Nas Hip-Hop Is Dead Is Easily His Most Under-Rated Album

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

Please, just name me TWO hip-hop albums then that you would consider "concept albums"?  Because looking at things your way, one would have to think there has never been a concept album in hip-hop.

umm.....Untitled? Distant Relatives? Hip Hop is Dead was somewhat of a concept album but imo it failed to carry through. Untitled is a much better example, providing you ignore the two singles.

[Sir Petey]

Please, just name me TWO hip-hop albums then that you would consider "concept albums"?  Because looking at things your way, one would have to think there has never been a concept album in hip-hop.

umm.....Untitled? Distant Relatives? Hip Hop is Dead was somewhat of a concept album but imo it failed to carry through. Untitled is a much better example, providing you ignore the two singles.

agreed

[The-Leak (aka) kingwell (bka) JULES]

LOL.  Dude you are reaching with almost all of the songs.  You based your song summaries off one line in the entire song.

Go listen to the records again as a whole.  

Money Over Bitches is a generalized street track, one of Nas' trademarks.  There's no concept here.

The title track is on concept.

Hope doesn't really count, but is on concept.

Black Republican is Nas street raps / Jay talking about collabing with Nas finally

Not Going Back is about getting out the hood and not going back

Still Dreaming: Only the last verse is on concept.  Don't try and tell me Ye's verse is about hip hop dying, lol.

Blunt Ashes is reminiscing about past great entertainers, which IIRC did not mention one rapper or Hip-Hop at all.

Let There Be Light is about Nas being a grown up thug

Can't Forget About You is on concept

Hustlers is another street track of random rhymes

Who Killed It? is on concept

the rest I can't remember and don't fuck with.

1 line or 1 verse in a whole song dedicated to the concept doesn't make it on concept, and if you gonna try and pull some 'I'm not reading into the metaphor shit or the songs are going over my head' you reaching.

Even you named like 5 or 6 joints that were on concept, and you still forgot "Carry On Tradition"...yet your still going to say this isn't a concept album?

Also, how many damn ways do you expect him to say "Hip-Hop Is Dead"?  You know how boring it would be if he had to stay on topic as rigorously as you demand?  You said even 1 whole verse in the song dedicated to the concept is not enough?  Your really trippin man...

Please, just name me TWO hip-hop albums then that you would consider "concept albums"?  Because looking at things your way, one would have to think there has never been a concept album in hip-hop.

Lol are you serious?  You think a good concept album is boring?

A concept album is every song dedicated to the concept.  Most of the time it involves interlocking the songs into each other, which tells a sort of story about the subject.

HHID is not that, it's a couple of concept tracks, and 3/4 of the rest of the album are songs that you would hear on ANY Nas album.  When I listen to most of the songs on HHID, I don't get an overall message of Hip-Hop is dying.  That's just the typa shit Nas talks about in every album.  If you think that's concept, than more than half of the songs in Nas' career are about Hip-Hop dying.

I'm actually racking my brain to remember a good concept album, and failing.  One thing is clear, not alot of rappers make concept albums.  I find myself thinking of artists like MF Doom  (Mmm Food), Dr. Octagon (Octagoncologist)..  Conscience rappers.  Horrorcore rappers to a lesser extent (Violent J - Wizard of the Hood)

Is Joe Budden - Padded Room a concept album because he raps about being crazy for 1 or 2 lines or verses in each song?  Nope.  That's just his style of music.  Just like Nas has his.  For this point I could argue how TI vs TIP isn't either.  American Gangster is a borderline concept album...

I guess it's just from listening to other genres, specifically hard rock/metal, they do alot of good concept albums where every song is dedicated to the concept, and usually tells a story.  (Devin Townsend - Ziltoid, Dream Theater - Metropolis 2, NIN - Downward Spiral, Pink Floyd - The Wall).  I've actually always wondered why no rappers put out focused concept albums...  It takes alot of artistry to make, but the end product is something you can really appreciate.

That Dr. Dre - Planets idea, could be a decent concept album if done right.   I would call Nas - Untitled one...

[The-Leak (aka) kingwell (bka) JULES]

Please, just name me TWO hip-hop albums then that you would consider "concept albums"?  Because looking at things your way, one would have to think there has never been a concept album in hip-hop.

umm.....Untitled? Distant Relatives? Hip Hop is Dead was somewhat of a concept album but imo it failed to carry through. Untitled is a much better example, providing you ignore the two singles.

How is Distant Relatives a concept album?  LOL?  Maybe the concept of 2 artists working together, ahhahah.