Nas
Magic
Mass Appeal
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Nasir “Nas” Jones becoming a certified prolific artist is a pleasant surprise of the 2020s thus far. The Queensbridge-born emcee has traditionally taken four (and occasionally six) years between releasing projects, seemingly hoping to make each feel like an event.
I must say, shortening the window between long players has suited him well. Magic, his fourteenth studio album (or his fifteenth, if you count 2010’s collaborative album Distant Relatives with Damian Marley), is Nas’ third release in less than a year-and-a-half and his third consecutive project produced entirely by Chauncey “Hit-Boy” Hollis Jr. It’s also his best album in nearly a decade. It’s the type of album that makes reviewers, publications, and podcasts regret putting together their “Best of the Year” releases in late November.
There must be something about Hit-Boy’s beats that really inspires Nas, as Magic comes sixteen months after King’s Disease (2020) and a mere five months post-King’s Disease II. The project, released with little warning on Christmas Eve, is their finest collaboration to date. It’s a logical extension of the first two installments of King’s Disease, touching on many similar themes as explored on those albums, but with a sharper focus.
Even though Magic is not Illmatic (1994) by any stretch of the imagination, of all of his projects released in the past quarter-century, his approach here is similar to his seminal debut. Magic is a tight nine-song release. There is no filler. There are no forced attempts at pop appeal. There are no cheesy hooks by R&B/pop singers. Nas plays to his strengths as an artist, sounding as confident and self-assured as he’s ever been and every bit of the verbal assassin he was in the mid-1990s.
As Nas’ career has progressed, he has spoken more about his shifting position in the hip-hop landscape. He began to embrace his role as a hip-hop elder statesman on King’s Disease II and continues on that path throughout Magic. He leads off the album with “Speechless,” his testament to his longevity as an emcee. In a world where too many rappers and personalities are dying early due to health issues, he reflects on being “21 years past the ’27 Club,’” finding a way to survive the streets that raised him and keep his rep as a premier lyricist intact.
The hard-hitting “40-16 Building” features Nas paying his respects to the environment where he grew up. He sounds driven as he raps over the heavy guitar groove and piercing keys, explaining how he channels the experiences of his youth to write rhymes that will inspire future generations of emcees. “Take my quotes, I’m here to give hope,” he explains. “Start a company from one of my phrases / We in the age of letting dumb shit kill your kingdom / Body bags for no reason, young shit, blunts lit, slurring off of the Seagram’s.”
Nas has a noticeable spring in his step throughout Magic, but it’s really apparent when he’s on his lyrical shit. He sounds extra energized on “Meet Joe Black,” dismissing fake emcees and those who continue to underestimate him. “Leave me out of the weasel shit,” he proclaims. “Be cool when you see me, I’m hotter than all that rap diva shit / The hood know you pussy, so we don't buy or believe in it / Locked in on the instrumental, I took back the key to this.”
Nas sounds like he’s having a blast on “Wave Gods,” where he’s joined by A$AP Rocky and DJ Premier. I know some will be disappointed that Premier is solely working behind the turntables rather than producing for Nas, but the production giant is sharp on the scratches, while Nas kicks his “monotone style like Guru on some Preemo cuts.” Meanwhile, Hit-Boy supplies the album’s bounciest beat, marrying a sped-up vocal sample with a neck-snapping drum track.
Nas continues to elucidate what it means to be an OG in the game on “Hollywood Gangsta,” eschewing the fake pomp and glitz, because “when you get a lil’ older, you move different.” With “Wu For The Children,” he effectively channels both his frustrations and regrets. He laments some of the choices he made and didn’t make, and derides others for holding on too hard to the past or assuming that he can be every aspiring emcee’s ticket to success.
Nas proclaims himself and Hit-Boy as the “new Gang Starr” on “Wave Gods.” I’m not sure if that will become a reality, but it is noteworthy that his work with the producer is inspiring a late-career surge. On “Ugly” he even insists that Magic’s purpose is to build the buzz for the imminent release of King Disease III. Most of the time, I’d dismiss the idea that Nas is really going to put out yet another album so soon, but now it doesn’t seem so far-fetched. And if Magic is any indication of where things are going, I’m certainly optimistic for Nas’ and Hit-Boy’s continuing endeavors.
Notable Tracks: “40-16 Building” | “Meet Joe Black” | “Wave Gods” | “Wu For The Children”
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