SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 06: Rapper Nas performs on stage on the final night of the "New York State of Mind Tour" at PETCO Park on October 06, 2022 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Daniel Knighton/Getty Images)
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Nas On His 'Hip-Hop Is Dead' Album Title: "The Power of This Music Was In The Wrong Hands"

Nas On His 'Hip-Hop Is Dead' Album Title: "The Power of This Music Was In The Wrong Hands"

Published Mon, August 14, 2023 at 4:15 PM EDT

In a recent interview with Billboard, Nas explained why he chose Hip-Hop Is Dead as the title for his controversial 2006 album, and revealed that he has zero regrets.

"I made an album called Hip-Hop Is Dead in 2006. Sorry, not sorry," he said. "I did because there were so many times the power of this music was in the wrong hands - not the artists but business people."

Nas has explained his motivation for the title a few times over the years and has always stood his ground. "To see that we are here and Hip-Hop is thriving is incredible," he explained. "The art from is crazy right now and that's a beautiful thing and for younger artists that are 20 years old to realize the history that is there and was laid down for them to go look at, its a great feeling,"

Nas recently released Magic 2, the sequel to his 2021 album Magic with Hit-Boy. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Nas detailed the incredible run he's been on with Hit-Boy for the past few years.

"I’m in one of these creative growth spurts," he said. "It’s something that I'm really excited about and it surprises me – but I'm not too, too surprised because I was also waiting for the day that I felt like this again, and I knew it would come."

On Magic 2, Nas and Hit-Boy continue the chemistry that they've cultivated over the last three years with a combination of triplet/bounce styled tracks and Boom Bap beats. The 11-song project marks the fifth collaboration between Nas and producer Hit-Boy which included three volumes of Kings Disease, with the most recent being released last year.

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