Nas has received heavy criticism after announcing last year he would title his upcoming album “N*****.” The hip-hop star has apparently taken a last-minute decision, changing it to something more incongruous, reports Billboard.com.

The untitled project will be released July 1 via Def Jam. In an interview with MTV News last week, the hip-hop artist confessed that the controversy, which erupted last October when he confirmed the title, had not subdued.

“Record stores are gonna have a problem in this day and time selling a record with that title,” he commented. “Who knows what’s gonna turn out and be on that title? Who knows what that title will be? ... Everybody is trying to stop the title.”

Nas, real name Nasir Jones, was confronted with an indignant response to his album title from people such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who said in a statement the title would be “morally offensive and socially distasteful.”

Jackson went on to say that Nas was exercising his right to free speech, but that it did was in no way honorable. “I wish he would use his talents to lift up and inspire, not degrade,” the civil rights activist concluded.

Nas on the other hand insists that regardless of a title change, the album would be the “same,” with the same content, direction and message.

“It’s been a long time coming. I want my fans to know that creatively and lyrically, they can expect the same content and the same messages... The streets have been waiting for this for a long time. The people will always know what the real title of this album is and what to call it,” he said.

There have been rumors that the album would be re-named “Nas” but no official confirmation has come from Nas or Def Jam.

The 34-year-old singer’s last album, 2006’s “Hip-Hop Is Dead,” his Def Jam debut, sold 743,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.