Nas Album: “Hip Hop Is Dead [Edited]”

Nasty Nas Escobar helped close out the '06 hip hop year with his first album on Def Jam Records(yeah, I never thought I saw the day either). When you look at Nas' discography, the majority of his records were on point. So what makes this one so special? Nas saw that the Hip Hop culture was in trouble, and needed to make a stand on the way it was heading. Trust me, he and a lot of hip hop heads in this world were realizing that it's culture was heading in deep trouble.

Basically, Nas took this CD back to it's roots. On the song "Where Are They Now" I was suprised he named all of those rappers and asked why did the majority vanish without a trace. I ask that same question sometimes about a lot of those rappers back in the 80's and early 90's. Most of these songs revolve around the album's title, like the previous song, as well as the lead single "Hip Hop Is Dead" and "Who Killed It?".

Guest appearances are great as well. I think the big appearance through this album would be formal rival Jay-Z on "Black Republican" (I never thought I would see the day). If you're familiar with politics, you would understand what that song means, as both arists seemed to have metamorphically achieved that status. A new singer that I haven't heard of named Christette Michele appears with Kanye West on the song "Still Dreaming" and on the song "Can't Forget About You". Her vocals on the latter song, sounds like the song was made in the 60's. Snoop Dogg makes a fabolous appearances on the song "Play On Playa", as he still holds up his lyrical content. Other appearances are The Game, Marsha from Floetry, Tre Williams, and Kelis.

Production is great as well. will.i.am, Kanye West, and Dr. Dre handles some of the production as well as others. Truthfully, on this album, production isn't imprortant because his lyrics take the cake throughout this album.

There are a few minor rough spots here. "Blunt Ashes" is the only track I consider under skip material. Nas raps slowly to stay on beat, and I just didn't feel that in my opinon. Other than that, this album is excellent if you ask me.

I believe it took a lot to speak about an issue of a culture that people were raised on (as heard on the ending song "Hope"). Nas saw that Hip Hop was in a state of emergency when he made this album, and reinvented himself when he made this album here. Having overcoming obsticales and being signed to Def Jam is a major accomplishment. Anyone still controversal enough comparing Nas to Jay-Z needs to let it go. It's over. I believed that he helped end Hip Hop 2006 on a very good note with this album. If you want to hear a fresh sounding Nasir Jones, do not hesitate to listen to this album.

Lyrics: A+

Production: A

Guest Appearances: A

Musical Vibes: A-

Overal: A

Favorite Tracks: You Can't Kill Me, Carry On Tradition, Where Are They Now, Hip Hop Is Dead, Black Republican, Not Going Back, Hold Down The Block, Play On Playa, Hustlers, Hope

Honorable Mention Tracks: Money Over BS, Still Dreaming

Peace Everyone!!!

Whether it be ill lyrics, great storytelling, or just flexin' over ill beats, not many rappers can do these things as well as Nasir Jones. Twelve years after his debut, a point where most rappers razor sharp skills begin to become dull, it would appear that Nas has retained his knack for making dope albums. Even better than that, it would seem that his content is maturing right along with him. For instance, the creativity on tracks like "Who Killed It?" feature great commentary from Nas while rapping in the voice of a journalist from the 1940's. Another standout is the excellent "Black Republican" which features Nas, and former opponent Jay-Z, flexin' over some of the illest production on the entire album. And the lyrics to "Carry On Tradition", "Let There Be Light", and "Where Are They Now" (this joint brought back a ton of memories) make the album worth owning by themselves. Other standouts include "Hold Down The Block", "Hope", and "Can't Forget About You". With great production from Kanye West, Will.I.Am, LES, the grossly underrated Salaam Remi, Dr. Dre, just to name a few, not too many 2006 releases (with the exception of The Roots' Game Theory LP) are coming close to this album.

Though there aren't any wack tracks, there are one or two that, in my opinion, are less than desirable. "You Can't Kill Me" and "Blunt Ashes" both fall under skip material for this listener. I'm not saying that they are bad, but I personally don't feel them. Those kinds of songs are in the minority though, the rest of the album is awesome.

Hip Hop Is Dead is just another notch in the belt for Mr. Jones. He simply doesn't make bad albums and the longer he sticks around the better his lyrics/content get. With strong releases from Ghostface (twice), The Roots, and now Nas, Def Jam is belting out great albums at an frenetic pace. Hopefully they, and Nas, can keep it up. I recommend making this album a collection piece.

Standout Tracks: Can't Forget About You, Not Going Back feat. Kelis, Carry On Tradition, Who Killed It?, Money Over Bullsh**, Hold Down The Block, Let There Be Light, Where Are They At Now, Black Republican feat. Jay-Z (My Favorite), Hustlers feat. The Game & Dr. Dre, and Still Dreaming feat. Kanye West

One word to describe this album...CLASSIC.

This album is better than Jay-Z's Kingdom Come. A must have for real Hip-Hop heads...an album for fans whose knowledge of the music goes to the essence and can quote a Rakim or Big Daddy Kane line.

Amazon snuck a CLEAN version of this CD on me. I notice the title now says "CLEAN" well, too late for me. I lose my mind when I hear censorship beeps. Just the man tryin to keep us down.