Nas "It Ain't Hard To Tell": Excerpt from The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present

Video: Kanye West, De La Soul, Nas, Will.i.am, Mos Def, and Damon Albarn: Freestyles (Live in London)

SEMTEX TV: DELA SOUL, MOS DEF, NAS, WILL I AM, KANYE WEST, DAMON ALBARN ROC THE MIC @ THE G.O.O.D. MUSIC AFTER PARTY, LONDON, UK from DJ SEMTEX on Vimeo.

After Kanye West's London double-header-- and the UK leg of the Rock the Bells tour-- the live hip-hop still wasn't quite finished. Those in attendance at at West's G.O.O.D. Music after party got to witness a star-studded freestyle cypher, captured at high quality in this 13-minute video by DJ Semtex. De La Soul start things off, over the Honeydrippers' "Impeach the President" break, followed by Mos Def. Ex- (or not?) Blur frontman Damon Albarn-- also of the Good, the Bad, and the Queen, the recent Monkey opera, and of course, animated hip-hop project Gorillaz-- even croons a few bars before Will.i.am takes over. West holds the mic as the DJ drops God's Son's "Made You Look". Then it's Nas' show. (via Nah Right)

Ludacris In 'Talks' To Tour With T.I. And Young Jeezy, Says Theater Of The Mind Is A 'Classic'

(swiped from MTVNews)

'It's a movement, man,' Atlanta-based MC says of new record.

"I feel like this album is a collectors' item," Ludacris said about his November 24 release. "Not only do I feel it's classic — it's a collectors' item. It's a movement, man. Moral to the story is, this album, I'll provide you with the audio — the rest is up to the theater of your mind."

Luda is also planning a tour, and he wants to bring some guys from his Southern hometown along for the ride.

"I haven't confirmed anything yet," he explained. "It's little talks here and there. But I'll put it out there: I would love to do a tour where it's me, T.I. and [Young] Jeezy. Me, Tip and Jeezy would be outrageous. But nothing is confirmed yet."

'Cris is thinking big like some of his peers. On Monday night, it was announced that Lil Wayne, T-Pain, Keyshia Cole and Gym Class Heroes are going on the road together, so why wouldn't the Kings of Atlanta team up?

"That's great," 'Cris said of different hip-hop dignitaries teaming up for a big concert series. "I think that sh-- is phenomenal."

Luda's Theater of the Mind has no shortage of what he calls "co-stars" — co-stars, because he promises that every song is cinematic.

"It's co-star heavy for me. I've always liked working with other artists, whether it's been me on their song or me inviting people on other songs," he said. "I worked with artists on this album because I loved the competition level — it puts people on their A-game. I wanted to compete against them. It's competition at its finest. It's kinda like when you play basketball and you're friends with people on the other team — you shake hands with people afterward, but it's war."

Luda's sparring partners include both Jay-Z and Nas on "I Do It for Hip Hop" and T.I. on "Wish You Would." Common and legendary Hollywood filmmaker Spike Lee partner up on "Do the Right Thang," while others such as Rick Ross, the Game, Plies and Lil Wayne make cameos on other tracks.

Thom Yorke, Jay-Z, Will.i.am, Common, Q-Tip, Nas, Young Jeezy, and more: Various Obama Tributes

(swiped from Pitchfork Media)

We told you about the songs that came out supporting President-elect Barack Obama and, to an admittedly lesser extent, Sen. John McCain in the months before last Tuesday's election (man, was that really only a week ago?). In the days immediately ahead of the vote, other musicians continued to send in their ballots, including Usher, who put out a pro-Obama video just a couple of days before the polls closed. While I hope people can focus on Obama potentially becoming "the first recent successful president"-- as left-leaning media critic Bob Somerby recently put it-- rather than making him bear the weight of his racial identity in a way white presidents don't, I have to say my favorite musical tribute so far has come in the form of 14 versions of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" posted by WFMU.

Since Obama's Nov. 4 victory, plenty of musicians have celebrated the win their own way. Here are some of the more noteworthy tracks, good and bad, red-eyed and blue:

Brother Ali: "Mr. President, You're the Man"
After the closely contested elections of the past decade, surprise was bound to be among the complicated mix of emotions reigning Tuesday night, poll numbers be damned. "He won, man," Brother Ali begins on Marvin Gaye-sampling celebratory song "Mr. President, You're the Man". Handclaps, funky guitars, and Gaye's soulful falsetto counter Ali's giddily forceful delivery: "I got to pinch myself/ I can't believe it." (via 2dopeboyz)

Common: "Changes"
Chicago's own Common was one of the first rappers to mention Obama, on Finding Forever's "The People". A laid-back bass groove and light, Sunday-afternoon horns back wide-eyed rhymes on Common's Obama tribute, "Changes". Slinky keyboards and some vaguely trippy breakdowns make it easy on the ears, even if you never needed to hear Common whistle. Before an excerpt from one of Obama's most famous speeches comes the voice of a child: "Change is inevitable... Change was Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Shakespeare, Assata Shakur, Barack Obama-- and you can't forget Common."

Dead Milkmen: "Bitchin' Camaro (Obama Intro)" part 2)
Much-loved banana peel smokers Dead Milkmen seized Obama's victory not as something to stop and memorialize but as an inspirational call to action going forward. Over the punkish 1985 original's familiar walking bass line, singer and guitarist Joe Genaro exhorts: "If the black guy with the Arab name can become president, there's nothing you motherfuckers can't do." Then they tear through a mosh-worthy version of the song at Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest. (via BrooklynVegan)

Jay-Z [ft. Tony Williams]: "We Made History"
Self-referentially lighter-ready stadium anthem that again makes me think of Chicago. This time not so much the city as the Peter Cetera power ballads. Jay-Z manages to support the bombast with some fairly strong verses that bring the political down to a personal level. Kanye West produced and you can find it at his blog.

Nas: "Election Night"
"What's a black president thinking on Election Night?" asked Nas on "Black President", from his most recent, untitled album. He and DJ Green Lantern revisit that question on an Election Night track entitled, ahem, "Election Night". The lyrics are strikingly up-to-date, like in that latest "South Park" episode, even mentioning Obama's late grandmother. The military-style drums and zipping electronics make for a decent backdrop, too, but as both such a campaign-specific song and something of a sequel, it's unlikely this one's going to have much shelf value.

Punchline: "What a Wonderful World" (Louis Armstrong cover)
Pittsburgh band Punchline's Obama-inspired punk-pop cover of "What a Wonderful World" is every bit as heinous as that description might imply (in other words, they're not that Hawaiian dude). And what's with the psychedelic spoken-word section? I guess it's the thought that counts, though, and it's a good time to remember that songwriters Bob Thiele and George David Weiss wrote the original for Louis Armstrong with an eye toward transcending racial and political division. (via Punknews)

Q-Tip: "Shaka"
Q-Tip's impressive return album, The Renaissance, came out on Election Day, and its song "Shaka" featured an unusual guest star (at least for an officially sanctioned release): Obama himself. Q-Tip's slippery flow darts amid the jazzy, discordant guitars, sounding a serious note of his own. Also check out DJ Scratch's recent remix of The Renaissance's "Gettin' Up", featuring previous Q-Tip collaborator Busta Rhymes.

Thom Yorke: "Tchk Harrowdown Jump Rmx"
This one really doesn't have anything to do with Obama's victory, except Yorke dedicated its Nov. 5 release, in part, to "the dawn of a new era in politics in the USA."

Will.i.am: "It's a New Day"
Will.i.am, the Black-Eyed Pea member behind the much-viewed "Yes I Can" video, stays heavy-handed on the optimistic, rock-based "It's a New Day". "Gotta manifest that dream," he says, in front of video footage from Obama's victory, shots of Will.i.am driving, and plenty of images of people celebrating. (via XXL)

Ya Boy: "I've Got the Power"
Aside from an Obama speech snippet at the beginning and a somewhat-stale "I'm the rap Obama" line in the chorus, San Francisco rapper Ya Boy's organ-surging "I've Got the Power" is relatively perfunctory I'm rich/great/etc. boasting, without the necessary wit. Mostly posting this for the vintage Snap! sample. You know what I'm talking about. (via Nah Right)

Young Jeezy [ft. Nas]: "My President" (Live on "Last Call With Carson Daly")
Looks like those e-mails to Jesus paid off for Young Jeezy. He and Nas appeared on Carson Daly's show the night before the election, but their performance hit the blogs big-time on Nov. 5. Those celebratory synths and Jeezy's largely apolitical non sequiturs sound just about right in this new political climate (this whole Depression thing makes a blue Lambo sound even better, too, particularly now that the city has towed my wife's decades-old Civic). Plus, Nas's verse is far more aware of its flashy surroundings than I gave him credit for in our previous campaign songs feature: "She ain't a politician/ Honey's a pole-itician." Heheh, Beavis. (via Nah Right)

20 Incredible Links You Should Click On ... Right Now (Courtesy of OhWord.com)

(via OhWord.Com)

And here are the 20:

100 Great Obscure Rap Songs

Large Professor Discusses Main Source, Nas, New Album (Video)

The Sample From Nas’s “Life Is Like A Dice Game” Revealed

Junior Mafia “Player’s Anthem” Beat Deconstructed

A Buyer’s Guide For Out Of Print Rap Albums

Pete Rock Discusses Sampling Techniques (Video)

The Entire Fondle ‘Em Discography Available For Download

A Guide To Assessing Vinyl Rarity

Seven Volumes Of KRS-One Songs Not Included On His Albums

RZA Breaks Down The Science of “Bong Bong” (Video)

4 Hours Of Biggie Songs Mixed By Mr. Cee

DJ Clark Kent Discusses Crate Digging, Sneakers, Jay-Z

Large Professor Interviews @ Cocaine Blunts

Latin Party Starters Selected By O-Dub

Cypress Hill Temples Of Boom Reviewed Track By Track

An Audio History of NYC Hip Hop Radio

DJ Evil Dee “Pure Dope Mixtape” (Podcast)

Illmatic Promo (Video)

Rosenberg Radio – De La Soul mix & Interview, Large Pro Interview

Source March 1995 Issue w/ Slick Rick (downloadable .pdf)

Michael Eric Dyson to Edit Book on Nas' Illmatic

(swiped from Pitchfork Media)

I hope I'm not the first person to tell you that Nas' 1994 debut Illmatic is one of the greatest hip-hop LPs of any era, a must-own record, a landmark in lyrical rap music, and very possibly the single greatest disc to come out of New York's fertile mid-90s renaissance.

But if anybody can have the final word in the long string of praise and analysis the disc has received in the near decade-and-a-half since its release, I'd certainly want it to be scholar and activist Michael Eric Dyson, author of excellent works on Marvin Gaye and Tupac Shakur, among many others.

According to Amazon.com [via Nah Right], Dyson's Born to Use Mics: Reading Nas' Illmatic is due January 9, 2009 from Basic Civitas Books. The tome, named after a line in the Illmatic track "N.Y. State of Mind", will feature writing from Dyson as well as scholars Sohail Daulatzai, Adilifu Nama, Guthrie P. Ramsey Jr., James Peterson, Marc Lamont Hill, Mark Anthony Neal, Kyra Gaunt, Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Imani Perry, and more.

There's a great video here of Dyson speaking about his goals for the book-- and rapping the hell out of the "N.Y. State of Mind"-- after a recent Nas show. Speaking about Nas, Dyson praises "the intellectual ferocity and the political relevance of a young man who's speaking truth to power in these postmodern, postindustrial urban spaces. Where truth is being squeezed out, this brother is rising up with a rebellion and a kind of serious, serious political power that is necessary." Dyson also mentions that his chapter in the book will concern "One Love", the Q-Tip-produced which narrates a letter from Nas to his incarcerated friends.

Nas is currently out on the road promoting his latest album.

Nas:
09-09 Sparks, NV - New Oasis
09-11 Chicago, CA - Senator Theatre
09-12 Atlantic City, NJ - House of Blues
09-17 Richmond, VA - Toad's Place
10-10 Rochester, NY - Gordon Field House (Rochester Institute of Technology)

Video: Nas: One Love [from the Illmatic LP]

Game Slams Jesse Jackson -- Twice -- On New Tracks With Lil Wayne, Nas

(swiped from MTV News)

MC also challenges Jay-Z, G-Unit (again) on tracks from forthcoming LP.

"It's a hundred different messages you can take from the song," Game said on Monday afternoon, cruising through Houston on his way to a radio station. "It's called 'My Life,' so tune in." The video for the song, from his forthcoming LP L.A.X.,premieres on "FNMTV" Friday (starting at 8 p.m. ET).

"And I ain't no preacher, but here's my Erick Sermon," he raps on the record. "So eat this black music, and tell me how it tastes now/ And f--- Jesse Jackson 'cause it ain't about race now."

Later he adds "Walk through the gates of hell, see my Impala parked in front with the high beams on/ Me and the devil sharin' chronic blunts/ Listening to The Chronic album/ Playin' backwards, shootin' at pictures of Don Imus for target practice."

It's very provocative — and he goes after Jackson even harder on a different track from the album, "Letter to the King," that leaked on Thursday (August 14).

The song — a duet with Nas — has bars that are lyrically astonishing, and will probably be the pair's most talked-about collaboration yet. Of course, the "King" the duo refers to is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. At times, the two talk directly to the late civil-rights leader as if he were still alive; at others, they ponder aloud about what could have been.

"If Dr. King marched today, would Bill Gates march?" Game raps on the third verse. "I know Obama would, but would Hillary take part?/ I feel the pain of Nelson Mandela/ 'Cause when it rains it pours, I need Rihanna's umbrella/ For Coretta Scott [King's] teardrops/ When she got the phone call that the future just took a f---ing headshot."

If you don't remember anything else about the song, Game's controversial last line will stay with you.

"I wonder why Jesse Jackson ain't catch him before his body dropped," he asks. "Would he give me the answer?/ Probably not."

At press time, Game had not responded to MTV News' requests for comment on why he's going after Jackson — a longtime King associate, who was present at his assassination in 1968 — so hard, but he did speak with us at length about L.A.X. in Houston earlier this week.

Several other noteworthy tracks from the album hit the Net on Thursday (August 14), including "Angel," which features classic name-dropping from an outspoken Game while Common guest-drops metaphors. There's also a song called "Ya Heard" that features the Compton track-slayer engaging in some rap repartee with Ludacris.

Game described the album as "just me taking flight, man. This album is gonna be real special — from beginning to end, it's gonna knock."

Recently on KISS-FM in Phoenix, Game admitted that he's a fan of Jay's music, but predicted that a battle between the two of them would be one-sided — against Jigga.

"I'm young, stupid, disrespectful," Game said. "I haven't lost a beef. I killed a whole group limb by limb — see what happened to G-Unit."

Speaking of the Unit, estranged group member Young Buck appears in the video for "My Life," which also co-stars Lil Wayne.

"Buck is in the video for a split second, robbing the liquor store!" Game smiled. "Lil Wayne came out to California — he re-routed his tour bus, made a U-turn for me, [so we could] shoot the video. I think the video is gonna do some great things."

L.A.X. is due on August 26.

Dr. Dre Eyeing "November or December" for Detox

(swiped from Pitchfork Media)

Not to be outdone by Axl Rose's hints at releasing Chinese Democracy this fall, Dr. Dre recently told USA Today [via Rollingstone.com] that he is "shooting for a November or December release" for his own oft-delayed masterwork, Detox. However, he preceded the statement by saying "in a perfect world," so let's not hold our breath here, people.

"I'm just now-- over the last couple of months-- starting to feel that it's going to be right and it's something I can be proud of, and everybody is going to love it," Dre said to USA Today.

Dre also said Detox's beats consist of a lot of live drums and that "usual suspects" such as Nas, Jay-Z, and Lil Wayne will make guest appearances.

Whenever it happens, Detox will come out on Dre's own Aftermath/Interscope label.

After the record is released (if ever), the rapper/producer told USA Today that he'd like to find the next artist he can launch into the pop stratosphere, as he did with Eminem and 50 Cent (and kind of Snoop Dogg). "All I want to do is sit in the studio with that person for a year and try to create another masterpiece," he said.

In more definite Dr. Dre release news, the producer has teamed with Interscope/Geffen/A&M Chairman Jimmy Iovine and a/v company Monster to release his own brand of "high definition powered isolation headphones," according to a press release.

The phones [pictured below] are called "Beats by Dr. Dre" and will be sold exclusively via Apple, Best Buy, and online starting July 25.

The price tag on the headphones is just shy of $350, but um...maybe Dr. Dre can sell you:

"Artists and producers work hard in the studio perfecting their sound, but people can't really hear it with normal headphones. Most headphones can't handle the bass, the detail, the dynamics. Bottom line: the music doesn't move you. With Beats, people are going to hear what the artists hear and listen to the music the way they should-- the way I do."

Video: Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg: Nuthin' But a G Thang [from The Chronic LP]

Nas "Sly Fox"

The N out on July 15th. This album is much needed.

Get on that this Tuesday!

Nas - Hero (Featuring Keri Hilson)

The N Out on July 15th. Get yours.

Nas Exclusive: MC Reveals Details, Song Titles From Controversial Upcoming LP

Rapper unleashes even more strong words, but emphasizes that album is 'not an attack on any race.'

(Swiped From MTVNews)

If you thought Nas was being controversial with an album titled Nigger, wait until you hear some of the song titles he has for the project. The MC reached out to MTV News earlier this week to reveal a bit more about the work-in-progress.

"I have a song called 'The Fear,' " he said. "The full title of the record is 'The Fear of the Black Man's D---.' That's some sh-- you can get comedy [from], or you can get some seriousness from it when you talk about the barbaric castrations that happened in our past — which is very serious, nothing to laugh at."

Nas also said that despite the serious name of his project — which has already set off a firestorm of controversy — the LP will be balanced, and he emphasized that he is not singling out any one race.

"It's not an attack on white people at all," he promised, regarding the record's content. "It's knowledge; it's understanding for all people. It's not an attack on any race."

Nas clarified that he will be combating a myriad of racial slurs, not just the one after which he named his album.

"It's about the attacks that have happened to blacks, whites, all ethnicities," he continued. " 'Mick' niggers, 'guinea' niggers, 'kike' niggers. I have a song called 'You a Nigger Too.' "
"It's all over the place," he added. "Balance is so important because there's a fun level to the [album] too. There's an attractive, sexy, aspect to it; a stylish aspect, a flashy aspect. It takes negatives and makes them good."

While Nas had originally hoped to release the album next month, rather than rush the project, he decided to take his time and rescheduled the album's drop date for February: Black History Month.

"Just to get the sh-- all the way right," Nas said of what caused the delay. "I was still working and it was a few weeks away from a release date. It was impossible, the timing was off. I was running into the holidays. I'm always coming out in December so I guess I was used to it, but I had to force myself out of that. I couldn't force the album out if it wasn't done."

The album's production is almost over, however, and Nas said Jermaine Dupri and Diddy will be helping him to close out.

"It's in the developmental stages," he said of the tracks Diddy is bringing to the table. "The potential could go anywhere. I'm writing a lot of sh-- down, and it just sounds crazy. The direction is totally right. Sometimes when you sit down and write, you don't know how it will go. But this is totally right."

Thus far, Salaam Remi, Stargate and DJ Toomp are the most notable names who have delivered beats to Nas.

"DJ Toomp is a humble cat," he said of the Atlanta producer who has earned his biggest credits working with T.I. and more recently Jay-Z. "He has talent way beyond his years. He's got every style you need: rock joints, R&B joints. I don't wanna give it all away, but he's the type of dude that can go anywhere. Toomp is my man, he's got knowledge and that's important when you're working on your umpteenth album. It means something.

"Working with this music, if you don't have no knowledge of self, I can't work with you," he continued. "You have to have some knowledge of who we are. You can't just go in there and throw on a beat like, 'Here's a hot beat.' That don't mean anything. I need a producer. All the tracks were made for this record — you can feel the passion in the beat-making. It's time to build, '08, this the movement we on."

Nas said that no one he reached out to was reluctant to work with him on this project, and said he has not been surprised by the support he's gotten from his peers, despite the controversy surrounding his choice of album names.

"They get it," he said of supporters such as Alicia Keys, Method Man, Russell Simmons, as well as Island Def Jam Music Group Chairman Antonio "L.A." Reid. "We know what time it is. This [album] is a small thing. [Making music] is what I do, so this is part of the way I fight. But people all know what we been going up against this year and the year before and the year before. I ain't saying nothing that's foreign to them."

Nas Talks Greatest Hits, New Album...

Until he finally made nice with Jay-Z and found himself in the Def Jam fold for Hip Hop Is Dead, Nas was a Columbia man. The ace MC's former label has compiled a dozen of Nas' pre-Dead "greatest hits," tacked on two bonus cuts, named it Greatest Hits, and pressed the collection for release on November 6. Not surprisingly, the set leans heavily on Illmatic, with a few highlights from the rest of Nas' Columbia catalogue thrown in for good measure.

There's a pair of new tracks, too, sort of: the Cee-Lo laced "Less Than an Hour", which first appeared on this summer's Rush Hour 3 soundtrack, and opener "Surviving the Times", which appears here for the first time anywhere.And, as any frequent peruser of the world wide interweb is no doubt aware by now, Nas has stirred up quite some controversy with the title he's chosen for his next LP of new material: Nigger. Nas stood by his choice in a recent interview with mtv.com, however, concluding "We're taking power from that word." It's well worth reading the whole interview; at the very least, check out the portion excerpted here:

"I'm a street disciple. I'm talking to the streets. Stay out of our business. You ain't got no business worrying about what the word 'nigger' is or acting like you know what my album is about without talking to me. Whether you in the NAACP or you Jesse Jackson. I respect all of them...I just want them to know: Never fall victim to Fox. Never fall victim to the shit they do. What they do is try to hurry up and get you on the phone and try to get you to talk about something you might not know about yet.

"If Cornell West was making an album called Nigger, they would know he's got something intellectual to say. To think I'm gonna say something that's not intellectual is calling me a nigger, and to be called a nigger by Jesse Jackson and the NAACP is counterproductive, counter-revolutionary."I wanna make the word easy on muthafuckas' ears. You see how white boys ain't mad at 'cracker' 'cause it don't have the same [sting] as 'nigger'? I want 'nigger' to have less meaning [than] 'cracker.' With all the bullshit that's going on in the world, racism is at its peak. I wanna do the shit that's not being done. I wanna be the artist who ain't out. I wanna make the music I wanna hear.

"We're taking power from the word. No disrespect to none of them who were part of the civil-rights movement, but some of my niggas in the streets don't know who [civil-rights activist] Medgar Evers was. I love Medgar Evers, but some of the niggas in the streets don't know Medgar Evers, they know who Nas is. And to my older people who don't now who Nas is and who don't know what a street disciple is, stay outta this muthafuckin' conversation. We'll talk to you when we're ready. Right now, we're on a whole new movement. We're taking power from that word."

The LP is due December 11 via Def Jam and is expected to feature production work from Diddy, Jermaine Dupri, DJ Toomp, and long-time Nas associate Salaam Remi, according to mtv.com.

Though Nas' tour itinerary-- like that of most rappers-- is a little tough to pin down, he's got a few Australian shows lined up in the weeks to come. Hip-hop may be dead, but those frequent flyer miles don't expire until the new year.

Greatest Hits:
01 Surviving the Times
02 Less Than an Hour [ft. Cee-Lo]
03 It Ain't Hard to Tell
04 Life's a Bitch [ft. AZ]
05 NY State of Mind
06 One Love
07 If I Ruled the World (Imagine That) [ft. Lauryn Hill]
08 Street Dreams (Remix) [ft. R. Kelly]
09 Hate Me Now [ft. Puff Daddy]
10 One Mic
11 Got Ur Self a...
12 Made You Look
13 I Can
14 Bridging the Gap [ft. Olu Dara]

Nasty:
11-24 St Kilda, Australia - Palais Theatre
11-25 Perth, Australia - Metro City
11-26 Adelaide, Australia - Thebarton Theatre
11-30 Sydney, Australia - Luna Park
12-01 Brisbane, Australia - The Arena

Video: Nas: Can't Forget About You [from the Hip Hop Is Dead LP]

Jay-Z Reveals American Gangster Tracklist

(Swiped from Pitchfork Media)

Kingdom came and went, and most of us are pretty unaffected by it at this point, either psyched at the time to have new Jay-Z jams no matter the quality or bummed that the comeback was closer to Michael Jordan's minor league baseball career than his return to the Bulls for a second three-peat.

Thus, the prospect of hearing a gritty, hungry-again Jay-Z on his forthcoming new album, American Gangster (inspired by but not the official soundtrack to the Ridley Scott film of the same name), is an exciting one.

While not quite at Radiohead levels of spontaneity, the album nonetheless comes out soon, November 6 via Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam. What's more, it even has a tracklist, thanks to the wonders of iTunes. As previously reported, it includes "Blue Magic" produced by Pharrell, "The Return" featuring Nas, "American Gangster" featuring American Gangster movie actor T.I., and "Vietnam War" featuring Kanye West. And that great "I Get Money" remix!

Also, Jay-Z is trying to rename the Meadowlands Arena in New Jersey after Rocawear, his clothing label. Now THAT's gangster.

Check it out after the jump.

American Gangster:

01 Amen

02 Blue Magic

03 Untitled

04 Alright, Alright

05 You Don't Know

06 And the Winner Is

07 American Gangster

08 Welcome

09 Ignorant Shit

10 The Demise

11 I Get Money (Remix)