Nas Is Already ‘Halfway Through’ His Next Album With Hit-Boy

[I'm Blackman]

Dope explanation and hopefully people read it and stop telling us that we don't like Hit Boy because he's not a 90's era producer. We've explained this every time in detail.

I always point to these as the easiest example since they're the "same" beat:




The Easy Moe Bee version is unmastered and still sounds better because it has warmth and texture. The high hats are cutting through the mix. They stand out and give the beat its bounce. The drums have swing and are lively. My head is nodding as soon as they come in. The guitar riff at :28 is pronounced and you feel it when it hits right before Nas starts the chorus and every time they come in after. The vocal sample comes in and isn't clashing with the other sounds. Everything blends well and the beat is soulful. Again this is unmastered.

Hit Boy added more sounds but it still isn't matching the original. When the drums kick in listen to how weak the high hats sound vs the original. They're not cutting through and the beat lacks bounce. The drums are soft. Go to :28 again and listen for that guitar riff. You can barely hear it. The guitar keeps playing but he has the synth and other sounds playing on top of it so everything is competing for your ear. The sounds are getting lost.

Hit Boy on making the beat:3


He admits he couldn't get the drums to cut through and they don't in the final version.

When the verse starts in the original the synth and vocal sample are gone so it's just the main sample, bass, drums, and Nas' vocals. The guitar riff drops in every 8th bar. When the verse is over all the other sounds are reintroduced. Hit Boy's version has the sounds playing with the verse so the beat isn't as clean because he's not emphasizing certain sounds and letting your ears focus on the rapper.

This is a consistent problem with his beats.

Thanks for this post. I'm not a producer so I don't get all the technical shyt...but the example here makes me see what people are saying.When you point it out and detail it..hear it.

 

[Guvnor]

They gonna do 10 joints lol

 

[Bickin Back Being Bool]

might as well drop it, this new one came and went

 

[Mike the Executioner]

"Nas should work with other producers. We're tired of Hit-Boy, we want something new. GIVE ME WHAT I WANT! "

@Ziggiy proceeds to post multiple songs in the last 3-4 years of Nas features/singles that have no Hit-Boy involvement whatsoever, therefore giving you what you want.

"That's not what we meant! We meant that Nas should work with other producers for entire full-length projects. If it's a single or feature, it might as well not even exist. GIVE ME WHAT I WANT! "

It's 95 degrees outside and you guys are still looking for reasons to argue?

 

[seemorecizzy]

KD3 Really woulda been da perfect way to end it. Dope ass album. You risk overkill now

 

[Dre Space Age]

KD3 Really woulda been da perfect way to end it. Dope ass album. You risk overkill now

OVERKILL THAT shyt! NAS X HITBOY FOREVER!

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Makes sense since they're commercial producers. If the line up was Muggs, Conductor, Camo Monk, and Daringer everyone would assume he wants the Griselda sound right?

You're mistake is saying that everyone would say the music is wack. Would I be excited at the lineup, no but I'd still listen and judge it based on what I'm hearing because I've liked plenty of music from those producers even though that's not my go to style of music. Y'all think it's impossible to like Premier and Pharrell at the same time and that's bullshyt.

That bolded is dead accurate

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Critiquing a eq sound here or there or drum here or there for records that people still say they like also feels like semantics and a miserable way to experience music

Ironically the more glossy albums from Hit got the most praise (and even from Nas with LIG) and the stuff that feels a little gruff gets hated. This is why I’m also unsure the super underground or straight forward hip hop people wanna hear him on might still get hate

it is kind of a miserable way to experience music, I don't disagree with you. But to be fair a lot of the guys in here talking shop like this are producers themselves. And once you've done any sort of production, mixing, engineering, or anything like that...it takes some of the magic out of music. And unfortunately it's difficult to un-hear what you hear. I mixed for a few years and it's like learning how the sausage is made


But yeah. I wish I could hear a song and not hear that it's a bad mix, or that there's no high end, or that the drums sound too compressed, or whatever the criticism is. For the most part I do try and block that stuff out and take the music at face value for whatever it is. But there are still some instances where I can't help that my ear hears what it hears.

 

[Supa]

it is kind of a miserable way to experience music, I don't disagree with you. But to be fair a lot of the guys in here talking shop like this are producers themselves. And once you've done any sort of production, mixing, engineering, or anything like that...it takes some of the magic out of music. And unfortunately it's difficult to un-hear what you hear. I mixed for a few years and it's like learning how the sausage is made


But yeah. I wish I could hear a song and not hear that it's a bad mix, or that there's no high end, or that the drums sound too compressed, or whatever the criticism is. For the most part I do try and block that stuff out and take the music at face value for whatever it is. But there are still some instances where I can't help that my ear hears what it hears.

Not at all. It's not like it's a purely academic listening experience. I'm going to feel the music first and then if I like it or don't I have the tools to articulate why.

I compare it to someone going to culinary school. They can taste a dish and tell you the ingredients because they've developed their pallette. They know how something was prepared and what techniques were used. If they don't know they're going to find out how it was done so they can replicate it.

It's not just about finding flaws. If something is great you appreciate it more because you can hear the details. All the beats I used to love I love even more now. I remember someone on here talking about the snare on the Q Tip remix of The World is Yours. I've listened to that song 500 times and never noticed it. Now I know it's one the things that made that beat so great.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Not at all. It's not like it's a purely academic listening experience. I'm going to feel the music first and then if I like it or don't I have the tools to articulate why.

I compare it to someone going to culinary school. They can taste a dish and tell you the ingredients because they've developed their pallette. They know how something was prepared and what techniques were used. If they don't know they're going to find out how it was done so they can replicate it.

It's not just about finding flaws. If something is great you appreciate it more because you can hear the details. All the beats I used to love I love even more now. I remember someone on here talking about the snare on the Q Tip remix of The World is Yours. I've listened to that song 500 times and never noticed it. Now I know it's one the things that made that beat so great.

That's fair. I should say for me that it *can* make some things sound less dope to me than before. Miserable is too a strong word.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Imagine Andre 3K links up with Metro Boomin and becomes so inspired that he finally puts the flutes away and hits the booth and knocks out FIVE albums in a 3 year period.

I wonder how many “fans” would demand he start working with Organized Noize.

Or how many would say “Its time to move on to Mr. Collipark”

They’d be laughed out of The Booth

I fukk with you man, but I just wanna say one thing about the bolded here.

While there are undoubtedly a couple people on here being "demanding", I think it's unfair to suggest that people aren't real fans ("fans") if they want to hear anything different than exactly what Nas is doing.

There's all shapes and sizes of fans. I've eaten up all of this music with Nas and Hit-Boy, and you know that I haven't been one of the folks whining and complaining that Nas is working with Hit. I fukks with Hit and I like this music.

But after 5 albums, I don't see why I have to be less of a Nas fan just because I express that I wouldn't mind hearing him do projects that involve other producers.

There's a type of gatekeeping to it that I think isn't totally fair. I love Nas and he's in a 3rd prime right now, and there's a lot of producers I want to hear him work with in this stage. That's totally fair and not an unreasonable opinion for me to have. Guru did the Jazzmatazz albums while he was also doing Gang Starr albums.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

This is hip hop. I don't care about sales, Grammys, or what these white folks at any of these publications say. If that matters than how many of these Nas/Hit Boy songs are charting or getting RIAA certifications? Alchemist got a gold single with an underground artist and his song with Kendrick debuted at #16 on Billboard. He has a Grammy nomination with Gibbs and Nas winning that year could be a lifetime achievement award for all we know. Grammy awards are not an indication of the quality of music or what's relevant culturally. If they were Macklemore doesn't beat Kendrick. Grammys are a notch under an artists belt. They don't mean shyt to hip hop.

Y'all will shyt on a publication for a negative Nas review but be happy when the next album gets a positive review. Either they matter or they don't.

It's also disingenuous to act like Al isn't producing great albums on his own. He has albums with Roc Marci, Curren$y, Gibbs, Conway, etc. He's been active and releasing music constantly. He just chooses to work independently and with underground artists instead of chasing placements. His status in the overall producers rankings is moving up not down because of the work he's putting in. Anyone saying different isn't paying attention. He has all the acclaim you're pretending he doesn't. Ask real people who are part of the culture. He's pretty much the current king of the underground and street music and that's from a producer who's 20+ years in.

I'm not one of the people asking for Nas to work with Al. I'm good with Al working with Griselda and anyone else. If anything he needs to do the Primo album he teased. He can do 50 more Hit Boy albums if he wants after that but plenty of people want something different and that's not just because it's Hit Boy. Even if he was working with Alchemist or Primo 6 albums in 4 years is overkill and it's only natural for people to want hear a rapper work with different producers.

good post and the very last sentence is really my whole thing.

If any of my favorite artist/producer combos dropped 6 albums in 4 years I'm sure there would be some part of the formula that I'd enjoy changed up a little bit, or work with some other people before linking back up to drop again.

Over saturation is a real thing. I'm not saying I feel it yet with Nas and Hit, but I'd also be happy if they took at least 12 months before dropping the next one they do together.

 

[Supa]

good post and the very last sentence is really my whole thing.

If any of my favorite artist/producer combos dropped 6 albums in 4 years I'm sure there would be some part of the formula that I'd enjoy changed up a little bit, or work with some other people before linking back up to drop again.

Over saturation is a real thing. I'm not saying I feel it yet with Nas and Hit, but I'd also be happy if they took at least 12 months before dropping the next one they do together.

I think Gibbs had a great formula doing a Madlib album, an Alchemist album, than an album with multiple producers. You get a different sound each time out and the gaps create excitement for the next time he reunites with those producers.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

I think Gibbs had a great formula doing a Madlib album, an Alchemist album, than an album with multiple producers. You get a different sound each time out and the gaps create excitement for the next time he reunites with those producers.

Agree big time

 

[Ziggiy]

I fukk with you man, but I just wanna say one thing about the bolded here.

While there are undoubtedly a couple people on here being "demanding", I think it's unfair to suggest that people aren't real fans ("fans") if they want to hear anything different than exactly what Nas is doing.

There's all shapes and sizes of fans. I've eaten up all of this music with Nas and Hit-Boy, and you know that I haven't been one of the folks whining and complaining that Nas is working with Hit. I fukks with Hit and I like this music.

But after 5 albums, I don't see why I have to be less of a Nas fan just because I express that I wouldn't mind hearing him do projects that involve other producers.

There's a type of gatekeeping to it that I think isn't totally fair. I love Nas and he's in a 3rd prime right now, and there's a lot of producers I want to hear him work with in this stage. That's totally fair and not an unreasonable opinion for me to have. Guru did the Jazzmatazz albums while he was also doing Gang Starr albums.

Your missing a crucial point

One CRUCIAL point.

The REASON we’re getting all of this music is BECAUSE of Hit Boy. Hit Boy got Nas charged up. Hit Boy got Nas inspired. Nas has said time and time again that Hit Boy helped unlock something within him and THATS the reason we’re getting the albums.

Thats why I said if Andre linked up with Metro and was so INSPIRED that he knocked out FIVE straight albums and fas were calling for producers he worked with twenty years ago then they’d be laughed out of the booth. Because at the end of the day the Hip Hop world at large would be thanking God, Allah, and Buddha that SOMEBODY lit a fire under Andre’s ass.

Thats what it was like as a Nas fan from 2013-2018. Of course it was a shorter than stretch than Andre, whose basically retired as an MC, but it was a long stretch nonetheless of false starts and stops. First he was going back into the lab with No I.D. Then it was Hip Hop Since 1978 that was supposed to be curating and executive producing a Nas album. Then it was Timbaland. Then of course it was Nas Album Done. THEN it was Kanye, who was supposed to be the God send. We all know how that turned out. Now Nas has FINALLY gotten with a producer who not ONLY makes great beats, but he also clicks with Nas in a way not seen since Salaam Remi (who was VASTLY under appreciated) and now we’ve gotten a productivity out of Nas we’ve NEVER seen and people are bytching about OTHER producers.

It makes no sense to me


Let me put it to you like this. If Phonte and Big Pooh linked up right now with Black Milk and Black Milk went onto to produce FIVE Little Brother albums over a 3 year period. And the albums were critically acclaimed, Grammy winning, sold well, and a majority of fans saw it as a true return to form. Would YOU want to hear people clamoring endlessly for a 9th Wonder reunion? Would it make ANY SENSE given the very public history between the three of them? Now what about Krysis? Your enjoying this run of FIRE albums and people talking about “Krysis is better than Black Milk. His samples from 1960’s West Indian salsa groups are warmer and have a silkier tempo than Black Milk’s because Black Milk uses sample packs”. The fukk?!? Yea everybody is entitled to their opinion but damnit this shyt has gotten silly. People have literally tried to say Alchemist is leagues better than Hit Boy because he can make underground beats as well as get placements on mainstream albums. Like any IDIOT can’t go to Wikipedia and type in “Hit Boy” and see that he got a placement on the one of the BIGGEST albums of the year last year (Beyonce’s Renaissance) in addition to his work with Nas and other artists. Like Hit Boy didn’t executive produce Big Sean’s number 1 album in the SAME year he executive produced for Benny The Butcher.

The arguments are weak. And if it was just “My OPINION is so and so” then cool. But people really in here trying to pass off opinion AS fact. And that ain’t flying with me