All the hype you have probably heard is true. Nas's eighth album, "Hip Hop Is Dead," is something that most of us hip-hop fans have been waiting for all year. It came as quite a holiday present?on December 19 of last year?and revived an industry that has been stagnant for some time.
Nas has always held a special status in the rap game, being referred to as a street monk or a ghetto poet. His latest album is the most personal rap record he's done for 10 years; it is also lyrically and musically speaking his richest one.
Knowing very well that he is throwing a stone at the glass house he lives in, Nas's statement comes at a time when hip-hop suffers from an obvious lack of creativity. The record is far from the greatness of "Illmatic" and that's part of its irony. Nas criticizes not only the industry, but also himself. Sometimes these criticisms are done subtly, sometimes not so. What makes the record remarkable is not Nas's delivery but its thematic scope, lyrical creativity, honesty, and a willingness to provoke?things many rapppers shun.
The first Nas project coming out of Def Jam, the production of "Hip Hop Is Dead" already stirred the stew in some circles. Many Southern rappers saw it as arrogant and starting a beef. However, Nas does not attack anything personally?he only comments on truths that are so true they hurt. Here is one example from the explosive "Carry on Tradition": "Some rap pioneers be them crackheads / When they speak you see missing teeth.../N----- your grandfather age / They pants still hanging down their legs talking 'bout they ain't paid / And they hate you cause they say you ain't paid dues."
The album features collaborations with Jay-Z, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Scott Storch, Marsha Ambrosius, The Game, and Snoop Dogg, something not typical of the loner Nas. The album has its gangsta hymns ("Money Over Bulls---"), "Play on Playa"), nostalgic touches ("Carry on Tradition") and angry politics ("Black Republicans").
The range of emotions that Nas exhibits in the 16 tracks is impressive. Almost every track samples a well-known blues or rock song: "Where are They Now" invokes James Brown, "Who Killed It?" uses a sample by Rakim, "Still Dreaming"?one by Diana Ross, "Play on Playa"?one by Marvin Gaye, and so on. The chief asset of "Hip Hop is Dead" lies in its consistency in all of this mish-mash, all the way from James Brown to Snoop Dogg and Kanye West and mixing history with the present state of hip-hop. This is maybe due to Nas's whimsical and self-reflective attitude throughout or the passion that shines through every track.
Things that are not so great about the album are the beats. Sometimes they are not suited to the album's lyrics and sound a little clumsy. But somehow, this does not sink the album.
Throughout several tracks, Nas insists that a great resurrection of hip-hop is very soon to come, although he never promises that he will be the savior. Nevertheless, this sense of hope was the catalyst that also helped the success of the record, since "Hip Hop is Dead" sold 356,000 copies in its first week. It is a historical checkpoint of what has been and what is yet to come.