The issue with those albums, wasn't Nas.
Which is why people like to shy away from speaking on the production, and they focus on how much they love Nas, lol. The run gets a lot of criticism because Hit-Boy ain't dope enough to have that many damn albums with Nas. Nas admittedly likes to experiment, but had he done that many projects with a dope or legendary producer, we'd be looking at all classic albums.
Away from Magic, which Hit-Boy had a lot of help on, whether people know it or not, the rest of that run was wild forgettable when it comes to the beats. Whenever the Primo project drops, we'll see Nas back in the company of a producer who's actually worthy of the studio time with him.