Imperious Entertainment

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written by Habitual Beats , November 07, 2007

When people learn to just let things roll off, and to learn to be "above" becoming offended by the actions and words of others.. The world will instantly become a more relaxed environment.

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written by White Chocolate , November 07, 2007

Who cares whether or not there was the same public outcry with these other albums? That has nothing to do with whether or not there should be public concern re: this album title. The only one that even compares is Richard Pryor's album title, which was recorded 30 years ago, under different social circumstances. There's also something to the fact that Pryor is a comedian. The title seemed to be poking fun at those who see him as a "nigger." Nas - a conscious hip hop artist - seems to have more deliberately selected this word as his title to invoke certain imagery and emotions. I, for one, am not going to judge until I listen to the album and what it says and how the title reflects the message. But I've got faith that Nas is using the term to convey a responsible message.

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written by Jackrabbit J , November 07, 2007

The new Jay album is great. In fact, I thought it sounded like a Blueprint/Reasonable Doubt hybrid myself. I would say it's as good as either of those two but that is the feeling I got when I heard "No Hook" (Reasonable Doubt vibe) and Pray (Blueprint vibe). And people will one day realize the greatness that was Kingdom Come. Yeah, it could have been better without that horrible Usher/Pharrell track, but joints like Beach Chair featuring Coldplay and Lost Ones showed Jay setting the bar higher.

As for Nas, I'm suring Jay is squirming while trying to figure out the marketing plan for "Nigger."

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written by zamaih , November 07, 2007

I'm feelin the new Jay ablum, its very jazzy and has a grown up sound. As for Nas, its a poor attempt at creating hype. Its so obvious what's he's doing like Kanye and 50 were captain obvious when they created their beef for media attention. Except their method worked. I'll definitely take a listen when it comes out but this is not the way to get record sales Mr. Nas.

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written by Rashad D. Rozier , November 07, 2007

Well first off as far as Nas album title it really doesn't matter if it's a correct title or not....The fact of the matter is in this day the only REAL THING that matters is publicity and sells, with that being said the only thing people are talking about is Nas new album....Yes I know some people may not buy the album because of that but lets face it those are going to be the people who weren't going to buy it anyway....So I guess Nas got what he wanted, he created a huge buzz about this album.....I hope this tactic doesn't blow up in his face...... Secondly I disagree with Kingdom Come being horrible for that matter not even being good....Mitch i'm not doubting your critique on music however I think you need to pop that album back into your IPOD LOL!!!!!

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written by Overstand , November 07, 2007

Well amerikkka is a warped society, so why would anybody be shocked at people getting mad at nas for naming his album nigger when others have used the word and made money off of it with no sort of opposition. I myself won't make a judgment untill I listen to the album. Nas is a prolific lyricist so im sure their is something of substance on his album and that title is simply setting up the controversial tone that it will have. Of course all the house/patio negro's have made it their mission to go after him to disguise the fact that they 1. Have too much time on their hands and 2. They are so irrelevent that they have to pick fights over something as small as a word instead of going after problems that really threaten us. Maybe when the so-called leaders decide to stop using diversion tactics like battling over the word nigga to hide the fact they don't have the power to really fix any of the real problems the gap between the young and the old within the black community will be bridged and the tension will be replaced with unity and tollerence of personal preference and opinions.

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written by hiphop102 , November 07, 2007

I agree with Rashad. Kingdom come was ahead of its time. You need to pop that back in Mr. Mensa! Jay fans will look back 10 years from now and appreciate it. It was a little mature for the Jay-Z audience but I feel like he dumbed himself down a bit on American Gangster. Esp with tracks like Hello Brooklyn where he threw Weezy on there b/c Weezy is hot right now. I like the American Gangster album overall but the replay value is lacking. It is far from a classic and not on the level of Blueprint of Reasonable Doubt.

As far as Nas, he's an idiot. Too much weed smoke, bad women decisions, and bad business decisions have ruined the guy. He is still one of my favorite rappers of all time, but the guy's swag is on about 4 right now. The flow is garbage and he's boring. He still has some dope lines on every verse like the "google earth Nas" line on Success. The N-word thing is a bad idea and won't get him more sells.

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written by Overstand , November 07, 2007

Oh and im feeling that new album from jigga. This is his best work since blueprint.

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written by Valbows , November 07, 2007

I suspect or at least hope that the title of the Nas album is serving a duel purpose. I believe that controversy helps to sell records especially it a time where hip hop album sales are on a down trend over all. However I also hope that after hearing the Nas album that the word Nigger was chosen to make some sort of statement. I can't say I agree with the title but at the end of the day it is what it is.
As far at the Jay-Z album goes, I haven't heard it yet but all the good reviiews is gonna force me to put it at the top of my to do list.

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written by BG , November 08, 2007

I think that most people that are opposing Nas' use of Nigger as his title have never listened to his totality of music!!!! I also think the NAACP's burial of the N-word is a front and a farce!!!! They planned this whole thing about 3 weeks after the Michael Richards incident!!!! YOU CAN'T BURY A WORD THAT HAS BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR 400 YEARS AFTER 3 WEEKS OF PLANNING!!!! Not even 3 years of planning!!!! LISTEN TO 'WAR IN THE STREETS' -streets disciple-, '2ND CHILDHOOD', -stillmatic-, 'I CAN' - god son AND I COULD GO ON!!!! NAS HAS A RIGHT AND A HISTORY THAT ALLOWS HIM TO USE THIS AS A TITLE!!!! THE NAACP never engages their youth and then want to crucify them, with out first getting their in put and confidence!!!!

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written by Meesh , November 08, 2007

Yeah, Jay should have dropped THIS album after retirement. It's an instant classic! Is it me or is this American Gangster album one of the best Jay albums EVER? I love the Blueprint but even that album didn't effect me as quickly as this one. One listen was all it took. But man am I angry that "Hello Brooklyn" joint is on there. If he would have put "Blue Magic" in the place of "Hello Brooklyn", started off the album with "American Dreamin" instead of "Pray" and imagine "Black Republican" being in the place of "Success" (not too crazy about that one), this would be the greatest Jay album EVER. Yeah, I said it! Shit this album is good.

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written by jeff johnson II , November 09, 2007

Nas is just going for shock value. His whole approach is so late 1990s. "Nigger" is just generating buzz on the internet and in politics. That's not gonna make anyone go to the store. It doesn't matter what an artist like Nas names his album, he's gonna move between 750-1mil because he is Nas. Nas is the hip hop version of Prince. He has a core that is gonna buy his shit regardless to whether or not it's garbage. He will move 1.3 if it is actually a good album..which I doubt that it will be. Lost Tapes was his last good album. Illmatic was written from a project window. Everything he writes nowadays is written from a first class airplane seat. Not mad at him, but such a dramatic life change doesn't make for great hip hop music. He can call his album whatever he wants, but if it sucks...he just ends up looking like a buffoon.
As far as American Gangster, that album is not a complete shit sandwich like Kingdom Come, but its not great either. Jay always knows how to stay relevant, so I'm not mad at him. He always drops a garbage album, and then the next year he drops something that is tolerable. American Gangster has way better beats than rhymes. Any main focus of a Jay Z album should be the rhymes, not the beats. Reasonable doubt was a great combination of both, but now it's like...I can remember the horns from Roc Boys, but I can't remember what he said. I think it's unfair to Jay at this point to give the album great reviews because if no one is listening to it 4 months from now, it shows how great it was not. LOL @ instant classic. I dont understand. The only thing that can determine whether or not something is a classic is how well it can hold up over time. Wouldn't you agree that 2 weeks isn't a long enough period of time? Especially a Jay album. The Source had to revisit Reasonable Doubt and give it 5 mics a couple of years later and people didn't actually start to buy that album in droves until In My Lifetime and Hard Knock Life hit the shelves. Common's Resurrection joint, Souls of Mischief's 93 Til Infinity, 40's In A Major Way, Diamond D's Stunts Blunts & Hip Hop, Dah Shinin' from Smif N Wessun,etc. ain't get called classics until they was already out for like 5 years and people was still buying it. It's just like this whole Weezy being like 2pac shit goin on. That is beyond ludicrous. It's just marketing but not the truth. If weezy got killed today, they are not gonna be selling Weezyveli part IV 6 years after his death.

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written by jeff johnson II , November 09, 2007

Hip Hop albums nowadays aren't made the same way they were 15-20 years ago. There is nothing about current hip-hop albums that you can really appreciate in the future. No mainstream hip hop album that has been made in the past 5 years is gonna be looked at like Miles Davis' bitches Brew, the Beatles' Revolver album, or De La's Buhloone Mind State. All those albums became classics years later, but at the time they dropped...they were way too advanced for the average consumer to appreciate it right then and there. It's just not that kind of climate right now. In hip hop right now, the most important factor to those who are participating in it is the first week numbers. That whole 50 vs. Kanye situation was about who was going to sell more records the first week, not whose joint was gonna be better. Kanye could have farted over all of his beats and outsold 50 at this point in time because people were ready for a new champion. Hip Hop now is like Ramen Noodles or Minute Rice because you can cook it up in 5 mins and it can relieve you of starvation for a couple of hours. Hip Hop several years ago was like a full course meal with all of your meats, vegetables, starches, etc. You could go for quite some time without needing another meal. No one had to drop an album every year to remain relevant. It's all about the revenue now. The game is being controlled by fiscal years, quarters, and jewish people that dont even like hip hop. Hip Hop is being treated like R&B now and rappers got stylists and publicists and shit. Everybody got the same exact image, but everyone is from a different place. I bet you can find more similarities between Wayne, 50, The Game, Yung Joc, TI, Nas, Jim Jones, etc. than you can find differences. Biz Markie, Too $hort, N.W.A., The Native Tongues, Comptons Most Wanted, Bone, G Rap, Above The Law, Slick Rick, Redman, etc. all had something different to bring to the table. They ain't use all the same producers or rap about the same shit. You knew if they did decided to collab with one another, you were gonna get a very interesting song. Hip Hop is predictable at this point. It ain't even about what is good anymore. It's about what a jewish guy thinks will sell. We all know T-Pain gon be on everybody's shit. So is Weezy for the time being. There is only one lane in hip hop and everyone is trying to go the same route. Jay and Nas included, thats why I think there is no real brilliance between Nas's "Nigger" album title. We got all these details on an album that aint even hit the street yet. Back in like 94, you saw the video on Rap City or something, saw an ad in Rap Sheet or the Source and that was it. Album wouldnt debut in the top 5, but by the year's end...it would be certified Platinum. Nowadays...rappers be on Jimmy Kimmel, Jay Leno, every hip hop site, 106 and Park, Billboards, big budget films and are struggling to go platinum. People blame it on bootlegging and Limewire, but back in the day people were dubbing CDs onto 90 minute Maxells. I recall dubbing the Dogg Pounds Dogg Food album for over 30 people at my school, but that joint still went double plat. The only reason why this shit don't move is because it sucks balls. Amy Winehouse moves units and she aint even been to America this whole year. She just now got her Visa. The Eagles dropped their first album since like 78 or 79 last week and the shit sold over 700. I guarantee you, drop great shit...people will buy it. No science behind it.

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written by unc , November 15, 2007

First off jay's album is great and you have to look at years ago when nas put out an album it was great but now everybody want's to jump on nas for using the n word for his title. People need to stop blaming him for doing that. Years ago people did not think the way we think now and people will start calling it whatever they want to because they are not the same people years ago when they laught at the same things that were saying know that we did before so get over it. you think about your jessie and sharpton's now they will start bringing this up but where were they back then so don't do it now.