Before you start reading, I want to show you the inspiration behind this post: a person on Threads named @lu_chini wrote, “Nas gave us 6 albums in 3 years, and no one talks about that lol insane.” Lu_Chini, I hope you read this.
In Hip Hop music, artists typically space out releases and drop every four to five years, or quietly fade into obscurity or transition into touring their old catalogs. Nas totally blew this framework apart between 2020 and 2023. He dropped six full-length projects in just over three years.
It wasn’t just a large amount of music; it was a lesson (PhD-level class) in consistency, growth, and producer (Hit Boy)/MC chemistry that changed people’s perspective on Nasir’s discography.
The King’s Disease: Nas Becomes Royalty
When King’s Disease dropped, I was blown away by the chemistry between Hit Boy and Nas. At that point, I didn’t know much about Hit Boy. That changed immediately. Nas won his first Grammy (should’ve won one way earlier) for this project, and instead of taking a victory lap, he came right back with King’s Disease II (2021). This was another solid project with standouts like “Store Run”, “Death Row East, “Nobody” ft. Lauryn Hill, “Rare”, and “EPMD 2” with EPMD and Eminem.
My favorite of the trilogy is King’s Disease III (2022). Nas puts on a 17-track masterclass with no features. Just dope beats and rhymes, proving that he could out-rap anyone in Hip Hop without relying on guest appearances.
Magic Done Thrice!
When Magic (2021) dropped, that was one of the best Christmas gifts (except for Optimus Prime back in the 80s) a person could ask for. This Magic project gave me mixtape vibes created with studio quality. Another solid project with dope beats and rhymes. This album has one of my favorite album intros, “Speechless”. This beat, accompanied by Nas’ flow, made me want to put my head through my windshield the first time I heard it. Followed up by “Meet Joe Black,” where he reminds us that the QB chain gave birth to the whole custom chain trend.
Magic II (2023) brought us more dope beats and rhymes and one of my favorite tracks from this trilogy, “Office Hours”. This track brought together two Queens legends, Nas and 50 Cent. I just wish 50’s verse was longer on this joint. Other standouts include “Motion”, “Bokeem Woodbine”, and “Slow It Down”
Last but not least is Magic III (2003). This album dropped on Nas’ 50th birthday and reminded us that Hip Hop has no age limit. This was the last album released from both trilogies and was the victory lap after one hell of a three-year run. This album had my second favorite intro of the series, “Fever”. This also featured one track featuring Lil Wayne. I’m not a big fan of his music, but he delivered one hell of a verse on “Never Die.” He said, “Get Do like Tae Kwon”…..super simple, but that made me laugh when I heard it. Overall, another great project by Nas and Hit Boy.
“Nas gave us 6 albums in 3 years, and no one talks about that lol insane.” Lu_Chini
