Nas - 'Untitled' (Universal) Released 14/07/08

Nas is a prophet. He’s not just a hip-hop prophet; he’s a prophet full stop. His resume also includes: revolutionist, legend, father, husband, and God emcee. He’s one of the endangered species in hip-hop we like to call a real emcee. At the age of 21 his first album, 'Illmatic' turned heads and switched them on to what lyrical exorcism is. It is still to this day and will forever be regarded as a hip-hop classic. Since then he’s made some of the most important albums in rap. 'It Was Written' held some serious weight. 'I Am' is a millennium classic. 'Stillmatic' is another certified classic. And he even dropped one of the most talked about albums of all time, 'Hip-Hop Is Dead'. The latter not only had the hip-hop community buzzing with arguments of whether the genre was in fact dead, but the general public had their say also.

Now returning with what quite possibly could be the most talked about album of the past ten years, 'Untitled', formerly known as '****', is an album which attacks the boundaries of discrimination, while at the same time lyrically letting it be known that class is most definitely in session.

To truly understand this album and what it stands for it is vital listeners understand the turbulent path of which this album traveled from '****' to 'Untitled'. Originally stating that his new album would be called '****', Nas caused outrage across the board. From record labels to Civil Rights activists, and media outlets to Congress, there was a distinct disliking for this album from the start. After pressures, which apparently included a threat from Brooklyn assemblyman, Hakeem Jeffreys that he’d have an $84 million investment from the state pension withdrawn from Def Jam’s parent company Universal, Nas decided to simply not title the album at all. However, Nas has made it clear from the moment he retired the original title, that his real fans will forever know the album by its original moniker.

On a side note, does anyone remember that 2Pac had an album titled 'Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z...'? Or that Ol’ Dirty Bastard had an album called '**** Please'? Is it simply the fact that Nas spelt the word once used as racial slur but is now embraced by the black community, N.I.G.G.E.R. instead of N.I.G.G.A. that caused such a commotion? If so, then how terrible is it to be pulled in to a controversial shit storm based on your spelling?

Featuring some insanely deep production, courtesy of the likes of Stic.Man (Dead Prez), Mark Ronson, and Salaam Remi, 'Untitled' is the answer to the question, “Where has the chemistry in hip-hop gone?” Each beat serves a purpose, even the commercially electronic 'Make The World Go Round'. While the inclusion of Chris Brown on the track is a slight reach at pop crossover, for which this album is not designed for, 'Untitled' features minimal lyrical support. But Nas doesn’t need it anyway. He puts line after line up at a height unreachable by even the most supremely talented musician and shoots each one down with ease and ferocity.