Hip-Hop Is Dead: Nas Goes all Nastradamus on Us Again
In the next couple of days, this Rolling Stone In the Studio article on Nas will become a blogosphere favorite. Decide for yourself if this is bs or bt (bitter truth).
Nas
Hip-Hop Is Dead
Due Out: September
Recorded in New York
"For his eighth studio album, Queensbridge MC Nas is taking it to the clubs. "I want it to be bangin'," he says. "And if you want it bangin', you call the dudes with the bangers." In this case, the dudes are Timbaland, Pharrell, Scott Storch, Dr. Dre and hip hop's newest "it" producer, Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas. "This one is gonna broaden my audience back up to where it needs to be," says Nas. It doesn't hurt that he's got rap's reigning king, Jay-Z, behind him; the former foes buried the hatchet and Hova signed Nas to Def Jam in January. Hard drums and crowd chants rull the Will.i.am-produced title track. On "War," a song about the politics of warfare, Nas trades verses with Damian Marley. "It has the head nod and that rocka bump," says Nas' co-manager Mark Pitts, who also confirms that Nas has been in touch with Michael Jackson in hopes of recording with him. "It's gonna show Nas' potential to cross over from hip hop to pop," says Pitts." (RS#1003)
I call bullsh*t. Hell, this could even be Def Jam's ploy to get us all amped up for a pop Nas album when he's, in fact, attempting another stillmatic feat.
