Hip Hop Is Dead

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Hip Hop Is Dead
Studio album by Nas
Released	December 15, 2006 (see release history)
Recorded	2006
Genre	Hip hop
Length	60:24
Label	Def Jam, Columbia, The Jones Experience
Producer	will.i.am, Salaam Remi, L.E.S., Wyldfyer, Kanye West, Dr. Dre, Scott Storch, Mark Batson, Stargate, Chris Webber, Devo Springsteen
Professional reviews
Allmusic [1] Robert Christgau (A-)[2] Entertainment Weekly (B)[3] New York Times (favorable)[4] Pitchfork Media (7.8/10)[5] PopMatters (8/10)[6] Rolling Stone [7] USA Today [8] Vibe (favorable)[9] Village Voice (favorable)[10]
Nas chronology
Street's Disciple (2004) Hip Hop Is Dead (2006) Untitled (2008)
Singles from Hip Hop Is Dead
"Hip Hop Is Dead" Released: November 2006 "Can't Forget About You" Released: January 23, 2007

Hip Hop Is Dead is a studio album by American rapper and hip hop artist Nas, released December 19, 2006. The LP is Nas' eighth album overall of all-original material, while serving as his first album for Def Jam Recordings. Nas' previous label, Columbia Records, co-financed the release with Def Jam (which was once distributed by Columbia). Hip Hop Is Dead became his third studio album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 355,880 copies in its first week^[11] and 764,000 copies up to November 2008.^[12] The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, based on an aggregate score of 79/100 from Metacritic.^[13]

[edit] Conception

[edit] Background

Nas announced the album's title after a performance on May 18, 2006 ^[14][15] In a late September interview on English DJ Tim Westwood's Radio show, Nas said, "Hip-hop is dead because we as artists no longer have the power." He went on to say, "Could you imagine what 50 Cent could be doing, Nas, Jay, Eminem, if we were the Jimmy Iovines? Could you imagine the power we'd have? I think that's where we're headed." He has described the album as a mixture of "street" records, "political" records and collaborations.^[16] In another interview for MTV.com, Nas discussed the concept of the album title and the social atmosphere and condition of the music industry that inspired it, stating:

When I say 'hip-hop is dead', basically America is dead. There is no political voice. Music is dead ... Our way of thinking is dead, our commerce is dead. Everything in this society has been done. It's like a slingshot, where you throw the muthafucka back and it starts losing speed and is about to fall down. That's where we are as a country ... what I mean by 'hip-hop is dead' is we're at a vulnerable state. If we don't change, we gonna disappear like Rome. I think hip-hop could help rebuild America, once hip-hoppers own hip-hop ... We are our own politicians, our own government, we have something to say.^[17]

—Nas

In an interview on the music television show 106 & Park, while promoting his untitled 2008 album, Nas said that he chose "Hip Hop Is Dead" as the title of the album in order to engender excitement and a reaction among hip hop artists. He went on to say that it worked, due to reactions from artists like Lil Wayne and Kanye West.

[edit] Title significance

The title had a major impact in the hip hop world, especially for Southern hip hop, whose artists have been blamed for cheapening the quality of hip-hop with crunk and snap music. Southern rapper Young Jeezy had made statements against the title of Nas' album, and also furthered his comments by questioning Nas' street credibility. They have since reconciled, with Nas appearing on Jeezy's 2008 single, "My President".^[18] Many other Southern rappers such as Ludacris, Trick Daddy, and Big Boi (whose fellow Outkast member, Andre 3000, declared hip hop dead on 2001's "Funkin' Around", off Big Boi and Dre Present...Outkast) have also attacked Nas' album title claiming that it is targeted at Southern hip hop.^[19] Nas also has a fair share of supporters such as fellow New York rappers KRS-One, DMX and Ghostface Killah.

[edit] Reception

[edit] Commercial performance

Selling 355,880 copies in its first week, Hip Hop Is Dead joined It Was Written (1996) and I Am… (1999) as another Nas album to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. His 2008 album, Untitled (2008), also debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The title track "Hip Hop Is Dead" (produced by will.i.am), which contains samples from "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly, and "Apache" by Incredible Bongo Band, and Billy Squier's "The Big Beat", was the first single of the album.^[20] It received airplay on radio stations in Australia (Triple J), the UK, and in United States, notably on Hot 97.^[15][21] The single recently reached #48 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart^[22] and #41 on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single from the album Hip Hop Is Dead is "Can't Forget About You" (Featuring Chrisette Michele). It contains a sample from Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable".

[edit] Critical response

The album was generally received well by music critics and publications.^[13] Nas is hip-hop's "grumpiest man", according to Jody Rosen for Entertainment Weekly, and the album "is a lot like Nas himself: impossible not to admire, but hard to love".^[23] Among those music writers and critics that reviewed Hip Hop Is Dead favorably was Jason Rubin of The A.V. Club, which gave the album an A- rating. Rubin praised the album's production quality and lyrical concept, and stated "Hip Hop is unsparing in its diagnosis of rap's ills, but ultimately, it's hopeful. It contains a smart, tight, cohesive analysis of where rap went astray, but also the seeds of the genre's rebirth and renewal."^[24] Despite perceiving its sound as a weakness, Los Angeles Times writer Soren Baker gave it 3 out of 4 stars and wrote "Nas demonstrates why he remains one of rap's most revered artists, as his defense of hip-hop culture is impassioned and informed, if not fully realized".^[25] The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, losing to Kanye West's Graduation (2007), at the 50th Grammy Awards in February 2008.^[26]

[edit] Track listing

*Co-producer

[edit] Additional credits

[edit] Chart history

[edit] Album

[edit] Singles

[edit] Release history

[edit] Personnel

• Executive producer: Nasir Jones
• A&R: Jay Brown
• A&R for Ill Will Music Group: Mike Brinkley
• A&R Administration: Terese Joseph
• A&R Coordination: Fabienne Leys
• Marketing: Tracey Waples
• Marketing coordination: Shari Bryant
• Management: Michael "Blue" Williams for Family Tree Entertainment
• Mastering: Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound, NYC
• Photography: Afshin Shahidi
• Creative direction: Andy West
• Cover design: Tavon Sampson
• Wardrobe: Mike Bogard for The B Lynn Group
• Photo and art coordination: Nichell Delavaille
• Package production: Doug Joswick
• Legal representation: Kenny Meiselas, Esq. and Paul Rothenberg, Esq.
• Sample clearance agent: Deborah Mannis-Gardner for DMG Clearances, Inc.
• Business Affairs: Michael Seltzer, Antoinette Trotman, Ian Allen

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Nas at DefJam
• Street's Disciple at Columbia Records
• Column about the larger musical/cultural context that informs "Hip-Hop is Dead"
• About.com Review of Hip Hop Is Dead
• About.com Review of "Black Republican"
• About.com Review of "Hip-Hop Is Dead"
• Pitchfork Media Review of "Black Republican"
• Hip Hop Is Dead concert review at UKEvents.net