After being caught reviewing the new Black Crowes album without reviewer David Peisner actually possessing a copy of said album and claiming the bogus critique as an “educated-guess preview,” Maxim has gone one better and awarded another mediocre review to an album that doesn’t actually exist yet. Last we heard, Nas’ Title That Certain Bloggers Take Great Delight In Printing Whenever Possible had been delayed until late spring. Turns out the rapper has possibly yet to even deliver the tapes to Def Jam; Nas tells the New York Post that he’s “finishing the album now” and talking up a new April 22 release date. Perhaps in deference to those long magazine lead times, the educated guessers at Maxim went ahead and gave Nas’ unfinished album 2 1/2 circles (out of a perfect five). That’s the same score that so incensed the Crowes, but Nas is much more sanguine about the whole affair.
Nas has been running into problems thanks to the proposed title for his upcoming album–you may have heard about it; it’s the N-word–since it was announced in October. But with the (rumored) album cover circulating ’round the Web since December, Nas and Mrs. Nas showing up to the Grammys in promotional N-word jackets, and Nas putting up his dukes on high-profile hip-hop magazine covers as he brandishes the album’s controversial slur, it looked as if Def Jam was going to let the rapper’s shit-stirring title stand unedited. But the album was initially announced as having a (highly unrealistic) December release date before being pushed back to February, and with February almost gone, it seems Def Jam’s L.A. Reid is still wary about shipping the record before it’s “ready.”
After teasing the media for months with the racial slur-based title of his forthcoming album, all while withholding any other pertinent info, you can almost see the grin on nasty Nasir’s face as he discusses the album’s “myriad of racial slurs” with MTV. At least now no one can say he’s not an equal opportunity offender, and he’s certainly come up with at least one pretty ballsy song title.
Perhaps to maximize the manufactured shock over its infamous racial slur title when it finally drops, Nas’ new album will now be released in February, which MTV was quick to point out is Black History Month, because Nas’ promotional team is apparently just that cheeky. More »
Unless Nas rethinks his decision to call his next album the N-word–a decision which has already been denied by his record label and pillioried in the press–a Brooklyn politico is demanding that the state of New York yank a heft sum that it has sunk into the rapper’s record label, lest it look like taxpayers are actually supporting the work of a known rapper.
Refuting the claims of those clowns at Fox News, Nas has told MTV that he’s not backing down from the controversial–and press-attracting!–title of his upcoming album, although he has decided to give it a bit of copyediting:
The Idolator crystal ball was obviously working overtime when it had a vision of a major retailer having certain… problems with the title of the forthcoming Nas album.
That nutty Nasir has decided on the title of his next album, and it will delight Congress, parents, and conservative radio d-bags alike.
MTV has published further excerpts from the interview where Nas aired his feelings on his newfound nemesis Bill O’Reilly. Remember when I said the newly self-described “American psycho” was acting “levelheaded” about O’Reilly’s attempt to demonize his performance at the Virginia Tech memorial concert and that Nas, unlike O’Reilly, wasn’t interested in stirring up pointless controversy? Well, uh, yeah:
