BlackBauer

Nas Previews Controversial Album For MTV News: 'I'm Here To Rap About What I Feel'

Rick Ross, Dead Prez and the LOX might appear on upcoming LP, slated for July 1.

Almost 20 years in the business, and creativity is still flowing through Nasir Jones.

We've heard him rap from the perspective of a gun that has been used in several homicides. He's rapped from the perspective of a kid on a project bench. And on his upcoming album, ******, he's at it again, reciting lyrics from the viewpoint of an insect. One of the standout cuts he previewed for MTV News on Tuesday is called "Project Roach."

"A roach is what I am, fool/ The ghetto is my land, fool," he raps on the track, which was produced by No I.D.

"I get to thinking about how we evolved, how the human family evolved and sh--," Nas said Tuesday from Jimmy Hendrix's Electric Lady Studios. "And I looked at ants, man. One day, I was looking at a bunch of ants. We've got a lot in common — just like everything that's alive, everything that eats and breathes and builds and creates. There's a connection to even the smallest thing. So I looked at it as the whole world, instead of looking at us as beauty. Inside poverty, inside the street, inside the ghettos and the gutters and the slums, we aren't looked at as beauty out there. We were looked at as the worst pest, and because of that, because of that treatment, some of us started to believe we were a pest, started to believe what we were told, and started to act like it, and started to reproduce my people, bring kids in the world that were f---ed up in the head.

"You're not this," he added. "But if you want to act like this and you want to be this, let's make the metaphor and let me put you right here and say, 'Cool.' The roach motel could be the jails or whatever. Let me just paint that picture and see how you like that. You don't like that, do you? If you don't like that, shake it off, get right and let's start getting the things we supposed to have."

At times on "Y'all My ******s," he comes from the stance of the N-word. "Try to erase me from y'all language/ Too late, I'm engraved in history/ ... They got Nigeria and Niger/ Somehow Niger turned to '******,' and things got ugly."

He's abrasively frank throughout the album, with his song names and content. He holds back nothing. On the title track, he calls out racists, as well as holds a mirror up to people who actually perpetuate the stereotypes bigots spread.

"N-I-double-G-E-R/ We are much more, but we choose to ignore the obvious," he raps on the song. "You are the slave and the master/ What you looking for? You're the question and the answer."

"Somebody asked me, what's your inspiration for this album? Everything that's happening every day," he explained. "I can't really turn an album in when, like, next week it will be something else that will come to light and make me want to write about something. It's hard to finally wrap it up, but I finally got there. I'm finally there now. Wow, this year is panning. ... This year looks like it's going to be amazing.

"What's huge for me," he added, "is when there's an attack on hip-hop artists, and they say that hip-hop artists are responsible for the language, the terrible language, and for the violence. When we get attacked like that, we respond. We gotta to respond. We don't want to pay too much attention to it, but with an album like this, this is my response in some ways to that, 'cause it's, like, hypocritical, you know what I mean? With the way people are dealing with hip-hop and trying to use it as a scapegoat. So this album is like, 'We're not having that.' "

"Be a ****** Too" was the first song we heard from the album. Nas said it was important for him to make such a potent, provocative statement early to set the tone for the project. There is still some obvious resistance about the LP being named ******.

"Record stores are gonna have a problem in this day and time selling a record with that title," he explained. "Who knows what's gonna turn out and be on that title? Who knows what that title will be? It was important to me to let the fans know what the album would be musically. ... Everybody is trying to stop the title. It's just people being scared of what's real. Somebody is trying to open up dialogue for people to talk. People that's high up, [who aren't] really understanding what I'm doing, are scared. They're scared for reasons I understand, but the fans gotta know either way: This is the same album. The content is the same, the direction is the same, the message is gonna be everything I intended it to be musically.

"[The title] kind of comes off as something that can be disrespectful," he added. "Our older black people can take it the wrong way. Some non-blacks can take it the wrong way, and it becomes a thing that becomes controversial in all the wrong ways. I accept that. I'm here to do music. I'm here to rap about what I feel and what makes sense to me."

The Stargate-produced track "This Is Not America" (sample lyric: "Too many rappers, athletes and actors and not enough n---as in NASA") broaches the subject of how the world views U.S. citizens, while "Sly Fox" is aimed at the media, especially Fox News. Stic.Man of Dead Prez produced that record. Both Prez members are being looked at to collaborate on the LP, as are Rick Ross and the LOX. ****** is slated for a July 1 release.

"When Americans want their independence and they celebrate it, they know what's still going down," Nas said. "We can't forget it. America still got a lot of growing up to do. America has so much great potential. You know, I love this country, but at the same time, we have to fix up a lot of things. And it's just a reminder."

MTV.com

__________________
''Where I'm from, there is no plan B. So take advantage of today because tomorrow is not promised'' - 50 Cent

xDizzex

propzzzzzzzzz

hope this shit be dope

BrooklynZ Finest

NAS is the shit! he always comes correct.

__________________

Killarmy and M.O.P to the mo´fucking death!

G UNIT FLOPS HARD

props..................

YoungGeeza

props mayne

Joey111

Sounds great, btw Busta is also dropping July 1st.

suss3it

This album sounds like it's gunna be hot, good luck against G-Unit, but I know you ain't to concerned about sales.

THA WEATHA MAN

Hope the album is good. First single is sick, props.

__________________
"I was taught wise, Im known to extort guys, this aint Cali, its Harlem nigga we do walkbys" -Big L

Black Card Era

lol he aint gon drop then

lookin 4ward 2 the album tho

__________________

Da Real Deal

I'm coping this fo sho without hestitation.

__________________

balling89

i am going to download this album as soon as it leaks that all i will say.... lol

__________________

Rapper Eater

Album is gonna be classic. I wouldn't drop same day as G-Unit though, he is gonna get little sales

__________________
I need some rep

bigfunku22

can u say free download.....that's gunit day bitch's haha bow down!!!!!!!!

__________________
FUNK U!

Tha Unit On Top

Bullshit, not that I care, and most Nas fans dont care about sales, they care about the music, they are real fans, unlike most G Unit and Game fans in here who bicker about sales and charts and stupid shit, but your forgetting Nas's last album sold about the same as Games last album, Nas did 352k first week, thats a huge look for him. Granted the ****** title is the same way to get publicity as he did with HHID, maybe not as much as that, so I dont no how that will affect his sales, but he is more than capable of doing a good first week, anything close to HHID and he will easliy beat G Unit, cause G Unit aint doing no 300k first week, for them I'd say 150k to 200k first week, anymore than 200k would be a good look. Anway, album should be hot, though that ****** song I aint really feeling, anyway Nas is a legend and his album should be hot, no matter what it sells. Thats all that real fans can ask for.

cRaZy

haha. can u dickryde g-unit more than this...

GodToYouKids22

propz on thiz....cant wait to be blessed wit good hiphop and not that other bullshit

__________________

Im The Sharpshooter, You The Nigga I Target Next

Bkjj11

he gonna flop. I mean HHID was good but the title degraded the quality. And u think N!GGER is gonna sell???

And i bet they blame Obama for this shit

Ed-ucation

That's a good news that he's dropping soon, just hope he's gonna have some buzz and that the album won,t be pushed back.

__________________

Mon£y

I have a good feeling about this album. Not sure about dropping on the same day as the Unit, I guess Nas is a competitive guy though.

__________________
G Unit Gangsta Grillz - The highly anticipated mixtape COMMING SOON

Young A

Nah I ain't fuckin with 2Pac Jr. or should I say a wannabe 2Pac, to me personally I think dude just wants some attention naming ya album ****** definitely craving attention

ya boy Mike

2pac jr??? 2pac wannabe

lmfaooo

if anything he is a rakim jr and a rakim wannabe listen to some more rap b4 u talk shitl

lol lil ass kid

__________________

You'll think im spellin' Iverson when the beef all done, cuz I'll leave you on the IV in the ER, SON-40 Cal

Da Real Deal

Didn't 2-Pac took Nas's idea from I Gave You Power for "Me and My Girlfriend"? Ok so shut the fuck up and suck on this neggs you fuckin slut .

__________________

Young A

How is he like Rakim he's a loser like everybody that disses me this nigga is washed up He is a Pac wannabe how you gon talk the kids in Africa not being taken care of and at one point he wasn't taking care of his own his baby mama even said now if anyone doesn't like I'm saying fuck ya! :) don't compare Rakim to this nigga come on man or even try to compare Pac's music to his he's coping Pac I ain't hating I'm just speaking the truth

Young A

No he didn't you stupid fuck he did steal that nigga beat and whipped his ass on it.

dunson23

it might not sell cause of the political correct people cough bill someone hmmm but if its a great album it might form into a classic