"Make the World Go Round" Released: October 9, 2008
The untitled ninth studio album by American rapper Nas, commonly referred to eponymously as Nas, or simply Untitled, was released on July 15, 2008 by The Jones Experience, Columbia Records and The Island Def Jam Music Group. Its original title Nigger was omitted due to controversy surrounding the racial epithet. The album is distinguished for its political content, diverse sources of production, and provocative subject matter. The album features guest appearances from Chris Brown, Keri Hilson, Busta Rhymes, and The Game, among others.
The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, becoming Nas' fifth to do so, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of over 500,000 copies in the United States.[1] Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from critics.
Background
Title controversy
The original title of the album, Nigger, was mentioned by Nas several times, as well as on an October 12, 2007, performance at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City where he announced the title and release date.[2]Def Jam made no comment on the title.[3] This was similar to attempts to name his 2006 album, eventually titled Hip Hop Is Dead, to both Nigga and Hip Hop Is Dead... The N. On May 19, 2008, it was confirmed that Nas changed the name of the album to an untitled one (although on the iTunes Store, the album is self-titled), stating that "the people will always know what the real title of this album is and what to call it."[4] The cover of the album depicts the back of a shirtless Nas with flagellation scars forming the shape of the letter N, a reference to the racial slur and how slaves were tortured in the United States. Fort Greene, Brooklyn, assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries requested New York's Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to withdraw $84 million from the state pension fund that has been invested into Universal and its parent company, Vivendi, if the album's title was not changed.[5]
Guest artists featured on the album are Busta Rhymes, Keri Hilson, Game, Chris Brown,[12]The Last Poets, Eban Thomas, Mulatto and Mykel. Although Jay Electronica produced the introductory track, he does not have a verse on the album, as previously stated by Nas.
Release and promotion
Nas released a mixtape with DJ Green Lantern titled The Nigger Tape on June 9, 2008.[13] The mixtape, which was released through NasIndependenceDay.com, features three songs that were later included on the album, as well as various unreleased tracks. In July 2008, it was announced that apparel company Fila would be providing financial support for the album's marketing for one year. In exchange, Nas was to wear Fila sneakers at his shows.[14]
Singles
Prior to the release of the untitled album, Nas released a music video for "Be a Nigger Too", a song rumored to be the first single. In late June, Nas told Billboard magazine that "Be a Nigger Too" would not even be on the album because of sample clearance issues.[15] During the same week, Nas released "Hero", the album's first official single.[16] The song features a chorus sung by Keri Hilson, a beat produced by Polow da Don and lyrics about the music industry's stranglehold on artistry. The Game announced on BET's 106 & Park that "Make the World Go Round" is the next single of the album, which was debuted in November 2008.[17][18] Nas has also released videos for "Sly Fox" and "Y'all My Niggas",[19] however he does not appear in either of them.
Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics, based on an aggregate score of 71/100 from Metacritic.[31]Entertainment Weekly credited the album for its maturity as well as the album's ability to keep the listeners guessing. Andy Greenwald credits Nas, saying "In a summer of "Lollipop", it's good to hear a complicated record that doesn't shy from grown-up ambition."[22] The album received a 4.5 mic rating from The Source magazine.[32]The Independent's Andy Gill gave it 5 out of 5 stars and described it as "probably the most politically oriented rap album since the days of Public Enemy and The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy".[23] In contrast, Los Angeles Times writer Jeff Weiss gave the album 2 out of 4 stars and wrote unfavorably of Nas's lyrics, perceiving his themes as hypocritical and inconsistent.[33]
Despite calling its production "sporadically successful and widely uneven", Slant Magazine's Jimmy Newlin gave the album 3½ out of 5 stars and commended Nas's lyricism, calling its lyrics "all terrific".[28] Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and called it a "sprawling, furious, deeply ambivalent theme album about institutional racism, the failures of black leadership and the pathologies and promise of early-21st-century African-American life".[27]USA Today's Elysa Gardner gave it 3 out of 4 stars and wrote "Nas reconfirms his status as one of rap’s most deft, thoughtful rhymers and his knack for trenchant, defiant commentary".[34] On December 3, it was announced that the album had been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, but it ended up losing to Lil Wayne'sTha Carter III (2008).[35]
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album charts selling 187,078 copies in the first week of release.[36] On September 11, 2008, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States.[37]
