Throughout his storied career, which began with 1994"s classic Illmatic and has spanned the last decade with over 12 million albums sold, Nas has been more than just the genre"s foremost lyricist and thinker. He has become a statesman, some would argue hip-hop"s "conscience." Now, with the release of his long-awaited Def Jam debut--the aptly-titled Hip-Hop Is Dead--Nas returns to his role as mentor and teacher, his legendary mic skills as sharp as ever, and takes today"s young rappers back to school. The lesson? Hip-Hop--as Nas sees it--is very much alive.