NAS:HIP HOP IS DEAD

Hip Hop Is Dead is a 2006 album by American hip-hop artist Nas that was released on December 19, 2006. The LP is Nas' eighth album of all-original material, and his first album for Def Jam Recordings. Nas announced the albums title after a performance on May 18, 2006.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.[4] In another interview Nas said,

“ ...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. That's where we are as a country.”

In an interview on 106 & Park, promoting his untitled 2008 album, he said he named this album "Hip Hop is Dead" to get people excited about doing hip hop. He went on to say that it worked, due to reactions from artists like Lil Wayne and Kanye West.

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.Many other Southern rappers such as Ludacris, Trick Daddy, and Big Boi (whose fellow Outkast member, Andre 3000, declared hip hop was dying shortly after the release of Speakerboxxx/The Love Below) have also attacked Nas' album title claiming that it is targeted at Southern hip hop.