Recorded 2008 Length 4:00 | Genre Hip hop | |
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Released June 23, 2008 (2008-06-23) Format CD single, music download Label The Jones Experience, Def Jam, Columbia | ||
"Hero" is a 2008 song and lead single from Nas' untitled album. The song features singer Keri Hilson and production by Polow da Don. This song was also featured in Midnight Club: Los Angeles.
Contents
Chamillionaire released a freestyle of this song before the release of Mixtape Messiah 4 under the name "Hero". It was originally intended to be a throwaway, but was released on the mixtape. Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa also released a freestyle of this song titled "Hero (Freestyle)" on his 2008 mix tape Star Power.
Background
After claiming that hip hop had died in his previous album, Nas raps on "Hero" about stepping up and bring it back. The third verse of the song addresses the controversy surrounding the album, originally titled Nigger:
It's Universal apartheid, I'm hogtied, the corporate side
Blocking y'all from goin' to stores and buyin' it
First L.A. and Doug Morris was riding with it
But Newsweek article startled bigwigs; they said, "Nas, why is you tryin' it?"
My lawyers only see the Billboard charts as winning
Forgetting, Nas the only true rebel since the beginning
Still in musical prison, in jail for the flow
Try telling Bob Dylan, Bruce {Springsteen}, or Billy Joel they can't sing what's in they soul!
So untitled it is
I never changed nothing, but, people, remember this
If Nas can't say it, think about these talented kids
With new ideas, being told what they can and can't spit
I can't sit and watch it, so shit I'ma drop it!
Like it or not, you ain't got to cop it
I'm a hustla in the studio, cups of Don Julio
The reference to Doug Morris, then the chairman and CEO of the Universal Music Group, is preserved in the version of "Hero" that appeared on The Nigger Tape, a mixtape released in the run-up to the untitled album's release. In the album version of "Hero," the lyric Doug Morris is censored.
Music video
The music video premiered on BET on July 7, 2008. It features the Audi R8. Keri Hilson and Ken Jenkins both make appearances in the video. The video appeared at #63 on BET's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2008 countdown. It was directed by Taj.
Track listing
- "Hero" featuring Keri Hilson (Clean)
- "Hero" featuring Keri Hilson (Dirty)
- "Hero" featuring Keri Hilson (Instrumental)