Nas Believes Kanye West Saved Hip Hop

Posted on July 10, 2008

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Nas, who proclaimed Hip Hop Is Dead, believes that one single person saved rap and prevented the genre becoming extinct. In a recent interview with Complex, Nas said that Kanye West was the man who had saved the rap genre. He also acknowledged Lil Wayne in the same interview.

"I think Kanye West saved rap. I think Lil Wayne is showing there is a future for all kinds of artists to continue doing this. You know, I love it," Nas said.

Nas also mentioned that there are three artists who still excite him and keep the love for hip hop burning; those three are the aforementioned Kanye, Outkast and Eminem.

Nas later discussed the controversial title for his new album, which was changed from Nigger to Untitled.

"I think the Hip Hop Is Dead and the Nigger album, they were for that time. ... People may think it's a controversial title, but it's really what I'm feeling," he told the mag. "I'm not going to make the title less controversial because it's going to offend people."

The interview featured a photo-shoot which saw Nas wearing unfamiliar attire.

"That's not how I dress, but for a magazine spread, it's out there to be fun," explained Nas. "... I always do what I do, so I just wanted to change it up a little bit. Get people talking shit, so it's cool."

Nas' Untitled album will be released on July 15th.