I previously mentioned that Nah Right’s Eskay was rather disappointed by Nas’ bait-and-switch tactics regarding the title of his upcoming album but it looks like a lot of bloggers are reacting so let’s what they have to say!
"It’s not really a surprise that all that talk from L.A. Reid turned out to be just that, talk. This is wack all around. Nas should’ve been prepared to fight this one to the death, or he should’ve never opened his mouth…There too many losses in this situation to even keep track: Nas, Black music industry executives, Hip-Hop fans, Black America."
"After all that talk of disarming the word, and not caring about the effect on sales, and the mission to spark debate…its hard not to feel a bit scammed. ‘Hey, lets talk about race and class and generation gaps! But…uh…there’s a timer on that debate, and it runs out about a month before my album release. Alrighty?’"
"Hey, it’s good to be realistic about the financial repercussions of your title, but weren’t there ways to get around that? Packaging for Walmart and Target that just say ‘N’? Limited edition copies with the full slur for the collectors?"
"Nasir Jones changed his album title in what is suspiciously beginning to look like just another sales gimmick."
"I hate to say I told you so…well, no actually, I don’t hate to; I’m loving this quite a bit."
"Most Nas heads are busy doing one of two things. Either they are rightfully calling Mr. Jones a punk for not being the giant he claimed he was, and not walking the path of hot coals he laid forth."
"Or they are grasping onto ghostly fumes of whatever great vision may have once existed, that could still be."
"I’m still singing the same song as before: Cut the bull, save face, drop the album, Mr. Jones."
"The men in suit finally convinced Nas to drop that cockamamie idea of naming his album Nigger. The newly christened album, Nas, is still scheduled for July 1st…"
"So much for detoxifying the N-Word."
"Lame move by Nas."
And there you have it. Some of the best and brightest giving Nas the business.
But I think Miss Info’s got the right idea in terms of creating alternate versions and so forth. Given that everybody also puts out so-called "clean" versions and that Nas is the kind of cat that has a lot of collectors’ interested, a deluxe version with the "real" title and a Wal-mart version with the title "N" would be a very smart move.
Since Nas claims that the streets will know the real deal, the smartest business move would be a bootlegged version with the N-Word title.
Get on it people. Nas couldn’t do it but you can!
Related ProhipHop Coverage:
Nas’ Next Album to be Called Nas [or Not]
This was bound to happen.
I always thought he could do it like Eazy’s last album and put scratch off paint (like lottery tickets) on the title so that consumers could make their own choice while offering some sort of safeguard for stores who didn’t want to sell it due to the name.
Do a Google image search for “Str8 Off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton” and you can see what I’m talking about. The Gold area can be scratched off to reveal the “offensive” title.
What each one of these bloggers failed to mention is that the content of the album remains and is shown in the songs that have leaked from the album. So just because he changed the title (or had it changed for him) after MONTHS of wanting it to stick, it doesnt take away the theme of the album and what he hopes to achieve through the songs.
But I would expect nothing less from the Hip Hop blogsphere, some of whom are still bitter than Nas never made another Illmatic or had a battle with Jay-Z.
I hear what you’re saying but I don’t think any of the above bloggers could be described as “bitter” about Nas’ previous choices.
These folks all dig Nas and were really grappling with the implications of his use of the N-word as a title or, at least, very interested in the topic given that the title is all most Americans will ever hear or see.
Hearing and responding to the content is still in the early stages until the album is released or the material is widely previewed.
To be perfectly frank, I try not to read blogs by people who “are still bitter that Nas never made another Illmatic or had a battle with Jay-Z.”
They’re annoying.
Nevertheless, you have a real point worth making up until that weak generalization about people you don’t know and don’t seem to have read.