From Billboard

 

Nas Drafts Kanye, will.i.am, Marley For New 'Hip-Hop'

New York rapper Nas is close to putting the finishing touches on his Def Jam debut, "Hip-Hop Is Dead ... The N," due Dec. 19. The album features collaborations with Kanye West, Dr. Dre, the Game, Damien "Jr. Gong" Marley and, as previously reported, the Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am, who produced the Iron Butterfly-sampling title track.

 

On that song, Nas claims to be "on my second marriage / hip-hop's my first wife," and also cleverly references his new home: "Like my girl Foxy, a n**** went Def." The cut lifts the immortal riff from Iron Butterfly's "Inna Gadda Davida."

 

Another track, "White Man's Paper," is pounding, reggae-influenced cut with a thick, dubby bassline, while "Still Dreamin'" finds Nas trading verses with West. "QB True G" boasts the talents of the Game on the mic and Dr. Dre behind the boards.

 

"Hip-Hop Is Dead" will be the follow-up to 2004's "Streets Disciple," which peaked at No. 5 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 699,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The disc will be one of two albums to be jointly marketed by Def Jam and Columbia, Nas' previous label.

 

 

LifeLight

damn this is gonna be good, Ive been waiting so long for it. The best rapper [imo] and yet criminally under-rated.

I found his rapping quite dulcid actually, nothing much to him, better people out there doing exactly the same thing.