Maps of Music

Untitled (2008)

Where the lyrics of Untitled take you, and where it was really made.

The album's original title was dropped after a controversy over it, so the record was released with no name at all.

Place unknown

Do you know where this album was recorded, or where its cover was shot? Tell us and we will add it to the map.

Untitled is the ninth studio album by American rapper Nas
Released July 15, 2008 by the Jones Experience, Columbia Records, and Def Jam Recordings
Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, Nas's fifth album to do so
Known for political content, varied production sources, and provocative subject matter
Guest appearances from Chris Brown, Keri Hilson, Busta Rhymes, and the Game

The original title was omitted because of controversy over the racial slur it contained
Nas mentioned the original title several times and announced it at an October 12, 2007 show at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City
Nas changed the title to an untitled one, confirmed on May 19, 2008
Def Jam made no comment on the title
Fort Greene assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries asked New York's Comptroller to withdraw $84 million from the state pension fund if the title was not changed
L.A. Reid, Def Jam chairman at the time, confirmed the label fully backed Nas's decision
The original title received support from Eminem, Ice Cube, and Jay-Z, and criticism from 50 Cent, Will Smith, and the NAACP
Fila agreed to support the album's marketing for one year, and Nas was to wear Fila sneakers at his shows

Production credits include stic.man of Dead Prez, DJ Green Lantern, Polow da Don, Salaam Remi, DJ Toomp, Stargate, and Mark Ronson
No I.D., DJ Khalil, and Jermaine Dupri were reported as contributors early on, but their tracks did not make the final album
Jay Electronica produced the introductory track but has no verse on the album

The cover shows the back of a shirtless Nas with scars forming the letter N
The image refers to the racial slur and to how slaves were tortured in the United States

Born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones on September 14, 1973 in Brooklyn, New York City; raised in the Queensbridge Houses, Queens.
Son of jazz and blues musician Olu Dara; began as "Nasty Nas" in 1989 and recorded demos under Large Professor.
Made his recording debut on Main Source's 1991 song "Live at the Barbeque"; signed with Columbia Records in 1992.

Debut album Illmatic (April 19, 1994) is regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop albums; selected for the Library of Congress National Recording Registry.
It Was Written (1996) debuted atop the Billboard 200; single "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" featuring Lauryn Hill brought mainstream success.
Feud with Jay-Z (2001–2005) via the diss track "Ether"; Stillmatic and God's Son helped restore his critical standing.
Released Hip Hop Is Dead (2006) and Distant Relatives (2010) with Damian Marley, whose royalties went to African charities.
King's Disease (2020) won his first Grammy for Best Rap Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.
Released King's Disease II, Magic, King's Disease III, Magic 2 and Magic 3, all produced by Hit-Boy.
Announced Light-Years with DJ Premier, a 2025 collaborative album.

Received generally positive reviews from music critics, with a Metacritic aggregate score of 71/100
Entertainment Weekly credited the album for its maturity and its ability to keep listeners guessing
Andy Greenwald praised Nas for a complicated record that does not shy from grown-up ambition
The Source gave the album 4.5 mics
The Independent's Andy Gill gave it 5 out of 5 stars and called it probably the most politically oriented rap album since the days of Public Enemy
Slant Magazine's Jimmy Newlin gave it 3½ out of 5 stars, calling the production sporadically successful and widely uneven while praising the lyrics
Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone gave it 4 out of 5 stars, calling it a sprawling, furious, deeply ambivalent theme album
USA Today's Elysa Gardner gave it 3 out of 4 stars
Los Angeles Times writer Jeff Weiss gave it 2 out of 4 stars and judged Nas's themes hypocritical and inconsistent

Debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 187,078 copies in its first week
Certified gold by the RIAA on September 11, 2008 for sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States
Nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album
Lost the Grammy to Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III

Fila's marketing support came with a condition that Nas wear Fila sneakers at his shows.
The album includes a song also titled Untitled, which is a biographical track about Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam.
Nas released videos for Sly Fox and Y'all My Niggas, but he does not appear in either of them.
Hakeem Jeffries's demand to withdraw pension money was tied to the album's original title.
Jay Electronica produced the introductory track but does not have a verse on the album.