One of the greatest MCs to ever pick up a microphone, Nas has watched as his beloved hip-hop has gone from its innocent days of B-boy battles and lyrical sport to today"s fake-posturing and commercial excesses, and he"s got something to say about it. 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. As evidenced by last year"s highly-publicized reconciliation with longtime adversary JAY-Z, and his subsequent signing to Def Jam recordings, Nas has shown that actions speak louder than words: unity is more powerful than divisiveness. The time has come for hip-hop to grow. Now, with the. December 19th 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 see"s it- is very much alive.