Nas is coming back this December. I told you December is the month for new music. Nas always manages to keep it real with his lyrics. This is one song I''ll be blasting on my iPOD alongside my other current personal favorites from Tyrese, Omarion and Ciara. Roberto from Cornerstone Promotions sent this over to me via e-mail. Click on the picture above to listen to the Will.i.am produced track "Hip Is Dead." Kelis's hubby will be dropping his hot record in stores from Def Jam this December. {19th to be precise.} Be on the look out for that.
"NAS PROVES HIP-HOP IS ALIVE ON NEW LP, SINGLE
HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED DEF JAM DEBUT
ALBUM FEATURES THE GAME, KANYE WEST, DAMIEN MARLEY, SNOOP DOGG & MORE
Nasir Jones has a message: Something is terribly wrong with the state
of hip-hop today.

One of the greatest MCs to ever pick up a microphone, Nas has watched
as his beloved hip-hop has gone from its innocent days of B-Boy battles
and lyrical sport to today's fake-thug posturing and commercial
excesses, and he's got something to say about it. Throughout his storied
career - which began with 1994's classic Illmatic and has spanned the last
decade with over 12 million albums sold - Nas has been more than just
the genre's foremost lyricist and thinker. He has become a statesman,
some would argue hip-hop's "conscience."

As evidenced by last year's highly-publicized reconciliation with
longtime adversary JAY-Z, and his subsequent signing to Def Jam Recordings,
Nas has shown that actions speak louder than words: unity is more
powerful than divisiveness. The time has come for hip-hop to grow. Now, with
the December 19 release of his long-awaited Def Jam debut - the
aptly-titled Hip-Hop Is Dead - Nas returns to his role as mentor and teacher,
his legendary mic skills as sharp as ever, and takes today's young
rappers back to school. The lesson? Hip-Hop - As Nas sees it - is very much
alive.

"What I mean by 'hip-hop is dead' is we're at a vulnerable state," Nas
recently told MTV News. "If we don't change, we gonna disappear like
Rome. Let's break it down to a smaller situation. Hip-hop is Rome for the
'hood. I think hip-hop could help rebuild America... We are our own
politicians, our own government, we have something to say."

Nas keeps it vital from jump. On "Q.B. True G," featuring Compton's The
Game, the two MCs trade verses over a vicious Dr. Dre beat; the student
pays homage to the teacher, remembering standing on line to cop
Illmatic. On the Nas-produced "Where Are They Now," Nas runs through a litany
of classic, bygone MCs over a monster James Brown sample. "Still
Dreamin'" features a soul-heavy beat and hook from Kanye West. Elsewhere,
Snoop Dogg shows up on the west-coast tinged "Play On Player."

Will.I.Am productions show up twice on the album: the title track, "Hip
Hop Is Dead" is set to a heavy rock beat interspersed with old-school
breaks and showcases some of Nas' most dexterous mic work in years.
"Unforgettable," featuring Def Jam songstress Chrisette Michele, riffs off
a Nat King Cole sample, with Nas' looking forward to the golden years,
while looking back on his past: "When was the last time you heard a
true anthem/Nas, the millionaire, the mansion/When was the last time you
heard your boy Nas rhyme/Never on schedule, but always on time."

Finally, Nas brings an uncompromising political stance on "White Man's
Paper (War)" featuring Damien Marley. Set to a throbbing Bob Marley
sample, Nas flirts with controversy, chanting: "I get my news from that
white man's paper/So I get my views from that white man's paper/ My
people act a fool for that white man's paper/And I don't think it's cool,
Fuck that white man's paper/ No books in our school cuz that white man's
paper, Is droppin' cruise missiles on the head of our neighbors/And I'm
like why?"

The tones and themes throughout Hip-Hop Is Dead should be familiar to
Nas fans: defiance and wisdom, mourning and hope. However, his
perspective, focus and intensity have changed. There is a new sense of urgency
in Nas' pleas for change.

"When I say 'hip-hop is dead,' basically America is dead," Nas
continues. "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."

Hip-Hop Is Dead, and the remarkable circumstance leading up to its
creation, marks a new passage in Nas' story. While the past is certainly
gone, and the present is constantly changing, with a new label and an
incredible new album, Nas' future is an open page, waiting to be written."
[Thanks Roberto!]