Rapper Nas is close to completing his Def Jam Records debut, Hip Hop Is Dead...The N, which is due out on December 5th. The rapper, who is about two weeks away from turning in the album, told MTV.com, "All respect to all rappers on Def Jam, I love the label. Without disrespect, I’m about to be the craziest s**t on Def Jam. But that should go without saying."

Nas also talked about reuniting with Dr. Dre for the song, "QB True G." He said, "I worked on Dre’s Aftermath album when he left Death Row. The second Aftermath album was the Firm album. I think him and industry mogul Steve Stoute got into a lot of beef, so the record got hurt when it came out. But that album is still a platinum monster. I know Dre was saying that n***as was bothering him, saying the Firm flopped or he turned pop, but that Firm album was not a flop. That record was a monster."

Nas added, "Back then, (Interscope Records co-chairman) Jimmy Iovine was ready to send me a jet, trying to get me off of Sony because he was seeing my potential and what I needed to do. Since then, I hadn’t seen Dre, but I bumped into him in a studio and he said he was ready to do my whole album right there on the spot. I just knocked out the joint I did with him."

The set also features production from Scott Storch, Will.I.Am, Kanye West and NBA star Chris Webber. Nas explained how the collaboration with Webber went down. He said, "We was in the studio in Kelis’session. We had a room next door, because I didn’t want to mess her session up, but I wanted to listen to something. I went in the other room, we was chillin’. One of my mans told Chris to put on one of his beat CDs. We was in there freestylin’. I started freestylin’to one joint about s**t we just be talking about, and I was like, ’This is my s**t right here. This is my joint.’But Chris is my homie though. One of my closest homies."

As for the album’s title, Nas explained, "When I say ’hip-hop is dead,’basically America is dead. There is no political voice. Music is dead. B2K is not New Edition. Chris Brown is great, I love Chris Brown, we need that, but Bobby Brown sticks in my heart. Our way of thinking is dead, our commerce is dead. Everything in this society has been done. It’s like a slingshot, where you throw the mutha****a back and it starts losing speed and is about to fall down."

The rapper added, "That’s where we are as a country. I don’t wanna lose nobody with this, but what I mean by ’hip-hop is dead’is we’re at a vulnerable state. If we don’t change, we gonna disappear like Rome. Let’s break it down to a smaller situation. Hip-hop is Rome for the ’hood. I think hip-hop could help rebuild America, once hip-hoppers own hip-hop. ... We are our own politicians, our own government, we have something to say. We’re warriors. Soldiers."

Hip Hop Is Dead...The N will feature guest appearances by The Game, Snoop Dogg, Damian Marley, and Kanye West.

Tracklisting :

01) ’Don’t Hate Me Now’ (Salaam Remi)
02) ’QB Tru Gs’ f/The Game (Dr. Dre)
03) ’Black Republican’ f/Jay-Z (L.E.S.)
04) ’Where Y’all At’ (Salaam Remi)
05) ’Play On Playa’ f/Snoop Dogg (Scott Storch)
06) ’Still Dreaming’ f/Kanye West & Chrisette Michelle (Kanye West)
07) ’White Man’s Paper’ f/Damien Marley (Afrikan)
08) ’Blunt Ashes’ (Chris Webber)
09) ’Hip-Hop Is Dead’ f/Will.I.Am. (Will.I.Am)
10) ’Where Are They Now’ (Nas and Salaam Remi)
11) ’Let There Be Light’ f/Tre Williams (Kanye West)
12) ’Not Going Back’ f/Kelis (Star Gate)
13) ’Can’t Forget About You’ feat Chrisette Michelle (Will.I.Am)
14) ’Hold Down The Block’ (Mark Batson)