Forgive this correspondent for his oodles of free time, but we have more news that might tickle your fancy. NYC rapper NAS, he of the wise, cogent urban narratives, is already busy hyping his forthcoming Double-LP, set to drop September 26th (take THAT, Jay-Z!).

The first single, “Thief’s Theme”, which rides a sample of Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”, is already receiving substantial radio airplay. The video features an out-of-shape, flamboyantly gold-toothed NAS wandering around NYC sporting all varieties of masks. If you’re beginning to think this sounds awfully familiar, rest assured that “Thief’s Theme” distinguishes itself from Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” by shirking the B&W cinematography and kicking Rick Rubin to the curb. See? It’s completely different.

If this track is any indication (and since this is NAS we’re talking about, it probably isn’t), the Double-LP should be a must have. Dental bling aside, NAS has been the understated of the two NYC rap moguls, earning his stripes not through press releases but through his music. And there’s no denying his talent. For some time now, NAS has been NYC’s deftest tongue-flicker (sorry Sandra Bernhard). To quote the new single: “The fiend of hip hop has got me stuck like a crack pipe”.