Head of the State

Head of the State is the third studio album by American rapper, Alias. The album was released by Island Def Jam, after a rough departure from Columbia Records, and Seventeenth Amendment Records on November 19, 2004. The album is noted for its political and philosophical elements incorporated into the album. It spawned three hit singles, "Don't Give A Damn", "Dogs In Heat" featuring Snoop Dogg and DMX, "The Hip-Hop National Anthem", and the lukewarm single, "For the People" featuring Anthony Hamilton and John Legend.

The album was recorded months after the release of Seventeen's third studio album, XVII: The Third Level (2003) and finished in July 2004. The album incorporates themes of politics, the hip-hop industry, and philosophy, with aggressive urban beats.

Upon release, Head of the State received critical acclaim, praising Alias's maturity, choice of collaborators, political concepts, and lyrical content. Critics alike consider this album an major tribute to hip-hop, and named it as one of the best Hip-Hop Albums of All Time. Alias recieved two Grammy awards for Best Hip-Hop Album and Best Male Rap Solo Performance for "The Hip-Hop National Anthem", and one Grammy Nomination.

Altogether, Head of the State is his most successful album to date, and reached #1 on the Billboard 200s and #1 on the Top Hip-Hop/Rap Albums Charts.

Background
After the success of his sophomore album, The Infamy, despite lukewarm reception from critics, Alias agreed to return to the studio to record new material for Seventeen's third studio album. However, the idea was further pushed back due to the  lack of promotion for The Infamy Tour, as well as severe conflicts with Columbia, which impacted Seventeen's roster. After expressing concerns with their contracts, Seventeen abruptly departed from Columbia Records and and took a one-year hiatus to search for a new label. On October 14, 2002, it was confirmed that Alias and Seventeen were signed to Island Def Jam Records. Meanwhile, Alias spent most of 2003 and 2004 multitasking by recording material for Seventeen's third album, which was originally called Game Over, and his solo project. This sparked controversy between Alias and Alisa Love who believed that Alias's lyrical abilities differed on the album compared to his third.

On November 3, 2003, Seventeen released their third album, and Alias then decided to continue his album recording, which interfered with the possibility of a tour for Seventeen. On February 15, 2004, Donnie Lanningburg and Kelli Love announced that Seventeen would be taking a hiatus to focus on solo projects, but the reveal was rooted form Alias's sudden distance from the group. Therefore, tension between Alias and the girls were evident, but Donnie Lanningburg reached out to Alias months later and recorded a song respectively for Alias's third album, ''Head of the State. ''