astronomy

Untitled Nas album

Untitled Nas album is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Untitled Nas album rather than just read about it. In short: The untitled ninth studio album by American rapper Nas, commonly referred to as Nas, or simply Untitled, was released on July 15, 2008, by the Jones Experience, Columbia Records, and Def Jam Recordings. Its original title Nigger was omitted due to controversy surrounding the racial epithet.

Key takeaways

Untitled Nas album belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Untitled Nas album to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Untitled Nas album from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The untitled ninth studio album by American rapper Nas, commonly referred to as Nas, or simply Untitled, was released on July 15, 2008, by the Jones Experience, Columbia Records, and Def Jam Recordings. Its original title Nigger was omitted due to controversy surrounding the racial epithet. The album is distinguished for its political content, diverse sources of production, and provocative subject matter. The album features guest appearances from Chris Brown, Keri Hilson, Busta Rhymes, and the Game, among others. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, becoming Nas' fifth to do so, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of over 500,000 copies in the United States. Upon its release, the album received mixed to lightly positive reviews from critics and listeners.

Background

Title controversy The original title of the album, Nigger, was mentioned by Nas several times, as well as on an October 12, 2007, performance at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City where he announced the title and release date. Def Jam made no comment on the title. This was similar to attempts to name his 2006 album, eventually titled Hip Hop Is Dead, to both Nigga and Hip Hop Is Dead... The N. On May 19, 2008, it was confirmed that Nas changed the name of the album to an untitled one, stating that "the people will always know what the real title of this album is and what to call it." The cover of the album depicts the back of a shirtless Nas with flagellation scars forming the shape of the letter N, a reference to the racial slur and how slaves were tortured in the United States. Fort Greene, Brooklyn, assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries requested New York's Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to withdraw $84 million from the state pension fund that has been invested into Universal and its parent company, Vivendi, if the album's title was not changed. L.A. Reid, chairman of Def Jam at the time, confirmed that the label fully backed Nas and his decision on naming his album. The album's original title received support from Eminem, Ice Cube, Jay-Z, Bishop Lamont, Alicia Keys, LL Cool J, Rev Run, Common, Akon, Method Man, Lupe Fiasco, David Banner, GZA, and Melle Mel, while receiving criticism from 50 Cent, Will Smith, Al Sharpton, Bill O'Reilly, Oprah Winfrey, Reverend Jesse Jackson and the NAACP.

Production Production credits for the album include stic.man of Dead Prez, DJ Green Lantern, Polow da Don, Salaam Remi, DJ Toomp, Stargate, Cool & Dre, Game, Mark Ronson, Mark Batson, Jay Electronica, J. Myers, Dustin Moore, Calvin McDaniel and Eric Hudson. Early reports of production mentioned that No I.D., DJ Khalil, Jermaine Dupri, Chris Webber and the Hitmen were contributing tracks, but their tracks failed to make the final cut for the album. DJ Premier stated in a 2009 interview with HipHopDX that he sent in a beat for Nas that Nas did not end up using on this album. Guest artists featured on the album are Busta Rhymes, Keri Hilson, Game, Chris Brown, the Last Poets, Eban Thomas, Mulatto and Mykel. Although Jay Electronica produced the introductory track, he does not have a verse on the album, as previously stated by Nas.

Release and promotion Nas released a mixtape with DJ Green Lantern titled The Nigger Tape on June 9, 2008. The mixtape, which was released through NasIndependenceDay.com, features three songs that were later included on the album, as well as various unreleased tracks. In July 2008, it was announced that apparel company Fila would be providing financial support for the album's marketing for one year. In exchange, Nas was to wear Fila sneakers at his shows.

Singles Prior to the release of the untitled album, Nas released a music video for "Be a Nigger Too", a song rumored to be the first single. In late June, Nas told Billboard magazine that "Be a Nigger Too" would not even be on the album because of sample clearance issues. During the same week, Nas released "Hero", the album's first official single. The song features a chorus sung by Keri Hilson, a beat produced by Polow da Don and lyrics about the music industry's stranglehold on artistry. The Game announced on BET's 106 & Park that "Make the World Go Round" is the next single of the album, which was debuted in November 2008. Nas has also released videos for "Sly Fox" and "Y'all My Niggas", however he does not appear in either of them.

Critical reception

Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics, based on an aggregate score of 71/100 from Metacritic. Entertainment Weekly credited the album for its maturity as well as the album's ability to keep the listeners guessing. Andy Greenwald credits Nas, saying "In a summer of "Lollipop", it's good to hear a complicated record that doesn't shy from grown-up ambition." The album received a 4.5 mic rating from The Source magazine. The Independent's Andy Gill gave it 5 out of 5 stars and described it as "probably the most politically oriented rap album since the days of Public Enemy and The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy". In contrast, Los Angeles Times writer Jeff Weiss gave the album 2 out of 4 stars and wrote unfavorably of Nas's lyrics, perceiving his themes as hypocritical and inconsistent. Despite calling its production "sporadically successful and widely uneven", Slant Magazine's Jimmy Newlin gave the album 3½ out of 5 stars and commended Nas's lyricism, calling its lyrics "all terrific". Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and called it a "sprawling, furious, deeply ambivalent theme album about institutional racism, the failures of black leadership and the pathologies and promise of early-21st-century African-American life". USA Today's Elysa Gardner gave it 3 out of 4 stars and wrote "Nas reconfirms his status as one of rap’s most deft, thoughtful rhymers and his knack for trenchant, defiant commentary". On December 3, it was announced that the album had been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, but it ended up losing to Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III (2008).

Commercial performance The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album charts selling 187,078 copies in the first week of release. On September 11, 2008, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States.

Track listing

Leftover track "Be a Nigger Too" Samples

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Untitled Nas album

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Untitled Nas album claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Untitled Nas album before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Untitled Nas album ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Untitled Nas album

In research: Untitled Nas album appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Untitled Nas album in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Untitled Nas album is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2008 albums, Albums produced by Cool & Dre, Albums produced by DJ Green Lantern, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Untitled Nas album outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Untitled Nas album in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Untitled Nas album means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Untitled Nas album in simple terms?

Why does Untitled Nas album matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Untitled Nas album?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Untitled Nas album.