With less than two weeks until its completion, Nas is already claiming his next album, “Hip-Hop Is Dead … The N,” is going to blow everything else out of the water. “All respect to all rappers on Def Jam, I love the label,” Nas told MTV News. “Without disrespect, I’m about to be the craziest shit on Def Jam. But that should go without saying.” The Queensbridge rapper reached out to a host of producers, including Dr. Dre, Just Blaze, Kanye West, and Will.I.Am (Black Eyed Peas), as well as notable emcees Game and Snoop Dogg. Although Will.I.Am and Snoop’s presence may throw off long-time fans, according to MTV who previewed the LP, Nas stays true to his gritty street sound and hasn’t recorded any “commercial tracks.” “When I say ‘hip-hop is dead,’ basically America is dead,” Nas said. “There is no political voice.” “Music is dead. … Our way of thinking is dead, our commerce is dead. It’s like a slingshot, where you throw the motherfucker back and it starts losing speed and is about to fall down. That’s where we are as a country.” “I don’t want to lose nobody with this, but what I mean by ‘hip-hop is dead’ is we’re at a vulnerable state. If we don’t change, we’re going to disappear like Rome. … Hip-hop is Rome for the ‘hood. I think hip-hop could rebuild America, once hip-hoppers own hip-hop.” The LP is scheduled to hit stores on Dec. 5th.In related news, Nas and his wife, Kelis, have denied rumors of starring in a reality show, as reported earlier by the New York Post. The NYCk-based newspaper reported that the couple had video cameras rolling while they dined at a local restaurant, and assumed the two were recording for television. But it wasn’t for a TV project, Kelis recently told AOL Music, it was part of an ongoing effort to document her life for her posterity. “With all the events we do, I like to see my life,” Kelis said.“I drive Nas crazy because it’s usually me with the camera, which he is totally over. So I just got this [camera] guy to help us document our life. Whether we choose to do something with it or not is still up in the air.“Right now, I really just want to show my kids how fly Mommy was when she was in her twenties.”
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