accessAtlanta

HEAR WHAT, WHERE AND WHY

• The event: The Jones Experience, as the July 31 concert with hip-hop's lyrical giant Talib Kweli, buzzed-about rapper-producer Jay Electronica and New York fave DJ Green Lantern is billed.

(ENLARGE)
Nas, whose 'Untitled' is the No. 1 album in the country, says he would prefer being called 'a street artist' rather than a rapper.
MOST POPULAR STORIES Police: Jeffrey Donovan arrested, suspected of DUI Report: Abdul's return to 'American Idol' doubtful Beastie Boy Adam Yauch has 'very treatable' cancer Fallon's '7th Floor West' is a silly, soapy treat Chris Brown apologizes for Rihanna beating
EMAIL THIS PRINT THIS MOST POPULAR

• The main attraction: Headliner Nas, who has the No. 1 album in the country — which is listed on the Billboard charts as "Untitled," but for months was going by the n-word. In the end, he says, "I just got tired of pushing it back and fighting people about it. ... But the people know what the real time of this album is, and what to call it."

• The Atlanta connections: On record he continues to tout the Queensbridge neighborhood of Long Island that gave him his start, but the artist born Nasir Jones has lived here for six years. "I've always loved the South. And Atlanta is in a class by itself. It just felt like home before I even moved there. And everybody makes you feel like family. ... So it was easy for me and my wife [recording artist Kelis] to make a home there."

Fellow local talents Polow Da Don, DJ Toomp and Keri Hilson also contributed to Nas' current CD. "Polow, I mean, he's music," he says. "He's just got a whole different style, that's just electric. ... Having Keri on [his first single] 'Hero' is like having a little sunshine, a little happiness. And DJ Toomp, he's a pioneer. An OG [original gangster]. He's been around long enough to understand all of this [expletive] in music. And he's somebody I plan to continue to work with in the future."

• The O'Reilly factor: Nas appears rather prescient on "Untitled," noting people should watch what they say on Fox News on the single "Sly Fox." "Of course, I didn't know Jesse [Jackson] was going to get caught saying something stupid when the mike was still on, but I'm not surprised it happened. ... But my deal with Fox goes back way before all of this nonsense Bill O'Reilly is talking about me now. It goes back to like last year, when they did three shows on me. It was around the time of the Virginia Tech shooting and they were trying to keep me out of the panel discussions about it, calling me a gangster rapper. A violent rapper. Just calling me a rapper now bothers me. What we do is street art. I'd rather be called a street artist.

"Anyway, the remarks they made were so stupid. They just do it for the ratings. Funny thing is, they act like nobody can say anything about them. Oh, well."

• THE 411: The Jones Experience. $39 day of show. Doors open at 6:30 and 10:30 p.m. July 31. (The first show is sold out.) Center Stage, 1374 W. Peachtree St., Atlanta. 404-249-6400, www.ticketmaster.com.