Hip Hop Is Dead
by Nas
  • Record Label: Def Jam
  • Release Date: Dec 19, 2006
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    75
    Hip Hop Is Dead is a lot like Nas himself: impossible not to admire, but hard to love.
  2. The New York Times
    80
    Here’s the thing about Nas’s old-fashioned approach to hip-hop: It still works.
  3. Pitchfork
    78
    More than Illmatic, it represents the real Nas-- not the ideal-- the MC with all the skill, all the rhymes, and all the insight who sabotaged himself with bad decisions.
  5. Prefix Magazine
    85
    Hip-Hop Is Dead... brings out the best in the emcee, who might have produced his strongest lyrical performance since Illmatic.
  6. AllMusic
    70
    Hip Hop Is Dead is not Illmatic.
  7. Los Angeles Times
    75
    Like many of his previous efforts, lyrically and conceptually, it's second-to-none. But musically and in terms of execution, it doesn't always hit the mark.
  8. RapReviews.com
    100
    Nas has made a passionate album to reawaken your love of the art and if your heart isn't thumping in your chest by the end then it's not hip-hop that's dead, it's you.
  9. Village Voice
    90
    A Dante-channeling journey through the many diverse facets of hip-hop.
  10. Vibe
    80
    Disorienting and sometimes brilliant. [Jan 2007, p.109]
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  11. Hartford Courant
    70
    "Hip Hop Is Dead" feels bloated and a little self-indulgent at 16 songs, not all of which are as essential as the first few, but that doesn't change the legitimacy of the point Nas is trying to make, or the guts he shows in making it.
  12. NOW Magazine
    60
    A few flashes of brilliance, but no sustained heat.
  13. PopMatters
    80
    Nas pushes lyricism and technical virtuosity to the forefront here, stretching both his own boundaries and those around him.
  14. Dot Music
    90
    Nas's insight, erudition and poetic intensity override all other concerns.
  15. Stylus Magazine
    50
    Nas caps a year of NYC-based disappointments with quite possibly the most crushing one yet.
  16. The Guardian
    80
    You don't have to agree with the prognosis (even Nas has a change of heart by the end) to relish the furious eloquence with which it's delivered.
  17. Blender
    60
    Nas can still dazzle on the mic. [Jan/Feb 2007, p.87]
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  18. cokemachineglow
    50
    Hip Hop Is Dead’s fruitless and one-dimensional rhetoric is sure to depress the Nas fan more than any of his didactics.
  19. The A.V. Club
    91
    It contains a smart, tight, cohesive analysis of where rap went astray, but also the seeds of the genre's rebirth and renewal.
  20. Rolling Stone
    80
    Nas has always sounded older than his years, but there are moments on his eighth album when he sounds like the lead in the hood version of Grumpy Old Men.
  21. Mojo
    90
    It is Nas's poetic erudition that makes it a stone cold classic. [Mar 2007, p.100]
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  22. Austin Chronicle
    40
    With Dr. Dre, Kanye West, and even Jay-Z on its guest list, Hip Hop Is Dead makes for an ample, yet ultimately morbid, party.
  23. MSN Consumer Guide (Robert Christgau)
    91
    The fun comes easier when he fools around with the title conceit, and even sometimes when he thinks about it.

Awards & Rankings

92
#92 Best Album of 2006
35
#35 Most Discussed Album of 2006
56
#56 Most Shared Album of 2006

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 175 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 154 out of 175
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 175
  3. Negative: 12 out of 175
  1. user0857
    Aug 4, 2023
    0
    such a mess of a album. after illmatic this man was finisheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed
  2. itsaboutdrive
    Dec 6, 2022
    0
    Bad album, period. There's nothing interesting and I still don't figure out how Nas stayed relevant after Illmatic since almost all his albumsBad album, period. There's nothing interesting and I still don't figure out how Nas stayed relevant after Illmatic since almost all his albums after that one are ass.… Full Review »
  3. todaywasagooday
    Dec 1, 2022
    0
    You just need to be humbled. This is just a decent record. Nothing more. When will you understand that these albums are just mediocre andYou just need to be humbled. This is just a decent record. Nothing more. When will you understand that these albums are just mediocre and can't be compared to real hip-hop masterpieces.… Full Review »
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