Nas is the rapper who said Hip Hop Is Dead a couple years back, but according to him, someone has saved it.
 
In a recent interview with Complex, the Queensbridge rapper said he thinks Kanye West has saved the genre.

"I think Kanye West saved rap. I think Lil Wayne is showing there is a future for all kinds of artists to continue doing this. You know, I love it," Nas said.

So if the genre is no longer dead, who still gets Nas excited when he hears them? Kanye, Outkast, and Eminem.

He later touched on the issue with his the controversial title he chose for his upcoming album -- which was later changed from Nigger to Untitled -- and said if had had it to do over, he wouldn't.

"I think the Hip Hop Is Dead and the Nigger album, they were for that time. ... People may think it's a controversial title, but it's really what I'm feeling," he told the mag. "I'm not going to make the title less controversial because it's going to offend people."

The interview took place during a Kanye-esque photoshoot for the magazine, and while it's not usually Nas' style, he had fun with it.

"That's not how I dress, but for a magazine spread, it's out there to be fun," explained Nas. "... I always do what I do, so I just wanted to change it up a little bit. Get people talking shit, so it's cool."

Nas' upcoming untitled album hits stores July 15.