Nas Inverveiews With DjSlab1


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The N****r movement has been a lonely crusade for Nasir Jones. As a younger artist, he was regularly blasted for allegedly selling out his musical integrity. Years later, a mature Nas now sees his attempts to bring relevant social issues to Hip-Hop cynically dismissed as a pseudo gimmick to gain exposure. But after all the comments and discussion, the final word will always be the quality of the music. And with the recently censored album name now christened Untitled (Def Jam), Nas seeks to validate himself after months of intense pressure from fans and media alike.

The album begins with the haunting sparse piano chords of “Queens Get the Money.” The lack of drums makes the track initially sound abrasive; as Nas weaves his rhymes on and off beat. But it is the dissonance of Jay Electronica’s production that accentuates Nas’ lyrics midway. The Queensbridge poet paraphrases elements from Rakim’s classic fourth verse on “My Melody” to take some piercing jabs at former apprentice 50 Cent.

Regular collaborator Salaam Remi delivers a bass heavy, jazz infused rendition of “Can’t Stop Us Now.” The now popular sample has seen recent renditions from MF Doom, Mos Def, and the RZA. However, Remi makes the piece unique by incorporating jazz trumpet chords, the soulful crooning of Eban Thomas of The Stylistics, and the authoritative spoken word of the Last Poets. Nas’ rhymes remain on point as he takes aim at our accepted beliefs on early American patriotism (“Besty Ross sowed the first American flag / Bet she had a n****r with her to help her old ass”).

Recent criticism against Nas’ albums has been his use of somber, demure production, which the Queens MC has made strides in addressing. On the graceful “Breathe,” the melodic rhythms blend effortlessly with his urges for us to “exhale” on the stresses of American life. The celebratory “Make The World Go Round,” by far the most commercial and radio aimed track, works mainly due to the lyrical chemistry between The Game and Nas.

However, the slick production starts to wane thin by the Stargate produced “America.” The continued bombardment of synth originated cadences (especially after the sonorous but enjoyable lead single “Hero”) starts to pull the listener out of the album. Still, Nas’ verses remain potent, especially a standout third verse criticizing the sexism and imperialism of Western society.

The LP gets back on track with the rock-tinged “Sly Fox.” Over PE reminiscent guitar riffs, Nas cleverly assaults the moral authority of Fox News on the basis of their manipulation of news and business dealings with Youtube and Myspace (“Only Fox that I love was the Redd one / Only black man the at Fox love is in jail or a dead one”). With “Testify,” Nas creatively crafts the song in the conversation flow of “Book Of Rhymes,” while questioning whether his fans are ready for social action beyond the music.

First seen on the now classic “I Gave You Power,” Nas’ expertise at personification is once again on display with “Project Roach” and “Fried Chicken.” On the former, the Last Poets appear again to ridicule the NAACP’s “funeral” for the word n****r, while Nas personifies the insect as a metaphor for the derogatory term. With the latter track, Busta Rhymes joins in as both MC’s skewer the stereotype of Black eating habits over Mark Ronson’s southern blues styled production.

The criticism is not just directed outward, as Nas questions his own materialism on the reflective and communal “Y’all My N****s.” He continues that trend on the ethereal, “We’re Not Alone,” where Nas expresses regret at previously glorifying killers like Pappy Mason over figures such as historian Ivan Van Sertima.

On Hip Hop Is Dead, Nas made the mistake of presenting that topic as a loose theme over the album and expecting listeners to pick up subliminal messages. With Untitled, he’s able to not only cohesively explain his stance on the word n****r, but detail its use throughout history on social, political, and judicial levels. And despite the dense subject matter, Nas’ varied lyrical presentations keep the opus from ever becoming preachy or condescending.

Notwithstanding minor missteps in sequencing and production, Untitled has delivered on its potential as a cogent, intellectually honest piece of art. And like its predecessor The N****r Tape, Nasir Jones has crafted not only a career highlight in his catalogue, but the most thought-provoking and challenging mainstream Hip-Hop album in a long time.

Allhiphop.com

Usher may be crawling back to his mom soon enough:

Usher is said to have been disappointed that it sold 433,000 in its first week, compared with his last CD, 2004’s “Confessions,” which had sales of 1.1 million in its first seven days. “Usher was livid!,” claims an insider. “He threatened to fire everyone.”

“People have been telling Usher to listen to his mother,” says a source. “Nobody knows how to sell him better than she does. Usher can be stubborn. But he may be ready.”Some claim Usher pink-slipped his mom because she failed to show proper deference to his stylist-turned-girlfriend-turned-wife, Tameka Foster. But now that Foster has given her a grandson, the two ladies are said to be getting along better. Usher, for one, denies he fired his mom. Rather, he tells Vibe, “[I paid her] the ultimate compliment - to retire her to be a full-time grandmother.”

Patton has actually been busy running her own record label and managing other artists, including Usher’s brother, Jlack. But sources say that if Usher cries momma, she’s there for him.

Per BOssip.com

Barack Obama is one of eight of men that Ebony recognizes as the dopest brothas of all time in a ground breaking issue, set to hit the stands Tuesday July 8th:

For the first time ever, Ebony magazine presents not one, not two, but eight quintessential covers to celebrate the 25 coolest Black men of all time. Jay-Z, Barack Obama, Prince, Samuel L. Jackson, Denzel Washington, Marvin Gaye, Muhammad Ali and Billy Dee Williams take center stage as they personify Black cool on the covers of this historic collector’s edition. From their sleek, debonair styles to their smooth-as-silk personas, these magnificent Black men have conveyed, captured, and conquered the quintessence of cool while making it appear effortless.



Per Bossip.com

50 Cent Says 'I Don't View Young Buck As My Enemy,' Claims He's Not Going To War With Former G-Unit Member'He's like a relative that decides to do something to you that you're uncomfortable with,' 50 says.
By Shaheem Reid,

  
NEW YORK — On Tuesday night in New York, 50 Cent mocked former G-Unit mocked former G-Unit member Young Buck onstage during the group's concert, crooning "Shorty wanna cry with me" instead of the lyric from Buck's 2004 single "Shorty Wanna Ride."

Also on Tuesday, Buck himself dropped another dis record directed at the Unit called "Terminate on Sight" (also the name of the new G-Unit album). "Ah sh--, they done kicked me out the crew, I'm cool now," he raps. "Nose running, but I ain't snorted nothing/ Took a sniff of myself and I smell like money." Buck also antagonizes G-Unit's Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo, saying, "50's money ain't yours."

Oddly enough, 50 Cent still seems to have a soft spot in his heart for Buck. The Queens MC said he's not going to war with his onetime group member.

"Buck is a disappointment for me," 50 told MTV News on Monday. "I treated him like a younger brother. ... He's not a enemy now. He's like a relative that decides to do something to you that you're uncomfortable with, so you don't bring him around you. I don't view Buck as my enemy. If he feels that way about me, those are his personal feelings. I wouldn't be surprised if he felt that [I was his enemy]. He's like my younger brother — even if he sees me in this interview saying it to him — he won't understand. He'll just go on how it feels."

Everyone knows that 50 recently released a recording of a phone conversation with Buck where the Cashville MC broke down about financial difficulties and begged to rejoin G-Unit.

"I couldn't tell you the things he told me in that conversation," 50 said, justifying why he taped the talk. "You'd think I'm just being angry. [But] I play you the tape and you get it for yourself so much more vividly."

Fif did get some flack from the blogosphere for recording the conversation — some were harsh enough to call it a "b---h a-- move."

"I didn't know we could say 'b---h a--' on MTV," Fif replied. "For them to say that, they don't understand the dynamics of what's going on. Ask me, do I care about a blogger? A person who has time to say that was a b---h a-- move is a b---h a-- n---a. I thought that was an official move. Right now I don't wanna be disrespectful to Young Buck. But how do you respond to the disrespect he's displaying?"

50 said that Buck is still signed to G-Unit Records for three more albums, and he won't let the insults interfere with doing business.

"He'll still get his fair shot at releasing his album," 50 insisted.

"Listen, he just did a show and only 20 people showed up," he added, referring to a reportedly sparsely attended concert in Washington, D.C. "If that's not an indication that what you're doing is a mistake, I don't know what is."
Per MTV.com