I don’t want to spend too much time criticizing a television personality, but I do want to take a closer look at Mr. O’Reilly’s central argument:

“Nas had an obvious agenda in this case. His new album is a bomb, a disaster, a catastrophe; and he desperately wants attention. Two years ago his last album sold 355,000 copies in it’s first week. This one sold 187,000 copies. Not good!”

Hip Hop Is Dead was released December 19th, 2006. The album sold 355,000 copies in its first week.

Rap CD sales dropped 21% in 2006 (FOX News). According to USA Today, rap CD sales were down 30% in 2007. That means that the rap industry declined 51% (in terms of CD sales) since Nas last released an album.

Nas’ release in 2008 sold 168,000 copies less in its first week than Hip Hop Is Dead. That’s a 47% decrease between two albums. He’s actually doing better than average in the current rap climate, while receiving little promotion for his recent work in comparison to that for Hip Hop Is Dead . The mainstream media is a bit timid reporting about an album originally titled Nigger.

Nas’ Untitled is proof that quality, conscious, and sometimes controversial hip-hop can find a happy place in today’s depressed rap industry.

No related posts.