By Morris Moore
Nas has officially announced the release date of his new controversial untitled album, which was formerly titled N***er.
The album, which will be released through Nas’ boutique label Jones Experience, has been delayed several times, will land in stores on July 15.
Although the rapper changed the title of his controversial 9th album, he promised fans to expect the same message contained on the untitled release.
“It’s important to me that this album gets to the fans,” Nas said. “It’s been a long time coming. I want my fans to know that creatively and lyrically, they can expect the same content and the same messages. It’s that important. The streets have been waiting for this for a long time. The people will always know what the real title of this album is and what to call it.”
The first official single being released from the album is “Hero,” which was produced by Polow Da Don.
Nas addresses a number of subjects on the album, including the presidential hopeful Barak Obama, the N-word itself and even the food fried chicken, a track produced by Grammy Award winning producer.
The track also features an appearance by Busta Rhymes and The Daptones, known for their groundbreaking work with Amy Winehouse, The Roots and others.
“When I was young, sitting in my room hammering out beats on my MPC, Nas was one of those truly legendary artists that you daydream, ‘One day, I'll get to do a track for...,’” Ronson said. “We finally met Grammy night in LA, and he said he wanted some stuff from me for the album. I started thinking to myself, as a Nas fan, ‘What kind of beats would I love to hear him over?’ That's how the Dapkings and I came up with the track for ‘Fried Chicken’, and I reckon it sounds like a stone cold classic.”
Other producers rounding out the album include Stic.Man from Dead Prez, Stargate, Cool & Dre, Mark Ronson and others.