Controversy sells and there’s no such thing as bad press right? That can actually be classified as a true statement if you take Paris Hilton’s sex tape into account along with Britney Spears’ infamous “crotch shot” of her womanhood wide open for all to see. 

Too bad for Michael Richards though, his hullabaloo over dropping the N-bomb more times than a racist redneck at a Howard University Homecoming celebration didn’t help to get him another crack at his own sitcom; it only aided in alienating him from the rest of the world, while leaving his career in shambles (thank goodness for that Seinfeld residual money).

Of course he’s not the only one to have the spotlight cast on him for use of the word, because everybody’s favorite son from Queensbridge, New York has that tacked onto his resume as well. For almost 13 years, Nasir Jones has enthralled the Hip-Hop galaxy with verses capable of dismantling any microphone that he came in contact with—but on the flipside of things, he’s dropped a few duds in his time also.

Regardless of how many reprehensible projects he released during his “experimental stage,” they all still managed to go platinum; proving that his fan base still had faith in his ability—as they contemplated when he would finally make it back home. Stillmatic, God’s Son, and S treet’s Disciple proved that the veteran MC still had something left in the tank—while Hip-Hop Is Dead did the same, and offended more than its fare share of people who begged to differ. Continuing to be an A&R’s worst nightmare by not making radio-friendly material, one of the top five dead or alive is back with his ninth studio album simply called Untitled.

Whether you’re a fan of the genre or not, you would to be living under a rock if you were unaware of his first title choice. Nonetheless, he withdrew from the original heading and went with a safer one. Even though the name of the album was changed, the cover of the CD still reflects how he truly feels (A huge ‘N’ scared into his back which resembles welts caused by a whip similar to the ones Denzel Washington had on his back in the movie Glory; where a played a slave during the Civil War).

‘Naw Leans representative Jay Electronica helps Nas start the album off by providing the production for ‘Queens Get The Money.’ Over a simple piano loop and no chorus, Nas throws verbal jabs like “Now add 23 more, from Queens to B-More/I’m over their heads, like a bulimic on a see-saw/now that’s 50 porch monkeys ate up at the same time/nasty NASDAQ, y’all ‘gon bow holmes/this Dow Jones, 80 cal chrome.”

Nas raises the racial tone a little more on ‘You Can’t Stop Us Now’ (feat. Eban Brown of The Stylistics & The Last Poets). This time he replaces the piano loop and opts for simple guitar strings and horns while he runs through a history lesson with lines like, “I love y’all/Pyramids, to cotton fields, to Wrigley Field/forgotten men who did get killed/Betsy Ross sold her first American Flag/bet she had a n*gga with her to help her old ass.”

On 'Sly Fox,’ Nas takes aim on the Fox Television Station referring to it as a Comcast digital Satan, while he also shares his views on other stations; “I watch CBS, and I see BS/tryin’ to track us down with GPS/make a n*gga wanna invest in PBS.” He didn’t name his album the N-word, but he provides a song with the same title on ‘N.I.*.*.E.R. (The Slave And The Master).’ On the song, he uses a little psychology and takes time to break down how African-Americans are both the slaves and masters of their own lives.

Busta Rhymes enters Nas’ world on ‘Fried Chicken.’ Both MC’s indulge in the stereotype of African-Americans having an obsession with chicken, as they talk about the food as if it were a female. ‘Project Roach’ (feat. The Last Poets) is another idealistic concept song, with Nas portraying himself as the common cockroach, “Yo I’m creepy and crawling/in ya sink, in ya toilet/I be drinkin’ from your spit/anything cause I’m more less/an insect with four legs/people come, and I fake dead/correction, I got eight legs.”

Nas samples Tupac’s vocals from ‘Changes’ for ‘Black President.’ The decision to go with Tupac talking about how the United States isn’t ready for a black president couldn’t be a better choice, as Nas discusses the subject in contrast with the possibility of America sending its first president of color into office in Barak Obama.

The album takes a lighter turn away from the political/prejudicial content on ‘Make The World Go Round’ produced by Cool & Dre and featuring The Game and Chris Brown. Nas makes a decent attempt at trying to make his way back into the commercial realm for a moment, and the young blood of Chris Brown further solidifies it. Other songs like ‘Hero’ (feat. Keri Hilson), ‘America,’ ‘We’re Not Alone,’ and the spoken word format of ‘Testify’ keep the album on track, and prevent it from swerving off into some other unknown direction.

Since first introducing himself to the world with Illmatic back in 1994, Nas has been plagued with criticism by people doubting his ability to duplicate the success that put him in an elite group that only harbors four other MC’s. But what a lot of people don’t understand is all the negativity he endured was due to the fact of him trying something new on each record since his debut. It might not have stood well for those who invested time in him, but his aptitude to lyrically master the English language flourished throughout his tenure, as it continues to do so now.

His choice to take on racial issues, social struggles, and politics shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who purchases this album, because that’s the path Nas has been on for quite some time now. Although you might still catch glimpses of the man once known as “Nasty Nas,” for the most part his whole direction and attitude towards life has changed. No longer is he the hungry MC from Queensbridge, but now a man who has seen the world and knows that he serves a greater purpose other than himself. And with that purpose, rest assured that he’s still capable of delivering a lyrical barrage filled with integrity, strong beliefs, and sharp wordplay that is impossible to mirror—unless you memorize every song on this album and try to pass them on as your own.