Nas’s ninth album, formerly titled Nigger, will be released without a title on July 15. Although he lost his long battle with Universal over what he'd hoped to call the album, the cover art and musical content on the album is certainly suggestive.

“The people will always know what the real title of this album is and what to call it,” says Nas. The first single is the Polow Da Don-produced “Hero,” and additional production comes from Mark Ronson, Stargate, Jay Electronica, Cool & Dre, and Stic.Man from Dead Prez.

Nas released The Nigger Tape (http://www.zshare.net/download/13361286e0c73433/) this week, a mixtape hosted and put together by Green Lantern that includes cuts from the album and remixes. A video for the track “Be a Nigger Too” is also out now and features cameos from Micheal Moore and John Cho, among others (http://www.nasindependenceday.com/).