris Webber. Webber produced the track.

"We was in the studio in Kelis' session," Nas said about working with his wife. "We had a room next door, because I didn't want to mess her session up, but I wanted to listen to something. I went in the other room, we was chillin'. One of my mans told Chris to put on one of his [beat] CDs. We was in there freestylin'. I started freestylin' to one joint about sh-- we just be talking about, and I was like, 'This is my sh-- right here. This is my joint.' But Chris is my homie though. One of my closest homies."

...

"I don't wanna lose nobody with this, but what I mean by 'hip-hop is dead' is we're at a vulnerable state," he continued. "If we don't change, we gonna disappear like Rome. Let's break it down to a smaller situation. Hip-hop is Rome for the 'hood. I think hip-hop could help rebuild America, once hip-hoppers own hip-hop. ... We are our own politicians, our own government, we have something to say. We're warriors. Soldiers."

Nas hasn't yet chosen a first single for Hip-Hop Is Dead, but said he's leaning toward going with a real street record first, like the Game did with "It's Okay (One Blood)."

"Every n---a under the age of 28 that raps — except for maybe five of you — needs to shut the f--- up for eight months," he said about what some of his peers should do in preparation for this album. "Get your mind right and learn what the f--- to say. That's gonna be a wakeup call. With all respect due, because they're my comrades."

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1542740/20061009/nas.jhtml?headlines=true

 

[Ninja Scooter]

i predict the song will be great at first, then start to suck towards the end.

 

[Tornado Condor]

 

[Rayo]

QFT

 

[XcHero]

QFT

 

[PhoenixDark]

i predict the song will be great at first, then start to suck towards the end.

I predict I'll break my leg 3 minutes into the song.

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

I predict the C-Webb track will be the shit, then David Stern will come in and the last verse will be all Kobe and Shaq rapping.

 

[oldschoolpinball]

lets not forget Kobe did do a track with both Nas and 50 cent..actually lets do forget it

 

[kingofrod]

CALL TIMEOUT!

 

[Star Power]

"Where Y'all At?" better be on the album. That song is spectacular.

 

[Big Shirtless Ron]

CALL TIMEOUT!

:lol

 

[jobber]

"Where Y'all At?" better be on the album. That song is spectacular.

probably a bonus track like Thief's Theme on SD even that was a shitty version of it. The CD Single was better than the album version o_o

btw, another Jay Z track is out

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

lets not forget Kobe did do a track with both Nas and 50 cent..actually lets do forget it

I have it on my PSP. And my God, is it awful. "My name's cocaine. When I say I'm a glock that means I'm a thug poet!" Shaq destroys him as a rapper.

 

[SonnyBoy]

When is Nas's album due to drop?

 

[effzee]

probably a bonus track like Thief's Theme on SD even that was a shitty version of it. The CD Single was better than the album version o_o

btw, another Jay Z track is out

which jay z? the one that leaked fri?

 

[jobber]

which jay z? the one that leaked fri?

nope.

 

[PhoenixDark]

probably a bonus track like Thief's Theme on SD even that was a shitty version of it. The CD Single was better than the album version o_o

btw, another Jay Z track is out

It's another lackluster song imo. Jay comes out of retirement to rap over these weak beats, wtf? Not impressed.