Hip Hop Is Dead (Edited Version)

For more than a decade Nas has struggled against the unreasonable expectations of a fan-base who, blinded by their affection for the Nas of “New York State of Mind” and “Life’s a Bitch," have refused to accept his efforts to mature as an artist. In this light Hip Hop is Dead’s stark title seems less the bitter reproach that some have labeled it, and more a much-needed provocation thrown in the face of a moribund audience. Hip Hop is Dead sees Nas returning to the lean focused lyricism, and spare boom-bap production that made 2004’s God’s Son such a welcome return to form. The indulgent role-playing and tiresome self-referentiality of 2005’s Street’s Disciple has been reigned in and replaced by savvy broadsides at Hip-Hop’s stagnant mainstream, and a steely determination to out-rhyme every MC in sight. Nas does occasionally slip-up; his Edward G. Robinson aping inflections on “Who Killed It” are bizarre rather than impressive, and the otherwise excellent Jay-Z collaboration “Black Republicans” strains a bit beneath the weight of its own self importance. None the less, the bracingly immediate blast of the title track, and the glowering street nostalgia of the Dr. Dre produced “Hustlers” prove that Nas is more than capable of holding his own in today’s competitive Hip-Hop landscape.