Hip Hop Is Dead
Studio album by Nas
Released	December 19, 2006
Recorded	2005–2006
Genre	Hip-hop
Length	60:27
Label	The Jones Experience Def Jam Columbia
Producer	Nas Chris Webber Devo Springsteen Dr. Dre Kanye West L.E.S. Mark Batson Salaam Remi Scott Storch Stargate will.i.am Wyldfyer
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 5, 2006 "Can't Forget About You" Released: January 23, 2007

Hip Hop Is Dead is the eighthstudio album by American rapperNas, released December 19, 2006, onDef Jam Recordings. His first album for the label, it was co-financed by Nas's previous label,Columbia Records, which once distributed for Def Jam. The album's title was inspired by Nas's view of the music industry and the state ofhip hop music at the time. The album features appearances from Nas's then-wifeKelis, Def Jam label-matesKanye West,Jay-Z, andChrisette Michele, as well aswill.i.am,Snoop Dogg, andThe Game, among others.

The album debuted at number one on the U.S.Billboard 200 chart, selling 355,880 copies in its first week. His fourth U.S. number-one album, it had sold 785,000 copies by March 2014, eventually over time it went gold by the RIAA.^[1] Upon its release,Hip Hop Is Dead received generally positive reviews from most music critics.Hip Hop Is Dead was nominated for aGrammy Award for Best Rap Album,^[2] ultimately losing toKanye West'sGraduation at the50th Grammy Awards.^[3]

Nas announced the album's title after a performance on May 18, 2006.^[4][5] In a late September interview on English DJTim 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 what50 Cent could be doing, Nas,Jay,Eminem, if we were theJimmy 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.^[6] In another interview forMTV.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 likeRome. 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.^[7]

A promo single, "Where Y'all At", was released in June 2006 and produced by Salaam Remi.^[8] It contained a sample from Nas' "Made You Look",^[9] but it did not make the final cut forHip Hop Is Dead.^[10] It was, however, released as a bonus track on the Japanese import version of the album.^[11]

A music video for "Can't Forget About You" premiered on February 5, 2007, the song featuringChrisette Michele and samplingNat King Cole's song "Unforgettable".^[12] Another video,Hustlers, featuringThe Game, followed.^[13]

In an interview on the music television show106 & Park, while promoting hisuntitled 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 likeLil Wayne andKanye West (whether West was actually reacting to the title of the album or merely promoting the album is unclear, given that he produced on two of the album's tracks). The title had a major impact in the hip hop world, especially forSouthern hip hop, whose artists were blamed at the time for cheapening the quality of hip-hop withcrunk andsnap music. Southern rapperYoung 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".^[14] Many other Southern rappers such asLudacris,Trick Daddy, andBig Boi (whose fellowOutkast member,Andre 3000, declared hip hop dead on 2001's "Funkin' Around", offBig Boi and Dre Present...Outkast) have also attacked Nas' album title claiming that it is targeted at Southern hip hop.^[15] Nas also has a fair share of supporters such as fellow New York rappersKRS-One,DMX,Raekwon, andGhostface Killah.

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[16]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[17]
Entertainment Weekly	(B)[18]
The Guardian	[19]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)	A−[20]
The New York Times	(favorable)[21]
Pitchfork Media	(7.8/10)[22]
PopMatters	(8/10)[23]
Rolling Stone	[24]
USA Today	[25]
The Village Voice	(favorable)[26]

Hip Hop Is Dead received generally positive reviews from most music critics.^[27] AtMetacritic, which assigns anormalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received anaverage score of 79, based on 22 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".^[27] Nas is hip-hop's "grumpiest man", according to Jody Rosen forEntertainment Weekly, and the album "is a lot like Nas himself: impossible not to admire, but hard to love".^[28] Among those music writers and critics that reviewedHip Hop Is Dead favorably was Jason Rubin ofThe 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."^[29]

Despite perceiving its sound and musical quality as weaknesses,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".^[30] Sean Fennessey ofVibe called the album "disorienting and sometimes brilliant" and complimented its "bold, startling production and a renewed lyrical vigor".^[31] The album was nominated for aGrammy Award for Best Rap Album, losing toKanye West'sGraduation (2007), at the50th Grammy Awards in February 2008.^[32]

Hip Hop Is Dead debuted at number one on the USBillboard 200, selling 355,880 copies in its first week. The album has joinedIt Was Written (1996) andI Am… (1999) as Nas's third album to debut at number one on the chart.^[33] In its second week, the album dropped to number four on the chart, selling an additional 101,000 copies.^[34] In its third week, the album dropped to number eight on the chart, selling 44,800 copies that week.^[35] On March 12, 2007, the album was certifiedgold by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States.^[36]

The title track "Hip Hop Is Dead" (produced bywill.i.am), which contains samples from "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" byIron Butterfly, and "Apache" byIncredible Bongo Band (which Nas previously used on "Made You Look", andBilly Squier's "The Big Beat", was the first single of the album.^[37] It received airplay on radio stations inAustralia (Triple J), the UK, and in United States, notably onHot 97.^[5][38] The single recently reached #48 on theHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart^[39] and #41 on theBillboard Hot 100. The second single from the album Hip Hop Is Dead is "Can't Forget About You" (FeaturingChrisette Michele). It contains a sample fromNat King Cole's "Unforgettable".

Information is based on Liner Notes.^[40]

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer.

Unless otherwise indicated, Information is based on Liner Notes.^[40]

• Nas at DefJam

• 2006 albums
• Nas albums
• Albums produced by Devo Springsteen
• Albums produced by Dr. Dre
• Albums produced by Kanye West
• Albums produced by L.E.S. (record producer)
• Albums produced by Mark Batson
• Albums produced by Salaam Remi
• Albums produced by Scott Storch
• Albums produced by Stargate
• Albums produced by will.i.am
• Columbia Records albums
• Def Jam Recordings albums

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