Pages tagged “nas”

Recently, Pitchfork announced that Capitol/EMI and King Cole Partners & Productions are set to release a new disc of reworkings of Nat King Cole tunes by some of music's heavy hitters. And with that the tradition of tribute albums for recently deceased greats (sup, Elvis, Cash, Biggie and Waylon) continues.

As hip-hop goes, calling Illmatic seminal is more than a simple understatement. Released in 1994, Nas' grim portrayal of his hardscrabble Queensbridge upbringing defined modern rap, and laid the groundwork for East-coast sound. Nasir Jones had changed the game at only 19 years old.

Dr. Dre has not had an album this millennium.

Since Dre's Chronic follow-up 2001 (which, against the rules of logic, actually came out in 1999), the world's population has risen by approximately 80 million people, and assumedly at least half of these people have released a mixtape with a Lil Wayne feature by now.

Sit back and press play on this video.

And let the epic ride of Nas' 2001 single "One Mic" engulf you: the internal build-up, the sirens, the street scene. Now, the verse where Nas, poised as ever, has his message down to a whisper, saying "All I need is one blunt, one page, and one pen, one prayer - tell God forgive me for one sin." Picture the build up as he becomes so empassioned he has to shout over the frantic beat, searching for some sort of metaphorical balance until he finds "the right track" and his voice is once again hushed down to a calming breath. Now imagine seeing this track performed live at a venue so intimate you could hear the fiend Nas refers to as he drops his Heineken.

Hip-hop godfather brings controversy, stumbles with mixed message

After pronouncing an entire genre dead, the progenitor of New York hip-hop turned his eye to a broader horizon: race relations. To that end, Nas originally intended to name Untitled an unprintable epithet, and though the moniker has changed, the album it represents is still blazingly incendiary.

Maybe you've heard about it, whispered under someone's breath.

"Did you hear?" A chuckle. "Nas, man, his new album! Did you hear what it's called?"

Well, we here at Paste would like to remove all of the rumor and innuendo surrounding the title of the upcoming Nas record. It is not - we repeat - not called Nigga. Rather, it is entitled Nigger. Will you all please calm down now?

Nas himself has reported the follow-up to last year's Hip-Hop Is Dead will drop on Dec. 11, though his label Def Jam is understandably mum on the topic.

The Queensbridge MC spoke to MTV at length on the new album, with just a bit of information about some of the music that's sure to be overshadowed by the release's controversial name.

"The songs are crazier than the title," said Nas to MTV.

Okay, sounds great, but everyone's demanding to know: why call an album that, of all things?

"I wanna make the word easy on [people's] ears," Nas explained. "You see how white boys ain't mad at 'cracker' 'cause it don't have the same [sting] as 'nigger'? I want 'nigger' to have less meaning [than] 'cracker.'"

"We're taking power from the word," he added.

This Tuesday, Fox News ran an item on the firestorm surrounding Nas' initial announcement of the album title one week ago at a New York concert. The article quotes "a source close to" Island Def Jam Music Group chairman Antonio "L.A." Reid in denying that any Nas album was coming out in December at all.

"They would be unlikely to release an album with that title," said the anonymous source. "How would that look at Wal-Mart?"

The Fox News piece also included statements from the Rev. Jesse Jackson and NAACP spokesperson Richard McIntire denouncing the record.

"The title using the 'N' word is morally offensive and socially distasteful," Jackson said. "Nas has the right to degrade and denigrate in the name of free speech, but there is no honor in it."

"We will not support and we will not continually be assailed by other individuals who want to use that type of term in our presence," McIntire added. "This has gone on long enough."

In the aforementioned interview with MTV, Nas responded to these charges.

First, on the claims of the unnamed source:

"I don't know where that [report] came from and neither does Def Jam," Nas said. "None of us knows where that came from."

And to those who question the title:

"Stay out of our business. You ain't got no business worrying about what the word 'nigger' is or acting like you know what my album is about without talking to me."

Interestingly enough, Nas had spoken with MTV's Mixtape Monday in September about the connotations of the n-word. His comments can be viewed at the bottom of the page here. Nas had also contemplated calling the album that became Hip-Hop Is Dead "N.I.G.G.A.," but reconsidered. Apparently, the time was ripe this time around.

Related links:
Google Video: Nas announces the new album title live
YouTube: Fox News reports, reacts to the album
Nas at DefJam.com

Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.

Nas will be making a rare West Coast appearance at the Rock the Bells festival on July 30, at the NOS Events Center in San Bernadino, Calif.

Other acts confirmed for the one-day event include Redman, Hieroglyphics, Sage Francis and many others.