Tough issues go beyond words for rapper Nas

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In here, the noise surrounding the rapper's new Def Jam album,formerly known as "N--ger," has faded, but Nas is still happy todiscuss the grand implications of it all.

Since October, when Nas first announced his intentions for thealbum title, he has drawn all kinds of responses, ranging from theire of African-American activist the Rev. Al Sharpton to thesupport of Def Jam chairman/CEO Antonio "L.A." Reid. After certainretail distributors, which neither Def Jam nor Nas would identify,claimed they wouldn't carry an album called "N--ger," Nasrechristened it as an untitled project, starting yet another roundof debate on popular hip-hop sites like nahright.com.

As the record nears its July 15 release, Nas is the first to admithe's not a one-man show. Def Jam, a unit of publicly traded companyVivendi, has to market this hot-button album while maintaining itsmarket share, which raises the question: How do a corporation andan artist balance creative integrity with the bottom line?

THE MESSAGE REMAINS

"If I was the one watching all this s--t happen, I would want tosee me ride to the end," says Nas, who promises that he hasn'tchanged or removed the album's incendiary commentary on racerelations. "Except a lot of so-called black leaders were using myalbum as a platform for themselves. I would have been fighting notto get the 'N--ger' album out but to express myself, and that's notthe fight I wanted. This album is about me and how I feel as ablack man."

Nas' subject matter is rare for contemporary commercial hip-hop,which sells everything from mobile phones to fast food. The threehip-hop songs atop Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart --Plies' "Bust It Baby Part 2" and Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" and "AMilli" -- focus on sex and braggadocio. But Nas says he recordedthe album with entertainment as well as education in mind.

"I didn't want to 'n--ger' my audience to death," he says. "So 'Bea N--ger Too,' which I recently released a video for, isn't on thealbum. It didn't fit. The entire record deals with the concept, but... I had to pace myself."

Throughout the album, Nas finds creative ways to address hissubject. On the Busta Rhymes-featuring "Fried Chicken," Nas uses awoman as a metaphor for soul food and black people's attraction todeadly eating habits. ("Mrs. Fried Chicken/fly vixen/give me heartdisease but still I need you in my kitchen," he raps.)

First single "Hero," featuring Keri Hilson, boasts anthemicsynthesizers, a tuba, running keys and a swelling chorus as Nasexplains why he changed the album title. Key lyric: "I'm hog-tiedon the corporate side blocking y'all from going in stores andbuying it/at first L.A. and Doug Morris was riding with it/butNewsweek articles startled bigwigs and asked Nas, why is you tryingit?"

CAN CONTROVERSY SELL?

Newly minted Def Jam executive vice president Shakir Stewart saysthat while the company wholeheartedly supports Nas' creativevision, all parties understand the business implications of theoriginal album name.

"Nas would not jeopardize his opportunity to get his music to thepublic," Stewart says. "He understands that we believe inintelligent freedom of speech, meaning whatever stance you take, beprepared for some accountability."

Stewart admits that distributors were the reason behind the album'stitle change but adds that Def Jam will not shy away from anyfuture controversial singles or corresponding clips like theNas-funded video for "Be a N--ger Too," which ends with a youngblack man hanged from a tree.

"Nas is a visionary," Stewart says. "Singles are a collectivedecision, and it's about picking the best music that demonstratesthe album."

But on the marketing side, Def Jam senior VP of marketing ChrisAtlas and marketing director Shari Bryant say the untitled projecthas been surprisingly easy to pitch.

"The funny thing is, we really thought the album was going to be abig issue," Bryant says. "We thought we'd just have to focus on theNas brand. But when the title changed, the doors opened again."

Nas, meanwhile, has broken his tradition of sidestepping brandpartnerships and brokered a one-year partnership with athleticapparel company Fila.

"My best friend Will and I loved Fila," Nas says. "It representedprestige and everything that was cool to us. When Will passed, weburied him in a black Fila sweat suit, so doing a deal with themhas a lot of significance for me."

According to Fila president John Epstein, it was a natural match."One of my executives spotted Nas shopping in our Manhattan storeand struck up a conversation with him," Epstein says. "Nas isn'tinterested in selling out. He's interested in being true, and thatfits with our brand."

Some may view Epstein as brave to co-brand his company with an MCwho has pledged to examine America's racial struggles.

"I had some trepidation, and then I started talking to 16- to20-year-old kids in focus groups," Epstein says. "They looked at melike I was crazy for not understanding his message of positivechange. Nas is relevant to his followers, and I don't have tounderstand it as long as they do."

Back at the Spotted Pig, Nas has lit one of the cigars and ismusing that he doesn't need to market himself like other artists.Perhaps his Muhammad Ali T-shirt boasting the phrase "TheGreatest," or that rose, is getting the rapper riled up. Or maybeafter more than a decade in hip-hop, he's just being honest.

"From Jay-Z to 50 Cent to Kanye (West), I've been around longerthan all of them, and I don't need any of their marketing," Nassays. "The people are my marketing, and that puts me in a class bymyself."