At the age of 49, Nas just released his fourth album in two years. Kings Disease III is the third release in the trilogy with a brief pit stop on the Magic LP in between episodes 2 and 3. Whatever fans felt left out on getting from Kanye West beats on what seemed like an appetizer on Nassir, are getting in full courses through the Kings Disease series.
In a previous era, rappers had a shelf that saw most emcees retiring on wax after their 30s to fall back into Hollywood or other endeavors. In this day and age, the most prominent rap acts of all time are still continuing to serve up bars into their 50s. At age 52, Jay-Z is still under a touring agreement for many more years to come and is releasing incredible music on features. Much like Hov, Nassir is known as one (if not the) greatest rapper of all time. One of the only arguments against his legendary career over the past decade has been criticism of his beat selection. That conversation hasn’t continued since the Queensbridge rapper linked up with Hit-Boy.
Nas’ come-up was a gift and a curse, Illmatic is consistently dubbed one of the greatest rap albums of all time. How can you show progression as an artist when your first-ever release is the greatest? Well, the artist pushed boundaries and provided multi-platinum hits and a respectable catalog his entire career. His storytelling abilities and bars never left fans wanting much more from the artist himself and Kings Disease III shows that at age 49, the artist really hasn’t lost a step. Hit-Boy brings a sound that is reminiscent of days passed while also holding a bridge to the current sonic landscape. Beats transform inside a single-track allowing Nas to bring multiple flows to a single record.
I’ve just started to dig into this record but “Reminisce” and “First Time” are two of my first listen standouts. Much like other fans, I’m hoping this Hit-Boy x Nas run isn’t over yet!
