Nas' New Album "King's Disease III" Is Phenomenal And 21 Savage Can Choke On One For Saying It's Not And That Nas Is "Irrelevant"
Don't look now people, but Nasty Nasir Jones is on a fucking heater.
Late last week, Nas dropped his sixteenth studio album, King's Disease III. The album is the third entry in Nas' King's Disease series of albums, and acts as a sequel to his 2020 album King's Disease and his 2021 album King's Disease II. The album, as with the previous two albums in the series, was executive produced by Nas and American record producer Hit-Boy.
We're talking a career now spanning 25 years, with basically no misses. Sure he's had a couple of misfires, like "The Firm" project (which I still maintain was only hated on because of when it came out - the true golden age of Hip Hop, and the hype leading up to it that was impossible to satisfy. If that album came out today, with the garbage we're used to now, it is much, much better received. End rant.)
Nas fans will argue all day who he collabs best with behind the boards in the producer's studio, and he's worked with all the best. From the aforementioned Dr. Dre (on The Firm), to Large Professor, L.E.S., Trackmasters, Salaam Remi, No I.D., and of course, the one and only DJ Premier. But for my money, his tag team partner from the 2000's, Hit Boy and he always had something special going. And I couldn't be happier the two reunited all these years later.
This album features zero guest artists, it's straight Nas for 17 tracks over classic NY gutter hip-hop beats. Nas is almost 50 years old now, and in a way Jay-Z hasn't figured out how to pull off with the success of his younger albums, Nas has perfected the art of rhyming about his career longevity, legit hustling in the legal sense, living the good life, and not forgetting where he came from.
On “Thun” Nas goes in over a sample of Boogie Down Productions’ “The Bridge Is Over”, and he actually addresses his and Jay-Z's long-ago beef they've since squashed, in a congenial way.
“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,’”
On “30”, we find Nas reflecting on doing his rap thing for "almost 30 summers," and he even alludes to the rumored collab album between him and DJ Premier hip hop fans have been begging for, for decades.
This album is amazing, not an exaggeration at all. And not just in the sense of being compared to the trash hip hop we're subjected to in 2022.
If you're a fan of classic hip hop, and/or songs with actual substance, you will love this album
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At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album has received an average score of 97 based on four reviews, indicating universal acclaim. Which is absolutely bonkers in this day and age.
This is why it's even more laughable that that clown 21 Savage is speaking out once again about how he thinks "Nas is irrelevant".
TMZ - During a heated Clubhouse debate about rappers' longevity, 21 questioned Nas' relevancy as a whole … in addition to why fans still dissected hip hop music like it was anatomy class.
The Slaughter Gang rapper was also accused of "ageism" AKA hating on older MCs … similar to DJ Akademiks' recent controversy.
21 virtually shot down every example of Nas' relevancy during the argument -- including his 2020 Grammy Award win, and doesn't think having ride-or-die fans who date back to his classic 1994 debut album "Illmatic" counts for current-day relevance.
I always thought this guy was a joke, but this just confirms it.
To put it in a sports metaphor, this is like Zach Wilson saying Dan Marino is dog shit. It's disrespectful, ignorant, and just flat-out fighting words. I hope for nothing greater than for Nas to fucking bury this stunad.
p.s. - Nas also announced a special "trilogy show" at the Madison Square Garden on February 24th…
If you don't think I'm flying in for this show you're outside your mind.
Check out King's Disease III on Spotify and Apple Music below