Nas – “Light-Years” review

Queensbridge, New York icon Nas linking up with DJ Premier for his 18th LP. Known for being the son of jazz cornetist/guitarist Olu Dara, his debut illmatic & the equally classic sophomore effort It Was Written would both go on to be widely acknowledged as some of the greatest albums in hip hop history. I also enjoy stillmatic, The Lost Tapes, God’s Son & Life is Good. Then there was the Kanye West-produced NASIR & The Lost Tapes II, which I felt like they were fine additions to his catalogue even though the overall consensuses were polarizing. Both the King’s Disease & Magic trilogies produced by Hit-Boy however would all become his most celebrated material since Life is Good, finishing Mass Appeal Records’ historic Legend Has It series with the mythical Light-Years coming out after almost 2 whole decades in the making.

“My Life’s Real” opens up by talking about telling the truth because there’s no use in lying over a piano-driven boom bap instrumental just before “Git Ready” brings a funkier vibe to the table laying down criminal lines all because of some paper. “N.Y. State of Mind 3” serves as the trilogy chapter to one of my top 10 Nas songs in his whole entire discography sampling Billy Joel while “Welcome to the Underground” flips a guitar so he can talk about tuning cornballs into cornstarch.

As for “Madman”, we have Nas eerily coming together to drop murderous material from a psycho while “Pause Tapes” recalls making his 1st beat by using dual cassette decks to loop samples. “Writers” blends funk music & boom bap so they can give their flowers to hip hop’s oldest element a.k.a. graffiti writing prior to the “Daughters” sequel “Sons (Young Kings)” sampling a piano for a shoutout to everyone in their lives who have sons of their own wishing them nothing but the most powerful bond.

“It’s Time” continues the 2nd half of Light-Years keeping it funky talking about the whole concept of time itself while “Nasty Esco Nasir” samples some strings mixed with kicks & snares promising the world that we’re entering the 4th phase of his career. “My Story Your Story” featuring AZ makes for the only guest appearance & 1 that doesn’t disappoint, tossing the mic back-&-forth with each other seamlessly for 4 minutes while “Bouquet (To the Ladies)” dedicated itself to the women in our culture.

The song “Junkie” rounds out 3rd with an orchestral boom bap crossover talking about being his great-great-grandfather’s dream in the living flesh while “Shine Together” suggests that easy money is robbery in the grand scheme of things, becoming increasingly phenomenal for every word he spits. “3rd Childhood” finishes off by revisiting the concept of “2nd Childhood” from stillmatic, which I’ve always related to especially since I get older including a reference to the late Black Sabbath frontman & WWE Hall of Famer Ozzy Osbourne.

There was a point in time where people thought Light-Years wouldn’t ever see the light of day similarly to Redman’s 9th album Muddy Waters 2 last Christmas Eve & roughly 37 months since “30” on King’s Disease III teased it, I’m grateful it finally came to finish what has been amongst the most important years in Mass Appeal Records’ entire decade-long history. DJ Premier’s jazzy boom bap production rivals Hit-Boy’s throughout the King’s Disease & Magic series earlier this decade and Nas’ pen continues to sharpen with time.

Score: 4.5/5

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Nas – “Magic 3” review

Nas is a 50 year old MC from Queensbridge, New York known for being the son of jazz cornetist/guitarist Olu Dara as well as his breakout debut illmatic & the equally classic sophomore effort It Was Written going on to be widely acknowledged as some of the greatest albums in hip hop history. I also enjoy stillmatic, The Lost Tapes, God’s Son & Life is Good. Then there was the Kanye West-produced NASIR & The Lost Tapes II, which I felt like they were fine additions to his catalogue even though the overall consensuses were polarizing. But for the last 3 years, Nas has been working exclusively with Hit-Boy since the COVID-19 pandemic & both of them are a good fit for each other. King’s Disease earned Esco his first Grammy, but the sequel as well as Magic & the conclusion to the King’s Disease trilogy each took their chemistry to new heights. But coming off the incredibly solid Magic 2 over the summer, Nas is celebrating his born day by making his 17th album the final installment of the Magic trilogy & the last in his historic 3-year run with Hit-Boy behind the boards.

To open things up, “Fever” hops on top of a sample-based boom bap instrumental by declaring this to be prophecy & that he’s been fly for half a whole century by now whereas “TSK” works in some more kicks & snares with a gloomier loop talking about trying to stay humble yet he can take it back to Nasty if he wants to. “Superhero Status” moves forward with the art of sampling & keeps it boom bap so he can discuss how the way it’s goin’ down is simply a shame, but then “I Love This Feeling” goes for a jazzier yet soulful approach talking about outclassing people.

“No Tears” keeps it rolling by pointing out that it’s hard to find genuine lover over a tension-building beat prior to Lil Wayne coming into the picture for “Never Die” hoping over a soul-inflicted boom bap instrumental talking about both of their legacies in the culture. “Pretty Young Girl” mixes some horns with kicks & snares talking about a queen that has entered his life even though it might be the weakest cut on the album personally just before “Based on True Events” shoots for a triumphant boom bap vibe so Nas can get on his private investigator shit.

The sequel to “Based on True Events” weaves a spacious backdrop in the fold on top of kicks & snares yet again popping someone at the place of a transaction while “Sitting with My Thoughts” dives headfirst into trap territory talking about bouncing back after every loss. “Blue Bentley” encourages you to say that his life ain’t lit over a bombastic instrumental with some hi-hats while “JoDeCi Member” returns to the boom bap telling anyone to try him.

The song “Speechless, Pt. 2” conceptually picks up where the first “Speechless” left off almost 2 years back accompanied by a flute-tinged beat making it clear that you can redo the voice, but you can never read his mind while the penultimate track “Japanese Soul Bar” is a 2-parter with a woozy kickstart & a luxurious switch-up drinking scotch in a bar until the daybreak prior to the drumless “1-800-Nas&Hit” ending an era by comparing all both trilogies to that of a greatest hits collection referencing the Star Wars franchise owned by The Walt Disney Company subsidiary Lucasfilm.

I’m sure Nas is gonna take a year off to prepare for the next chapter of his career, but to say it’s been exciting to hear his chemistry with Hit-Boy evolving from the first King’s Disease to literally every album they’ve done together would be an understatement & this could very well be my 2nd favorite installment of the Magic trilogy behind the one that started it all. The production’s more soulful in comparison to the last 5 LPs they’ve done in the last 3 years & the lyricism hits harder than the predecessor did earlier this summer.

Score: 4.5/5

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Nas – “Magic 2” review

This is the 16th full-length album from Queensbridge veteran Nas. The son of jazz cornetist/guitarist Olu Dara, the breakout debut illmatic & & the equally classic sophomore effort It Was Written are widely acknowledged as some of the greatest in hip hop history. I also enjoy stillmatic, The Lost Tapes, God’s Son & Life is Good. Then there was the Kanye West-produced NASIR & The Lost Tapes II, which I felt like they were fine additions to his catalogue even though the overall consensuses were polarizing. But for almost 3 years now, Nas has been working exclusively with Hit-Boy & both of them are a good fit for each other. King’s Disease earned Esco his first Grammy, but the sequel as well as Magic & the 3rd installment of the King’s Disease trilogy each took their chemistry to new heights. But ahead of KDIV, we’re preluded by a sequel to Magic.

After the intro, the first song “Abracadabra” is a glistening trap opener with Nasty Nas promising to do those who want to try him grimy whereas “Office Hours” featuring 50 Cent finds the 2 former rivals joining forces over a soulful boom bap instrumental seeing a bunch of Fredos referencing The Godfather II of course. 50’s verse however could’ve been longer unfortunately. “Black Magic” works in some pianos asking God to protect the G’s, ladies & children just before “Motion” brings back the kicks & snares adding some bells & strings into the fold havin’ exactly that.

“Bokeem Woodbine” keeps it dusty swapping out the bells & strings with more keys providing motivation for the trappers livin’ ounce-to-ounce leading into “Earvin Magic Johnson” assuring to enterprise over a horn-inflicted trap beat. “What This All Really Means” looks back on the first time he ever saw his name on a flyer with lavish instrumentation, but then “Slow It Down” confesses he needs money everyday returning to the boom bap.

The penultimate track yet official closer “Pistols On Your Album Cover” hooks up these kicks & snares with a mellow loop reminding that he can still murder anyone on wax & forget where they’re buried chockfull of clever references that is until the bonus cut “1 Mic, 1 Gun” featuring 21 Savage blends trap & jazz together so both of them flexing that they still gonna do what they did then in the present. Not only was a great way to squash all the drama surrounding 21 & Nas last fall, but I think everyone deluded by the hip hop generation gap can learn something from it too.

Hit-Boy’s run with Nas has been absolutely special & Magic 2 continues to cement that by progressively improving on what made the predecessor alongside the 3rd installment of the KD series the best albums they’ve done together. The eclectic production demonstrates his range & with the pen, Esco feels as if he’s been reborn even though he continues to make history almost 3 decades in.

Score: 4/5

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Nas – “King’s Disease III” review

Nas is a 49 year old MC from Queens, New York who happens to be the son of jazz cornetist/guitarist Olu Dara. His first 2 full-lengths illmatic & It Was Written are widely acknowledged as some of the greatest in hip hop history even though I also really enjoy stillmatic, The Lost Tapes, God’s Son & Life is Good. Then there was the Kanye West-produced NASIR & The Lost Tapes II, which I felt like they were fine additions to his catalogue even though the overall consensuses were polarizing. But for almost 3 years now, Nas has been working exclusively with Hit-Boy & both of them are a good fit for each other. King’s Disease earned Esco his first Grammy, but the sequel & Magic would continue to elevate their chemistry to new heights. However, Hit-Boy & my 2nd favorite MC of all-time behind The God Rakim are now looking to end the King’s Disease trilogy with his 15th album.

“Ghetto Reporter” kicks off the album with a piano sample & Nasty Nas talking about evolving from King’s Disease at some point in time whereas “Legit” samples Eddie Cain declaring to be blacker than the new Black Panther movie that just came out today. “Thun” has a more orchestral groove to it representing Queensbridge along with the best line on the entire album. Ring halfway through the verse which is “No beef or rivals, they playin’ “Ether” on TIDAL. Brothers can do anythin’ when they decide to in a Range Rover, dissectin’ bars from “Takeover”. Sometimes I text Hova like “N***a, this ain’t over” laughin’” just before “Michael & Quincy” goes into boom bap turf with a trap switch-up during the last minute comparing him & Hit-Boy to the late Michael Jackson & Quincy Jones respectively.

Continuing from there with “30”, we have Nas over a dramatic trap beat reminding everyone how many summers he’s been doing this shit as well as teasing Light-Years & responding to his falling out with Pete Rock leading into the futuristically produced “Hood2Hood” repping a lot of cities from Canarsie to Compton & even Detroit. “Recession Proof” dives into funnier territory talking about feeling like a superhero, but then “Reminisce” blends soul & boom bap together until an amazing Brooklyn drill switch-up at the end admitting that he doesn’t like to look back on the past because what he’s doin’ right now is really lit which I think needed to be said because I’ve seen some bitter & disgruntled heads complaining about Nas working with Hit-Boy over the last couple years for whatever their reasons may be.

“Serious” is less of an interlude & more of a song about serious situations everyone eventually goes through over some harps until “I’m on Fire” returns to the soulful boom bap telling everyone he still has the same flame behind him from the “Hate Me Now” video which is such a hard flex in my opinion. “WTF / SMH” starts off on a trap note talking about riders ever get cancelled until the beat switch into a drumless loop & addressing how everybody’s so quick to turn while “Once a Man, Twice a Child” gives off a more dreamy boom bap vibe basically giving his thoughts on growing old which I needed to hear since I personally became an uncle last Thursday.

Following that, “Get Light” comes through with a jazzy party anthem while the swooning boom bap jam “1st Time” talks about hoping that this is your introduction to him & I really loved the bar at the beginning of the final verse acknowledging that people used to say he was the worst beat picker ever even though I myself never really agreed with it personally. The penultimate track “Beef” finds Nas remarkably personifying rap beefs themselves further reminding everyone how great of a storyteller he is with darker atmosphere to the instrumental while “Don’t Shoot” is powerful 2-parter cautioning not to kill thе messenger. The bonus cut “‘Til My Last Breath” though ends the album is a jazzy trap banger promising to be steppin’ until he’s gone.

Earlier on in the review I mentioned the fact that some people don’t like working with Nas & Hit-Boy, but I genuinely don’t understand how anyone can dislike King’s Disease III because it’s the best of the 4 albums that they’ve done so far. The production is more versatile in sound & God’s Son is still very much rapping his motherfucking ass off on the mic all these decades later.

Score: 4.5/5

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Nas – “Magic” review

This is the 15th full-length album from Queens icon Nas. For those who’re living under a rock, his first 2 albums illmatic & It Was Written are widely acknowledged as some of the greatest in hip hop history. I also wanna include stillmatic, The Lost Tapes, God’s Son & Life is Good. Then there was the Kanye West-produced NASIR & The Lost Tapes II, which I felt like they were fine additions to his catalogue even though the overall consensuses were polarizing. But for almost 2 years now, Nas has been working exclusively with Hit-Boy & both of them are a good fit for each other. King’s Disease earned Esco his first Grammy & the sequel that dropped over the summer was more superior in terms of quality, but are finishing off 2021 by dropping Magic.

“Speechless” is an unsettling opener to the whole album talking about getting his weight & safe up whereas “Meet Joe Black” takes things into boom bap territory advising not to fuck with him. “Ugly” incorporates some wavy synth melodies to detail some hardships & to confirm King’s Disease III is indeed in the works, but then “40-16 Building” is pretty much a glorious sequel to “Rare Form” off his last album.

Meanwhile on “Hollywood Gangsta”, we have Nas detailing being on top & surprising listeners with a bit of a quirky groove to the beat leading into the drumless “Wu is for the Children” talking about the special kind of things in life. The song “Wave Gods” with A$AP Rocky finds the 2 on top of an organ & some dusty drums to get charmingly boastful while the penultimate track “The Truth” makes me so happy calling out people on their bluff. “Dedicated” then finishes off the album with an incredible 2-parter about devoting his life to this shit referencing WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson.

Magic in my eyes is on the same caliber as King’s Disease II & only increases my anticipation for the 3rd installment of the series even more. Hit-Boy continues to expand on the production versatility that the predecessor displayed & Esco keeps showing how a late career MC should be spitting.

Score: 4.5/5

Nas – “King’s Disease II” review

If you know a single thing about hip hop, then you should know who Nas is. His first 2 albums illmatic & It Was Written are widely acknowledged as some of the greatest in hip hop history, but I wanna remind everyone that those aren’t the only 2 good albums he’s ever made. I also highly enjoyed stillmatic, The Lost Tapes, God’s Son & Life is Good. Then there was the Kanye West-produced NASIR & The Lost Tapes II, both which received polarizing responses even though I felt like they were fine additions to his catalogue. Then came the Hit-Boy-produced King’s Disease last summer, which I maintain is what the untitled album should’ve been. However after winning his first Grammy back in March, the pair are reuniting for Nas’ 14th full-length album.

“The Pressure” is an airy boom bap opener saying he has to inspire people like he hasn’t already whereas “Death Row East” recalls his run-ins with Suge & the instrumental has a bit of a Middle Eastern flare to it. “40 Side” goes into more trap territory recalling the place where he saw it all while “EPMD 2” serves as a sequel to “EPMD” off the Judas & the Black Messiah soundtrack, except Eminem & EPMD themselves actually pop up.

Meanwhile on “Rare”, we go back into boom bap turf saying he’s in the zone just before he & A Boogie wit da Hoodie talk about getting places poppin’ off when they pop up on the trap banger “YKTV”. The soul sample “Store Run” works in is sweet as Nas pays homage to those we’ve lost in the last 8 months leading into the nostalgic “Moments”.

“Nobody” has a bit of a jazzy feel in the production with him & Lauryn Hill about a place that you wouldn’t know problems whereas “No Phony Love” is a mediocre sex cut if you couldn’t tell by the title. “Brunch on Sunday’s” works in some keyboard melodies getting in his Esco bag whereas “Count Me In” drearily exposes who the fake really are.

The song “Composure” with Hit-Boy himself finds the 2 jumping on top of a jazzy beat co-produced with Rogét Chahayed talking about them raising the totem while the penultimate track “My Bible” gets spiritual from the lyrics to the gospel-tinged instrumental. Lastly, the closer “Nas is Good” brings back another soul sample to lyrically annihilate everything in his path.

I was a bit worried about this going into it because sequel albums usually don’t live up to the hype of the predecessor, but that is NOT the case for King’s Disease II. Hit-Boy shows his versatility as a producer, Nas sounds more sharper lyrically & it doesn’t seem like a bunch of leftovers from previous sessions.

Score: 4/5

Nas – “King’s Disease” review

This is the 12th full-length album from Queensbridge icon Nas. A man who really doesn’t need an introduction at this point because of the fact that his first 2 albums illmatic & It Was Written are widely acknowledged as some of the greatest in hip hop history. Other high points in Escobar’s discography include stillmatic, The Lost Tapes, God’s Son & Life is Good. Then after a 6-year hiatus, Nas returned in 2018 with the Kanye West-produced NASIR & then with The Lost Tapes II last summer. Both which received polarizing responses, but I felt like they were fine additions to his catalogue. However after leaving Def Jam Recordings & to celebrate his newfound independence, Nas is teaming up with California producer Hit-Boy for King’s Disease.

Things start off with the title track, where Nas talks about how he’s gracefully aging over an angelic beat. The next song “Blue Benz” ponders the value & worth of the stuff we buy over a lavish instrumental co-produced by Rogét Chahayed while the track “Car #85” fondly reminisces on his younger days over a calming boom bap beat. The song “Ultra Black” is a full blown Black Lives Matter theme with an instrumental kin to Life is Good & even though I appreciate the call for more black CEOs on the track “27 Summers”, it just sounds unfinished to me.

The song “Replace Me” with Big Sean sees the 2 getting flirtatious over a lush beat while the track “‘Til the War is Won” with Lil Durk finds both of them talking about single mothers over an atmospheric instrumental. The song “All Bad” with Anderson .Paak sees the 2 talking about their significant others doing them dirty over a piano instrumental with a funky ass rhythm to it while “The Definition” dives into the meaning of the album’s title & I love the uplifting feel to the production.

The track “Full Circle” is an immaculate Firm reunion down to the eargasmic beat that G. Ry co-produced & the Dr. Dre outro while the song “10 Points” talks about the meaning of being a king over a jazzy beat & the drums just hit so hard, that they’re bound to blow some speakers out. “The Cure” has the most dynamic instrumental of the entire album as Nas pays tribute to Kobe Bryant & Nipsey Hu$$le, but then the closer “Spicy” with A$AP Ferg & Fivio Foreign finds the 3 bragging over a trap beat that has a bit of a luxurious feel to it.

Not only is this better than the last 2 albums Nas has put out, but I’ll even go as far to say that this is honestly what the 2008 untitled album should’ve been. Nas’ gets on his pro-black shit which is perfect given everything that’s been going on this year & Hit-Boy nails it behind on the boards.

Score: 4/5

Nas – “The Lost Tapes II” review

Nas. What can be said now about the renown Queensbridge, New York MC that hasn’t been said already? From his first 2 studio albums illmatic & It Was Written to The Lost Tapes & Life is Good, the man has really cemented himself as one of the greatest spitters in all of hip hop. He is fresh off his overhated Kanye West produced comeback NASIR last summer & now, he’s back with the sequel to his iconic rarities compilation.

The comp starts off with “No Bad Energy”, which is of course a positivity anthem with a Swizz Beatz instrumental with some beautiful background vocals. The next track “Vernon Family” talks about being rich over a funky instrumental from Pharrell & despite the decent braggadocio on “Jarreau of Rap”, the jazzy instrumental is absolutely HIDEOUS! The track “Lost” proclaims himself as a prophet over a lavish boom bap beat from Statik Selektah while the song “Tanasia” talks about a woman over this orchestral RZA beat.

The track “Royalty” is a mediocre dedication to this young queen over a decent Hit-Boy beat while the song “Who Are You?” brags over some keyboards. The track “Adult Film” needs no further explanation & the piano instrumental from Swizz Beatz is pretty while the song “War Against Love” is an ode to Africa with a relaxing instrumental.

The track “The Art of It” talks about smoking weed over a funky boom bap beat from Pete Rock while the song “Highly Flavored” talks about his fate & the sample that RZA uses is very creative. The track “Queens Wolf” talks about his evolution over a DJ Toomp instrumental with some prominent keyboards & strings while the song “It Never Ends” talks about ongoing violence in the hood over an ominous piano instrumental from The Alchemist.

The track “You Mean the World to Me” is a corny story about a woman that leaves her partner just to be with Nasir over a Kanye instrumental that samples “Don’t It Make You Feel Good?” by Leroy Hudson while the penultimate song “Queensbridge Politics” pays tribute to Prodigy over a boom bap beat from Pete Rock with some dark piano keys. The album then finishes with Beautiful Life”, where Nas addresses Kelis’ slander towards him over a luxurious No I.D. instrumental.

Been a long time waiting on this album & at the end, I think it’s pretty dope. The production is better than half of the albums that they were originally made for & Nas’ pen game overall is a step up from NASIR.

Score: 4/5

Nas – “NASIR” review

Despite saying it was done when DJ Khaled gave us a Major 🔑 in the Summer of 2016, the legendary Queensbridge MC Nas is finally coming through with his 11th album & he has enlisted Kanye West to produce it in it’s entirety.

The album begins with “Not for Radio”, where he vents about how he feels like the world is afraid of African American people over some haunting choir vocals. The next track “Cops Shot the Kid” with Kanye sees the 2 talking about police brutality over a perfect sample of the classic Slick Rick tune “Children’s Story” while the song “White Label” is pretty much a humble brag with a beautiful sample. The track “Bonjour” gets romantic over a soulful beat with some strings while the song “Everything” does talk about the current state of the world over some marching drums & a funky bass guitar, the first 2 minutes could’ve been cut off easily. The penultimate track track “Adam & Eve” lyrically reminds me of his Escobar days over some piano keys & then the closer “Simple Things” pretty much speaks for itself over a soulful beat.

As expected, this is tied with Pusha T’s latest album DAYTONA for being my favorite of the 5 albums that Kanye has dropped within the past month. I’m not surprised by the fact that it’s 7 tracks long given the other 3 albums are also in that length & it’s well produced, but Nas’ performances are a bit underwhelming to where hearing him offbeat is distracting.

Score: 3/5