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Nas
Magic 3
Mass Appeal
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I’m running out of superlatives for what Nasir “Nas” Jones has done with his 2020s push. Magic 3 is the sixth and final full-length collaboration between the Queensbridge emcee and Chauncey “Hit-Boy” Hollis, Jr. There have been three installments of King’s Disease, and now three installments of their Magic series. All were released in the space of a little less than 37 months, and it’s extremely impressive that the pair have maintained such a high-level of quality over those three years. It’s also impressive that Magic 3 is out less than two months after the duo gave the public Magic 2.

Magic 3’s release coincided with Nas’ 50th birthday. Nas is far from the first emcee to reach this milestone, as some of the best rappers to ever pick up the mic are now over a half-century old. However, Nas is one of the few who, at the age of 50, has put out a better album than he did when he was 30. At an age when many rappers are making their money touring overseas, Nas is in the public sphere for recording and releasing new material.

Of the six total Nas & Hit-Boy collaborations, Magic 3 probably ranks third, after the first Magic (2021) and King’s Disease III (2022). It’s a victory lap of an album, where Nas celebrates the final (for now) chapter in his partnership with Hit-Boy. Like other chapters in this saga, he spends a lot of time talking about the beginning of his journey. Hence, it makes sense that, sonically, it’s the most reminiscent of the mid-1990s era when he debuted.

Magic 3 starts with “Fever,” Nas’ audio celebration of his 50th birthday. He narrates his visit to an upscale restaurant and his subsequent party at his penthouse, surrounded by friends and family. “A '73 baby—I say a speech, maybe,” he raps. “Besides the Littles and Joneses, hip-hop made me / Born in New York, I hope the Most High keeps you / I wish at least 50 on all my good people.” The hook on the track references “Represent” from Illmatic (1994), flipping the meaning to “representing” for existing half a century on this planet.

Nas reflects quite a bit on where his life has led him throughout Magic 3. He runs through the progression of his musical career on “I Love This Feeling,” noting how he hopes to achieve immortality through “musical excellence.” “No Tears” features the older and younger versions of Nas in conversation with each other. Over a somber, dirge-like track, his older self congratulates his younger counterpart for surviving the trauma that he faced growing up, while his younger self marvels at how much the older version of himself has accomplished.

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Lil’ Wayne’s verse on “Never Die” is Magic 3’s sole guest appearance. I’ve never been a particularly big Lil’ Wayne fan, but he seems appropriately motivated here, rapping that he’s “reaching for the stars like I'm reaching for the pylon / I seen’t ya on the sideline, we need to walk a fine line.” Meanwhile, Nas compares his pairing with Wayne to some of the supergroups of hip-hop’s golden era. “But what you're hearing is the present day,” he raps, “over breaks and samples of New York, N.W.A / The brand new Brand Nubians, N-A-S, and Wayne / Don’t threaten me with a good time, we here to stay.” Even 15 years ago, I can safely say I never thought I’d hear Nas describe a duo of himself and Wayne as the heir to Brand Nubian, but here we sit.

Nas delivers fairly esoteric story raps during Magic 3’s middle portion, making it difficult to follow the narrative threads on “Based On True Events” parts 1 & 2. But regardless of clarity, both of these tracks are entertaining. Besides, it’s this middle section where Hit Boy’s production really begins to shine. I’d written in my review of King’s Disease III that that project features the beat-maker’s best production to date, but he even further out-does himself on Magic 3, dipping heavily into his bag of soulful samples. Songs like “Pretty Young Girl” and the aforementioned “Never Die” sound heavily influenced by the production of North Carolina super-star producer 9th Wonder. And that is very much a compliment.

Magic 3 hits its stride in its final stretch, starting with Nas spitting his grown-man game to the ladies over a soulful string sample on “Jodeci Member.” “Speechless Pt. 2” serves as the sequel to the opening track on the first installment of Magic. Whereas on that song, Nas found himself speechless when looking for ways to describe escaping the dangerous situations that he faced, here he’s speechless that he’s journeyed so far. Nas professes to “move letters like Don Cornelius” while still searching for a way to create something completely flawless. “Been etched in stone for years and still I got room for perfection,” he raps.

Magic 3 does really end on a pitch perfect note with “1-800-Nas&Hit.” The song is a celebration of the pair’s triumphs, creating enough dope albums to fill up a box set or one of those Time Life/Hey Love collections that they used to advertise on TV Saturday nights. “Whether we did diamond or hardly sold we did it for our soul,” Nas attests. Nearly half the track’s length is made up of the final credits/shout-outs, in the vein of Jay-Z’s “My First Song,” as Nas thanks everyone involved with these endeavors.

There’s no indication that Magic 3 is intended to be Nas’ final project. He certainly seems to have a lot more tread on his tire. Much like I wrote in the end of my review of King’s Disease III, I have no idea where Nas goes from here. He could be gone for another three years or be back in three months. He could finally record that album with DJ Premier. Or he could link up with a roster of up-and-coming heat-makers that we’ve yet to hear from. But I can certainly envision a reality where Nas becomes an emcee that creates high quality new material well into his fifties. Whether that happens or not, I’ll eagerly wait to see how he’ll tackle his next challenge.

Notable Tracks: “Fever” | “I Love This Feeling” | “Speechless, Pt. 2” | “1-800-Nas&Hit”

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