Hip Hop is Dead

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Hip Hop is Dead
Studio album by Nas

Publication
(s)

December 15, 2006 ( Germany )

December 19, 2006 ( US , Canada )

Label (s) Def Jam Records
Columbia Records
The Jones Experience

Format (s)

compact disc

Download (exclusively on iTunes )

Genre (s)

East coast hip hop

running time

60 min 24 sec

production

chronology
Street's Disciple
(2004) 		Hip Hop is Dead Untitled
(2008)

Hip Hop Is Dead ( English for Hip Hop is dead ) is the eighth official studio album by New York- born rapper Nas .

History of origin and general

After Nas and Jay-Z reconciled in October 2005, Nas was signed to Def Jam Records in January 2006 and committed to a total of 4 albums. Nas chose the title because of the current crunk hype. He was also criticized for this by some crunk DJs. He also wanted the title to be a topic of conversation so that he could do without the large-scale promotions and scandals that are now common before an album release.

The cover picture shows Nas from the perspective of a corpse laying a rose on a grave. According to Nas himself, hip hop is dead because values ​​and morals such as friendship, love and respect are increasingly neglected in society. Nas talked about Soulja Boy in an interview and said: “Soulja Boy is a choreographer and not a rapper. Real rappers don't dance. He's a good reason Hip Hop is dead. "

Guests on the album are will.i.am , Jay-Z , Kelis , Kanye West , Chrisette Michele , Snoop Dogg , Tre Williams, Marsha from Floetry and Game . Def Jam and Columbia Records share the marketing costs and the profits. The album was supposed to be released in September 2006, but was postponed to December.

The track Blunt Ashes was produced by basketball superstar Chris Webber . The track Hip Hop Is Dead , produced by will.i.am ( The Black Eyed Peas ) and which premiered in Germany on January 5, 2007, was selected as the first single . In the track Where Are They Now? Nas pays tribute to the old school legends like Kool G Rap and MC Shan, who inspired him in his youth. It is also noticeable that producers like DJ Premier or Pete Rock , who otherwise regularly produced for Nas, did not take part on the album - Nas, according to his own statement, does not want to release a second Illmatic , since he is now husband, father and brother.

On the last track Hope (an a cappella track without a beat), Nas tells that there is still a future for hip hop as long as artists like Talib Kweli , Mos Def and Papoose are actively involved in rap.

Track list

  1. Money Over Bullshit (produced by LES and Wyldfyer)
  2. You Can't Kill Me (produced by LES)
  3. Carry on Tradition (produced by Scott Storch)
  4. Where Are They Now? (produced by Nas and Salaam Remi)
  5. Hip Hop Is Dead feat. will.i.am (produced by will.i.am)
  6. Who Killed It? (produced by Salaam Remi and will.i.am)
  7. Black Republican feat. Jay-Z (produced by LES and Wyldfyer)
  8. Not Going Back feat. Kelis (produced by Stargate)
  9. Still Dreaming feat. Kanye West and Chrisette Michele (produced by Kanye West)
  10. Hold Down the Block (produced by Mark Batson)
  11. Blunt Ashes (produced by Chris Webber)
  12. Let There Be Light feat. Tre Williams (produced by Kanye West, Devo Springsteen and Paul Cho)
  13. Play on Playa feat. Snoop Dogg (produced by Scott Storch)
  14. Can't Forget About You feat. Chrisette Michele (produced by will.i.am)
  15. Hustlers feat. The Game (produced by Dr. Dre)
  16. Hope (produced by Nas and LES)

+ Shine ( iTunes bonus track)

+ The N (iTunes bonus track)

Samples

Different samples from classical to rock to soul were used.

Chart successes

  • Hip Hop Is Dead entered the American album charts at number 1 with 355,000 units sold in the first week.

Awards

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.mtv.com/bands/m/mixtape_monday/122206/

Web links