“I’m in my third prime”: ranking the Nas & Hit-Boy hexalogy.
A comprehensive ranking of Nas and Hit-Boy’s once-thought-unlikely partnership.
banner retrieved from Nas’ Facebook.
In the 2007 BET documentary This is the N, Nas imagines, “When I'm fifty years old, I wanna have fifty-year-old fans, sixty-year-old fans, and sixteen-year-old fans.” Little did he know that at 49, he’d be triumphantly sampling this very quote on “Ghetto Reporter” from King’s Disease III, the fourth of six Hit-Boy-produced projects that have rejuvenated Nas’ career. With the recently released Magic 3 serving as the swan song to both the Magic trilogy and the Nas & Hit-Boy series in its entirety, now is a better time than ever to evaluate the highest and lowest points of the formidable duo’s substantial output.
6. King’s Disease II (2021)
It seems that Nas & Hit-Boy’s thesis following the original King’s Disease was to go bigger, and that, they did. A fan-favorite amongst the trilogy, King’s Disease II sports a bulky tracklist and several guest verses from other seasoned rap legends (Eminem and Ms. Lauryn Hill, to name two). But given the added factor of star power, was it wrong to expect something more momentous from this record?
King’s Disease II sets the standard for what the rest of Nas & Hit-Boy’s releases would look like, placing more emphasis on punchy lyricism and cohesion. However, that cohesion also gives way to a bit of homogeneity. Besides standout tracks such as “Death Row East” and the hypnotic “Rare,” there is a fair share of duller tracks that fail to make a real impression. Still, the record is enjoyable overall, with Nas’ calm, composed delivery reminding you of a laid-back, luxurious car ride with the top down: a sentiment precisely echoed in the boastful, yet collected hook on “Y.K.T.V.”: “Every time I pop out, it pop off / Y.K.T.V., got the top off.”
Hit-Boy’s production caters to Nas’ natural habitat: smooth, soulful beats. For his part, Nas manages an effortless confidence over Hit-Boy beats that wasn’t apparent before. The pair’s synergy only continued to grow as they developed their sound, though their linear trajectory inevitably meant that King’s Disease II was later eclipsed in this aspect. Some great precedents for harmonious collaboration are set here, though, Nas and Hit even going so far as to trade bars with one another on “Composure.”
5. King’s Disease (2020)
On their first outing, Nas & Hit-Boy’s chemistry was already palpable, albeit not quite fully realized. One must consider that the Nas on King’s Disease is still reemerging into the rap game, adjusting course from the mixed receptions elicited by 2018’s NASIR (an unexpected dud considering Kanye West’s intimate involvement in its production). At least here, Nas is struggling less to find his footing in hip-hop’s present climate, relying on Hit-Boy to guide the way with unexpectedly zany production choices, the likes of which range from hard-hitting trap to a crisp Anderson .Paak drumline (see the mellow ballad that is “All Bad”).
With the immense volume of creative input from Hit-Boy also came a barrage of, frankly, wholly unnecessary features from current hitmakers like Don Toliver and Lil Durk. Sure, this allows Nas to display just how well he holds his own against the new generation, but at times it smacks of a burnout dwelling around his old college campus, pitifully bragging about how these were once his stomping grounds. Instead of trying to blend in with the up-and-coming, Nas is at his best on this project when he asserts his position as a father figure to the genre, offering advice based on his experiences with rap, love, and life in general. This reflective wiseman attitude is best represented on songs like “The Definition” and “10 Points.”
From a few awkward, stumbling flows to the overall lack of cohesion on this project, it’s rather obvious in retrospect that King’s Disease is a hefty adjustment for Nas. But it ultimately contains more artistic direction than the entire previous decade of staggered Nas releases did, and with its flaws comes a charming unconventionality that remains to be revisited throughout the rest of the trilogy it’s a part of.
4. Magic (2021)
Instead of another round of challenging trap beats à la the King’s Disease trilogy, Magic sees Nas as he harkens back to old-school beats, with Hit-Boy carefully emulating hip-hop’s ‘90s golden age. Hitting the ground running on “Speechless” with the opening lines “I'm twenty-one years past the 27 Club / It's like I went back into my past and then I sped it up,” Nas lets us know that no rose-tinted glasses are needed; he intends to recapture the magic (pun intended) and nostalgia of his hailed debut Illmatic and the subsequent releases of his prime.
Whereas Nas finds comfort in the classic world of Magic, it is now Hit-Boy who is playing catch-up. With production credits spanning the likes of Big Sean, Dom Kennedy, and Travis Scott, Hit-Boy has had more experience in the synth-filled, contemporary sphere of hip-hop, and it’s safe to say that up to this point, boom-bap was hardly his forte. Clumsy sampling and drawn-out drumless portions are unfortunately prevalent here, creating dissonance between Nas’s elite pen game and the repetitive beats. This same issue appears on many of Nas’s more forgotten records from the late 2000s and early 2010s, and due to it, even some of the most concise tracks end up overstaying their welcome.
As previously mentioned, “Speechless” starts Magic with a bang, featuring unorthodox lyrical pockets that, when also sprinkled throughout the rest of the album, ensure that Magic attains memorability that King’s Disease I and II had lacked. On “Dedicated,” Nas switches flows so relentlessly that the song hardly feels four minutes long. The middle of the album, however, experiences a bit of a lull, struggling to maintain energy despite a shorter tracklist. Nonetheless, a couple of the best cuts of the entire series are found there, including the electric “Wave Gods.” It features a breezy A$AP Rocky verse along with record scratches from Gang Starr’s own DJ Premier, who, on a record meant to pay tribute to hip-hop’s upbringing, is as close as it gets. It’s in these premium moments of fusion between the old and the new school that Magic truly shines.
3. Magic 2 (2023)
The second entry in the Magic series, Magic 2’s short-but-sweet 32-minute runtime leaves it no time to slow down–not even on the ironically fiery, fast-paced “Slow it Down.” With an abundance of trumpets, shouting, and BPMs in the 150s, Nas & Hit-Boy work harder than ever to grip the listener’s attention, with no intentions of letting it go.
Magic 2’s production is less primordial than its predecessor, with a more modern touch throughout. A notable instance of this is the stagnating triplet hi-hats signature to Hit-Boy’s sound. Decisions like these may make the album stick out like a sore thumb amongst the trilogy, but the blend of trap and boom-bap works well, playing especially to the beatmaker’s strengths. Lyrically speaking, Nas packs a punch once more, delivering rapid-fire lines that, while lacking slightly in substance at times, are still wholly skillful and addictive to fans of intricate rhyme schemes and lyricism. “Abracadabra” sees the duo at their absolute best, with addictive energy oozing from a high-tempo Hit-Boy beat matched by Nas’ unabashed confidence. This is exemplified on the chorus, where he repeatedly asserts, “Ain’t no way we could miss.”
Recontextualized in light of its successor, though, Magic 2 seems to have served more as a gateway to greater things than a standalone triumph in its own right. Many of the ideas explored here, particularly the more sinister-sounding direction taken on tracks like the unremitting “Motion,” resurface in more polished environments on Magic 3. In this way, it sits in the shadow of its immediate successor as if it were a deluxe album, or perhaps one of Nas’ “The Lost Tapes” compilations. Regardless, the sheer quality of this record track-by-track cannot be overlooked.
2. King’s Disease III (2022)
Simply put, this is a victory lap done right. Nas spends the majority of King’s Disease III on the topic of his past accolades, but in a way so masterful that it netted him yet another award. Indeed, the record was recently Grammy-nominated for Best Rap Album, an honor now bestowed on each entry of the King’s Disease trilogy. A featureless tracklist gives Nas ample room to get any and all gems of wisdom off of his chest, which he does at a level of proficiency only attainable to an emcee with decades spent behind the mic.
This time around, Hit continues to lean on trap instrumentation, but with far more nuanced drum patterns and song structuring than before. Hit-Boy’s beat switches and Nas’ highly adaptable flows being applied at every corner make for a satisfyingly steadfast listen. A specific highlight of the two’s now-fully realized potential is “Michael and Quincy” when, with the drums carrying the song in an unpredictable direction, Nas delivers an insane Michael Jackson-related scheme for eight bars straight. Nas’ reference game is A1 when it comes to his childhood and the old school–otherwise, when he tries to fit into the modern scope of pop culture, it can get a little clunky. (Naming a song “WTF SMH?” Really, Nas?)
King’s Disease III is mixtape-like in its sequencing, offering nothing but Nas’ most impressive flows over stadium-ready beats from front to back. There are a few individual tracks that don’t necessarily leave lasting impressions, but no matter. The album is best listened to in full, granting an experience much aligned with the tape-deck days Nas celebrates in songs like “Reminisce” and “‘Til My Last Breath,” both of which detail his tumultuous days past and, now, his raw determination to keep going.
1. Magic 3 (2023)
Just months ago on Magic 2, Nas rapped: “2020 when we did the first one, five-album run, not a cursed one, it's a blessed one / By the time y'all hear this, we be halfway through the next one.” He wasn’t lying. Magic 3 not only dropped a mere four months after, but also ended up doubling its runtime. Whereas the other two entries relied on succinct tracklists to maintain quality throughout, Magic 3 holds nothing back. Nas & Hit-Boy’s final act sports a tracklist 15-strong with hardly any lackluster moments–and a surplus of absolutely unforgettable ones.
In playfully interpolating his adorned tracks of years past (for one, “Fever” calls back to the iconic “Represent”), Nas puts his confidence in this album’s quality on full display. He has finally concocted a perfect balance between paying homage to his legacy while simultaneously being unafraid of originality. He boasts of his solidity on “Never Die,” rapping, “Homie, I lovе the new NY 'cause I'm thе new NY / And the old NY at the same time.” This track’s ingenuity is commendable: Lil Wayne lyrically obliterates the head-bumping beat in his feature verse. Sprinkle in the tasteful Smokey Robinson sample, and it becomes exactly the type of stylistic mishmash that Nas fans have been waiting for. That said, Hit-Boy has indeed finally mastered the art of sampling on this record, which makes all the difference in the world. The production on Magic 3 is overall grander and has far more depth to it. Warm, booming sonics found on “I Love This Feeling” and “Jodeci Member” are evocative of the analog mixing and mastering tactics employed on Illmatic.
Magic 3’s well-roundedness places it a cut above the rest of this run. Thematically, this album is less of a fruitless race to keep up with contemporaries, and more of Nas leaning all the way back into the weathered flair he so effortlessly conveys. The project also forays into darker territory with respect to both production and lyricism. The ominous “TSK” features looming bass and a distorted piano sample, complemented by piercing lines such as “First thing I learned when I was coming up in age / When they stumble in your space, is to punch 'em in the face.” If not for the occasional, tasteful trap elements sprinkled throughout, Magic 3 could have easily passed for being straight from Nas' early career. The project as a whole ends up offering a wonderfully vivid, faithful glimpse of the same magic that was omnipresent in Nas’ (and hip-hop’s) reputed glory days.
Even before his twilight-years renaissance, one would have been hard-pressed to find a career more decorated than that of Nasir Jones. Now, with yet another lauded run of albums under his belt, his already-cemented legacy has been granted extra reinforcement. As for Hit-Boy, the ability to acclimate to one of hip-hop’s most respected acts showcases his out-of-this-world adaptability and skillful curation. The doors that have been opened for him by producing this series will likely keep him busy and inspired for the foreseeable future.
This ranking’s close semblance to the chronological order of the series is only a testament to Nas & Hit-Boy’s tireless dedication to their craft. The pair put their noses to the grindstone with every release, honing their individual disciplines and then integrating their respective skill sets. Still driven, Nas himself sums it up best on Magic 3’s “No Tears,” where he expresses the exact sentiment he wants fans to take away from his monumental resurgence and career at large: “My favorite era from you, can’t even pick one.”
edited by Alexander Malm.
banner retrieved from Nas’ Facebook.
album artwork believed to belong to either the publisher of the work or the artist.
