Nas says Hip-Hop is Dead

It is a well-known fact, at least in the hip-hop community, that Nas is releasing his first solo set under the Def Jam umbrella. It is also a well-known fact that the Def Jam CEO is Jay-Z. The two have had a legendary beef in the past, but now Hov is Nas's boss...WEIRD. Either way, Nas's new cd is slated for a December 18th release date, and it is called Hip Hop is Dead...The N. Now I'm not sure whether Nas really believes hip hop is dead, or he just felt like causing a stir, but either way this album is highly anticipated and has a lot of hype. Now I've heard two tracks off the new album. One is called "Hip-Hop is Dead", and the other is called "The N". The first is Nas flowing over a recycled "Thief's Theme" beat, which was the lead single off of the last album, "Street's Disciple". I personally am not a fan of recycled beats, especially if you're going to get an expensive producer like Will.I.Am. to recylce it. But Nas's flow is hot as usual on it. I personally am hoping that this is not the real verson of the title track, because it's kind of strange and not creative to use almost the identical beat from the lead single off of your last album on the title track of your new album. LAAAAAAME. But we'll see. Now the other single, "The N", is a whole other story. This track is simply bangin'. I would say that it's Nas's best beat selection since Stillmatic's classic cut "Got Yourself A Gun", and actually one of Nas's best beats ever. Nas flows over the beat with flying colors and the hook is infectious, which is sometimes rare on a Nas track. Unfortunately, he only drops two verses, and I would have liked to have heard a third. But it is what it is. Hopefully "The N" is just a preview of things to come off The God's Son's Def Jam debut. Have a listen to both tracks: "Hip-Hop is Dead"
"The N"
Hopefully more tracks coming soon off of the new Nas. Yeeeeeeah.

-Doc