Nas dropping tidbits on upcoming album Nigger

"I feel like Cassius Clay right before he took down Liston," Nas said a couple of weeks ago in New York. It's almost time for the release of his album ******, and he even teased us by dropping a couple of lines from the album backstage at the Hammerstein Ballroom before a recent concert

"Ay, yo, Queens get the money, n---as still screaming paper chase/ But presidential candidates ... ," he began reciting, the first time any media outlet has heard lyrics from the upcoming album.

"But the new album, man, this is an important piece for me," he said. "I'm proud of myself for doing it and taking it on. It looks like Black History Month [February] is gonna be the month to drop the album. If not, it comes when it comes. But it'll be here soon — soon like right-around-the-corner soon. It's not gonna be a waiting-for-a-long-time type thing. I'm blessed to be in this state of mind I'm in to do this music. ... I love what this whole thing is all about. I'm working with so many people. It is a lot of people I'm working with: Puff, Jermaine [Dupri], some underground cats. Some surprises."

Maybe he'll be working with Snoop Dogg again. The Dogg — who appeared on Nas' last album, Hip Hop Is Dead — supports Nas' concept behind the controversially titled new album. "I'm down with you, Nas," Snoop saluted. "Call me if you need a verse."

Another West Coast legend, Ice Cube, is also down to collaborate with Nas. "I'm totally open to working with him," said Cube, who has the first great song and video of 2008 with "Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It." "I just got back in town, I'm looking for him to reach out. I think me and Nas are, in a lot of ways, mirror images of each other. We try to make street knowledge and connect the streets with the politics of today. That's always a challenge. If we don't get together [on his album], we gotta tour together."

Source from Mixtape Monday