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Nasir Jones rolls again the years for a sixth time, replicating the rap equal of Michael Jordan’s three-peats with the Bulls.
Between 2010 and 2019, Nas launched a mere three studio albums, two of which got here within the first two years of the last decade. It’s truthful to say no hip hop fan was anticipating constant drops from a rapper like Nas at this stage of his profession. Inside the blink of an eye fixed, Nas launched 5 albums in three years, all produced by an surprising partnership with West Coast producer, Hit-Boy. Their first Grammy Award-winning effort, King’s Illness, became a trilogy, rounded off in 2022. In between got here the beginning of a brand new trilogy, titled Magic. The duo launched the second instalment of their Magic collection again in July. Simply two months later, the pair have come again to finish the trilogy, in addition to confirming that it’ll be their closing collaborative challenge collectively.
On Magic 3, Nas and Hit-Boy take a worthy closing bow, granting a number of the finest materials of the eighty album tracks they’ve created collectively.
It’s so quickly after the discharge of Magic 2 that Magic 3 feels unusually timed. Whereas not a complete miss, Magic 2 didn’t stick the touchdown. Whereas it was already revealed on the album that one other collaboration was on the best way, maybe its restricted presence triggered the short bounce-back. And boy do Nas and Hit bounce again. Magic 3 celebrates Nas’ fiftieth birthday, in addition to the fiftieth birthday of hip hop. The ode lives as much as each half-centuries, a becoming demonstration of an skilled man nonetheless working a sport that was as soon as simply 21 years previous when Nas launched Illmatic.
Hit-Boy rectifies the primary situation discovered on Magic 2—the beats on present aren’t any joke. All through their partnership, Nas sounds most rejuvenated when the manufacturing strikes him. Behind-the-scenes footage shared by Hit-Boy has proven Nas’ response to sure beats. It’s from right here the place the inspiration hits, leading to high-calibre rapping each time.
The hot button is the give attention to boom-bap and samples. Out the 2 trilogies, Magic is the one aimed to sound classic, one thing Magic 2 misplaced contact with attributable to trap-centric beats. Hit-Boy makes no mistake this time, laying a number of the finest beats of all six albums. Tracks like “Superhero Standing” and “Jodeci Member” obtained that heavy knock that Nas powerslides and kickflips over. Because of this, we’re solely granted a pair moments of Nas’ awkward flows the place he chops up his cadence to jarring impact.
The swimsuit on the art work is becoming for the album’s finest tracks. “I Love This Feeling” carries the fashionable, wine-glass-in-hand really feel with its exuberant theme and Billy Paul pattern. “By no means Die” is expertly rapped with fellow icon and sole visitor, Lil Wayne, who raps his total verse in a single rhyme scheme. “Based mostly on True Occasions, Pt. 2” grants the one very important storytelling monitor, which is all the time the centrepiece to elevating their respective album (“Beef” on King’s Illness III; “40-16 Constructing” on Magic; “Loss of life Row East” on King’s Illness II). The pensive “Sitting with My Ideas” carries that trendy thump matched with a robust stream of consciousness. Songs like these head straight to the highest tier of Nas and Hit-Boy collabs.
At fifteen tracks, Magic 3 is the longest of the trilogy. With the 9-to-11 monitor behavior damaged, there’s further room for flaws among the many combine that would have been minimize or outfitted with higher manufacturing (“Fairly Younger Woman”, “Based mostly on True Occasions”, “1-800-Nas&Hit”). That circles again to Nas’ want for sonic inspiration to set off participating music subjects, one thing which was extremely constant on the 17-track King’s Illness III.
There may be greater than sufficient proof to proclaim Nas as the best rapper of all-time. It’s now obvious that the six-album run was intentional. Nas is the Michael Jordan of rap, and the Kings Illness and Magic trilogies are his two three-peats.
8 / 10
Greatest tracks: “I Love This Feeling”, “By no means Die”, “Sitting with My Ideas”, “Based mostly on True Occasions, Pt. 2”, “Jodeci Member”
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