We’ve never seen a second act quite like Nas’
• The QB lyrical genius teamed up with super producer Hit-Boy to create 2020’s King’s Disease. It was the first Nas record Hit-Boy would executive produce and resulted in Nas’ FIRST EVER Grammy win for Rap Album of the Year.
• King’s Disease would become one of two separate concurrent album series by Nas, all of which saw Hit-Boy at the helm.
• With the release of Magic 2 on July 21, the duo has now collaborated on five consecutive Nas projects.
Many listeners have fallen back in love with Nasty Nas and his trademark storytelling, rhyme scheme and wit during this run, while others simply cannot get on board with the Hit-Boy collabs (there’s been a longstanding and widespread belief that beat selection was the lone hole in Esco’s game). However those squabbling over whether or not Nas’ music has been “better” over the last few years is overlooking a rather salient point:
Nas is inspired
• He’s absolutely inspired by Hit-Boy and he’s seemingly inspired by the resolution of his public rift with ex-wife Kelis, with whom he had an ugly back-and-forth with in 2018.
• 2018 was the last year Nas dropped a non-Hit-Boy produced album (excluding The Lost Tapes 2 compilation B-side record), Nasir, which received less than stellar reviews.
• Prior to that, it had been six years since his last LP, the underrated Life Is Good. Together with Hit-Boy, Nas has now put out five quality albums in less than three years.
Nas and Hit-Boy have stumbled upon a chemistry that has resulted in unparalleled productivity, relevancy and excellence for any rapper over 25 years into their career.
Salute to the man who turns 50 next month and has all but laid the blueprint for aging rappers, and by extension, enhanced his argument for the greatest rapper that ever lived.
Simply put, Nas is aging like “Cherry Wine”.