Nas Has Pushed The Envelope With Album Formerly Titled 'Nigger'

When Nas wanted to name his upcoming album 'Nigger' it sparked conversations everywhere from media outlets, to blogs, to social activists and every online hip hop forum you can find. People criticized Nas for being ignorant and disrespecting his own people by making a mockery of Black history by naming his album 'Nigger'. Some even criticized him for pulling a publicity stunt by naming his album 'Nigger' and didnt think naming the album the N word was legitimate.
I supported Nas' decision to name the album 'Nigger' from the jump because with the state that America and the Hip Hop industry are in currently where they wanted to ban certain words such as nigger, bitch, hoe.. etc. I knew from the get go that Nas wanted to provoke certain people and I also knew it would also push him to deliver music that would come with similar force as his album title.

The album title isnt anything major in my eyes because the word Nigger means nothing to me. I am a U.S citizen but I dont hail from the United States, I hail from a place that is 'Out Of Many One People' aka Jamaica and I understand the history surrounding the word Nigger and I understand why persons may feel disrespected by certain people referring to them as 'Niggas' but where I come from its not about what you say as much as its about how you say it and who you are saying it to. African Americans will never be free of the term if they continue to give the word so much power. When I fill out forms and the question is asked about ethnicity I check the box for African American but when I walk around I dont think in my head that I am an African American so that means I am not entitled to certain luxuries. I dont believe that anybody is better than me based on race infact if I was basing who was better than who by race then I would most definitely believe that being black makes you superior based on the facts, name any sport other than hockey in which a black man doesnt dominate? So physically we must be superior if thats the case. America is supposed to be united but just happens to be the must segregated place I have ever been. It is not until I was in University and going to school here in this country that I realized that in schools its segregated and if its segregated in schools then why wouldnt it be segregated everywhere else. I go to FIU, Florida International University which is an International school and still you find blacks only walking with blacks, whites together, hispanics together, jocks only hanging with jocks and geeks with geeks. The only people who mix happen to be the people who didnt grow up in this country. This is suppose to mean a massive amount to anybody reading because its the most important point, if people who didnt grow up here dont care about the color of ones skin or the class in which they come from then why should the people who grew up here?
I believe that the segregation lies within us and it matters alot about what we think about our selves. I was always told by my father that I could do anything in the world that I put my mind to and that if I wanted to be a doctor then fine or a lawyer, football (soccer) player, musician or businessman then it was up to me. I wish everybody grew up believing that because if they did then we would have way more progress in the world.

The word 'Nigger' has done nothing but hold down black people in the United States of America and I think that Nas is RIGHT for wanting to desensitize the word by naming his album 'Nigger' and anybody who thought he wasnt going to deliver after all the hype surrounding his album title really must not have much respect for Nas as an MC. Social commentary is something that Nas isnt new to and he has been touching subjects that not many in Hip Hop have spoken on.

More recently we have seen the effect of corporate power on this mainstream industry as Nas was forced to change the name of his title because certain major distributors have threaten to not stock the album with the name 'Nigger'. Read the article here on HipHopDX

Many bloggers and online critics (also known as HATERS) are still hounding Nas and saying that he doesnt have a backbone. Firstly people need to understand that the decision to change the album title isnt only Nas' decision but the corporates at Def Jam would have obviously been giving him heat if two of their major distributors would not stock the album. Also the album title is the least to Nas as it is his message that he is trying to protect and if he can get his message across to more people then that is what is most important to him.

To show you how important it is for Nas to get his message across he has agreed to change the name of the album but to still leave it untitled to show his fans and critics alike that his message will remain the same. Read the article on Nas' finalizing release date and settling with the album being 'Untitled'

For the critics and the haters who didnt believe in Nas' message well they will get it RAW on his new mixtape. Check it out here.. Nas' teams with DJ Green Lantern for 'The Nigger Tape'

For fans who are interested check out the official video for Nas' first single 'Be A Nigger Too'


Also check out one of the latest singles from Nas to hit the Internet produced by Polow Tha Don, 'Hero' featuring Keri Hilson
Nas ft Keri Hilson - 'Hero'

-Alexander Day

Lil Wayne Getting Too Much Fight For Mixtape Comments To Foundation Magazine

Lil Wayne has been feeling heat over his comments to Foundation Magazine about mixtape DJ's..

I will leave the links so everybody can hear exactly what was going on and what was said and I will leave you to judge who was right and who was wrong.

Lil Wayne in and interview with Foundation Magazine made comments dissing mixtape dj's and even called out DatPiff.com and I am not defending his comments about mixtape dj's but I want to at least put a stand out there for the man and say that he is getting too much heat over it.

Lil Wayne said among other things.. "fuck mixtape dj's.. its like they sucking my dick and aint making me cum.."
Listen to the comments made to foundation magazine on AllHipHop.com: Lil Wayne comments on Mixtape DJ's

I want to point out something so that everybody understands.. That was NOT AN INTERVIEW.. I want everybody to ask this question.. Was this a full interview? DID Lil Wayne get to make his point?
I condemn Foundation Magazine for allowing this interview to leak to the public. The media is responsible for getting an artist's message to the world. Foundation Magazine well aware of the contents of the interview and well aware of the power of the name Lil Wayne as they went through everything they did to get the interview and to let that unfinished interview get to the public when they knew the interview was ready for publication is border line career assassination.
Whatever his reasons may have been.. Lil Wayne was clearly not happy about something to do with mixtape dj's and this interview clearly ended prematurely and its unfair for Foundation Magazine to release an interview with an artist of this stature and even worse with the aftermath that was encouraged because of their negligence. I believe that ultimately Lil Wayne's point was that mixtape dj's are earning cash offa his name and he isnt receiving any of it.
I want you to listen to his words with Dj Drama on HipHopDX: Lil Wayne addresses Dj comments with Dj Drama

There were many dj's which took offense to Lil Wayne's comments to Foundation Magazine about mixtape dj's but also some seemed to have taken it personally, namely Chuck T and Dj Doo Wop: Read Chuck T's comments on HipHopDX and Dj Doo Wop's aswell: Dj Doo Wop responds "Fuck Lil Wayne"

Doo Wop told HipHopDX, "Basically Lil Wayne made a statement disrespecting all mixtape deejays. I understand if he's sour at a few dudes who exploit the game by leaking too many songs from your upcoming album on their CD, but that doesn't justify him shitting on the whole culture." The veteran added, "Lil Wayne wants to separate himself from the very thing that helped him become a household name, and it needed to be addressed. He made a million songs and freestyles last year, but the radio mostly played the commercial releases. How the hell do you think the rest of his joints got heard?"

Chuck T also made comments after Lil Wayne had clarified his statements about mixtape dj's in which he is insistent that he has alot of respect for Lil Wayne even though he also encouraged leaking his album. Listen to that interview here with Chuck T about leaking Tha Carter III..

The truth is that the mixtape game is largely responsible for the stature that Lil Wayne has in the streets right now. Lil Wayne does owe the mixtape game credits for blasting his career outside of the tangible atmosphere which most rappers reside in. Lil Wayne switched his flow first noticed on Tha Carter and then consistently held that same flow and lyrical onslaught throughout his mixtapes until it was the time to drop Tha Carter II and then the game wasnt ready for what was about to come next.. Lil Wayne said in an interview on set of the Fireman that he, Baby and Slim had a new plan and that it was to "blow him(Lil Wayne) up".. and that is exactly what they did. Weezy F. Baby got on every remix imaginably and also hopped on who ever's beat he could and made a new improved part 2.. This was featured on every mixtape imaginable and Lil Wayne started to become more popular.. from new songs to every mixtape in which was released with his face on the cover. So its arguable that Lil Wayne owes the mixtape game for his rise to fame. But its still stands to reason that many recent mixtape dj's owe Lil Wayne for their come up in the mixtape circuit. If I work with the names that Lil Wayne called out in his interview with Dj Drama.. Mike Pratt? Empire DJ's? Who are they in the world of hip hop?
Dj Drama can say something because he has a presence that is absolutely irrefutable. 50 Cent recently said he had to page Drama for a mixtape, aswell as the Dogfather him self Mr. Snoop D O Double Gizzle even more recently has stated that he had to go link DJ Drama to get his own mixtape popping. So DJ Drama who is infamous for his Gangsta Grillz mixtape series and also two major hit mixtapes with Lil Wayne known as the Dedication series, Dedication 1 and Dedication 2 are arguably two of the most memorable Lil Wayne mixtapes in the history of Lil Wayne mixtapes, even more so the latter of the series.
With all of that stated and clarified I still believe that in a time so crucial to Lil Wayne when the artist is about the release his third installment to the album series which made him great, you cannot be out there trying to stop that man's cashflow. I say this album series is great because years down the line nobody will be able to deny the era in which has been stamped and sealed by Lil Wayne as his era as the self proclaimed "Greatest Rapper Alive". Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III was the "most anticipated album of 2007" and the "most anticipated album of the year of 2008" WHAT?!?!?! Yes and his album didnt even end up dropping in 2007.. It is set to be released on June 10, 2008 which is only a day away and is still the most anticipated album of 2008 infact it could be the most anticipated album since Jay-Z's Kingdom Come in Fall 2006. Lil Wayne is undoubtedly the most talked about, most played, most heard, most listened rapper of 2006-2008 and nobody can deny that. Nobody can deny that Lil Wayne really blew up after 2005 and after Destiny's Child's "Soldier", Bobby Valentino's "Tell Me", his own "Fireman" and his consistent quantity and not the mentioned the quality of the music he has released in the underground circuit/mixtape scene. Whatever plan he, Baby & Slim had obviously worked because today you almost cannot speak about rap or hip hop without mentioning Lil Wayne.

Everything said and done I dont believe it was right for Dj's like Chuck T and others to encourage the leakage of Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III.. It has been rumoured all over how many people have downloaded the album illegally and thats extremely unfair to Lil Wayne because this is what he does.. he RAPS.. and he has been giving us free music for years without asking for a penny and he has also put food on the table of many mixtape dj's homes and none of them can deny using Lil Wayne as a marketing tool for their mixtape series' and deny making money off of his name.

In Lil Wayne's comments on Drama's show he calls out specific DJ's and their mixtape series in which he just just addressing the fact that certain DJ's like Empire Dj's or Mike Pratt responsible for the Wayne's World mixtape series are earning an income off of his name and his songs and he doesnt even know who they are. This video below with Mike Pratt addressing Lil Wayne's comments on Dj Drama's show.. Mike Pratt addressing Lil Wayne about Mixtape Dj Apology:-



Now Mike Pratt is straight foul but I guess Lil Wayne did dis his moms but either way he is a joke. Mike Pratt said in the start of the video that he isnt really a DJ but then later in the video you see him show that clip of DJ Drama announcing him winning that DJ award and I think thats really funny if Mike Pratt himself doesnt even consider himself a DJ. Mike Pratt built his name and World Wide Legacy's name off of his Wayne's World series mixtapes and he is hyping in the video about making money off of something he created like he actually did something. Word to Mike Pratt.. You didnt do anything creative and dont deserve any major credit for anything because Lil Wayne is the artist who made your mixtape series hot infact all you really did was make money off of something that somebody else gave out for free. Lil Wayne put the effort into creatively coming up with all those songs and you rip them off and call it Wayne's World and thing you did something great? No son you aint great anybody with a laptop and the internet could have done what you did and actually there are many of them doing it so what separates you from them?

At the end of the day I agree with the point Lil Wayne made on the radio show with Dj Drama. The DJ and the Rapper should at least be on the same page as far as the mixtape goes and they should be in on it together if its an official mixtape. If you do compilation mixtapes and you want to do something official send your compilation tapes to the rapper and try and reach out to him to do the official tape but dont be trying releasing a mixtape every month or be on your volume 7 of your series and not even have one official mixtape. Even more so.. dont be feeding your family off of somebody else's work and then turn around a hate on that person who put food on your table.

With the amount of bootlegging that has already gone on it could be really hurting Wayne's pocket right now but we will see who still supports and buys an official copy of Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III this week. I am strongly supporting people to still buy an official copy and I will even leave you with a few links below that can point you in the right direction to get a CD mailed to you or to get your digital version of the cd.

Lil Wayne signed a digital distribution deal with Musicane to distribute Tha Carter III digitally (read more about Lil Wayne's deal with Musicane) and below is a widget for Musicane and you can order your official copy of Tha Carter III here.



You cant also get a copy of Tha Carter III from Amazon:


-Alexander Day