NAS: Hip Hop is Dead (DefJam)
SOMETHING is rotten in the state of hip-hop, and Nas
(otherwise known as Nasir Jones) has appointed
himself its angry prince to strut and fret about it on his latest CD, Hip Hop is Dead.
It's not such an unusual title for him to hold, given that Nas
is generally recognised as one of the greatest rap artists of all time with a
career spanning more than 10 years. Whatever – he's certainly got enough cred to complain about the state of the genre. As you'd
expect, it's a fairly dark set of tracks, given a funereal feel with orchestral
arrangements and lush instrumentation. He sets out his mission statement in
opener Money Over Bullsh**,
spitting venom about rich rap stars who lose sight of
their roots, while Black Republican sees him team up with former longtime enemy Jay Z. While this release might not quite
measure up to his seminal debut album Illmatic, it still packs a punch, most notably with the
title track. A hot and dirty rap layered over gutsy guitars and church organs, so far it's the hip-hop single to beat for 2007.