Nas - King's Disease II (Discussion Thread)

[up in here]

Life Is Good is a weird one for me. I played it like crazy when it came out but I don’t go back to it as much as other Nas albums. Its definitely a mood album. I respect it for what it was artistically but as far as Nas albums it ain’t a top 5 for me, and it’s not because it’s bad, it’s just that Nas has so much more incredibly dope shyt that fits my mood that I would prefer to listen to, and even when I fukked with it heavy there was always tracks I skipped. The only joints I still play is Bye Baby and Nasty.

meanwhile I can throw on illmatic, IWW, I am, Stillmatic, Lost Tapes, Distant Relatives, Untitled and right now KD2 and let em rock all the way through.

 

[ChiTownGuevera]

Life Is Good is a weird one for me. I played it like crazy when it came out but I don’t go back to it as much as other Nas albums. Its definitely a mood album. I respect it for what it was artistically but as far as Nas albums it ain’t a top 5 for me, and it’s not because it’s bad, it’s just that Nas has so much more incredibly dope shyt that fits my mood that I would prefer to listen to, and even when I fukked with it heavy there was always tracks I skipped. The only joints I still play is Bye Baby and Nasty.

meanwhile I can throw on illmatic, IWW, I am, Stillmatic, Lost Tapes, Distant Relatives, Untitled and right now KD2 and let em rock all the way through.

yep thats how i feel about it too...havent revisted that album since it came out tbh, i tried to but i just couldn't force myself.. felt like a chore ...i still only play cherry wine and stay..those were the 2 songs that really stood out for me plus amy winehouse on that hook is timeless.

 

[Artfull Dodger]

I have NEVER heard the bonus tracks but y'all swear by them and I'll give them a listen.

 

[spliz]

yep thats how i feel about it too...havent revisted that album since it came out tbh, i tried to but i just couldn't force myself.. felt like a chore ...i still only play cherry wine and stay..those were the 2 songs that really stood out for me plus amy winehouse on that hook is timeless.

U don’t go back to You Wouldnt Understand or Back When?

 

[Cyborg11]

I never got what was so "overproduced" about the song. Nas is basically rapping over strings throughout the song. It doesn't really have a beat. An example of an overproduced Nas song is "Who Killed It". There's a lot going on musically that really doesn't amplify anything about it especially when the accent brings it down.

If Jay, Kendrick, or AZ rapped over "World's An Addiction", it probably would sound as horrible as envisioning Nas rapping on something like "Beach Chair", "So Sincere", or "U". "World's An Addiction" works because it still fits Nas. It was Salaam Remi sampling his own work. It's not only the rapping that makes me like the song, but can we talk about Anthony Hamilton. His verse is dope as is the chorus. To me, it really is a song that sounds cinematic. A lot of people use that term, but "World's An Addiction" really does sound cinematic.

Someone said it in here earlier, that beat is perfect for a movie score - not for being rapped over. And he's actually rapping over flute/clarinet plus Anthony Hamiltons crooning for the majority of the song. Add in the dramatic strings and as fast as Nas is rapping (dope verses), the whole thing clashes to me.

Compare WIAA to One Mic. They have similar concepts to me. There's stuff going on in the One Mic beat too, but it doesn't clash and it allows Nas to still shine through. On WIAA that beat is far too distracting to me to pay attention to what Nas is saying.

As far as those other artists songs you mentioned, I agree they are bad too. The point was that nobody should be rapping over WIAA or those other songs. *Even tho I like "U", especially in the context of that album*

 

[RoseWooD]

'Worlds An Addiction' is a phenomenal song all around the board and 'Life is Good' is a classic. Coli opinions continue to be trash

 

[JustCKing]

Someone said it in here earlier, that beat is perfect for a movie score - not for being rapped over. And he's actually rapping over flute/clarinet plus Anthony Hamiltons crooning for the majority of the song. Add in the dramatic strings and as fast as Nas is rapping (dope verses), the whole thing clashes to me.

Compare WIAA to One Mic. They have similar concepts to me. There's stuff going on in the One Mic beat too, but it doesn't clash and it allows Nas to still shine through. On WIAA that beat is far too distracting to me to pay attention to what Nas is saying.

As far as those other artists songs you mentioned, I agree they are bad too. The point was that nobody should be rapping over WIAA or those other songs. *Even tho I like "U", especially in the context of that album*

Well, it clashes to you. I don't really compare the song to "One Mic" because that's like a Top 5 Nas song. "World's An Addiction" is a great Nas song.

I never said "Beach Chair", "So Sincere" or "U" were bad songs, but there's a lot going on in those songs and I can't imagine Nas over those beats without it sounding bad the same way I can't imagine them on "World's An Addiction" without it sounding bad.

 

[H. Selassie]

Life Is Good is a weird one for me. I played it like crazy when it came out but I don’t go back to it as much as other Nas albums. Its definitely a mood album. I respect it for what it was artistically but as far as Nas albums it ain’t a top 5 for me, and it’s not because it’s bad, it’s just that Nas has so much more incredibly dope shyt that fits my mood that I would prefer to listen to, and even when I fukked with it heavy there was always tracks I skipped. The only joints I still play is Bye Baby and Nasty.

meanwhile I can throw on illmatic, IWW, I am, Stillmatic, Lost Tapes, Distant Relatives, Untitled and right now KD2 and let em rock all the way through.

You’re not alone. Life Is Good is excellent but Nas has many other projects that fit my default state of mind better than LIG.

“You Wouldn’t Understand” is definitely in my Top 5-10 Nas songs though.

 

[bill]

You’re not alone. Life Is Good is excellent but Nas has many other projects that fit my default state of mind better than LIG.

“You Wouldn’t Understand” is definitely in my Top 5-10 Nas songs though.

You Wouldn't Understand is so underrated. He is spittin all thru it

 

[HHID]

Nas Releases A Classic Album With ‘King’s Disease II’ 27 Years Into His Career – According2HipHop

Ok si this is Coop from the video i posted yesterday. Very consistent with what he was saying throughout the video.

On LIG, i kinda understand where he's coming from. He seems to give high value to skipless albums. And that's a question I asked yall some time ago, how many skips does KD2 have compared to Nas' other albums? In that context, i think dude rated it 2nd just behind Illmatic, for having the less skips.

And LIG, in that same context, has several skips. To me, it just reminds me of an era (ie the 15/20 years prior to KD1) where Nas was somehow always doing something wrong to fukk up a potential dope album (leaving out good songs from final tracklist, forced/wrong single, bad sequencing etc..). There's huge mistakes on all his albums from 2002 to 2020.

With LIG, it was SOS, it was having 4 of the best tracks as bonus tracks (shyt changes totally the weight of good vs average tracks) and it has (to me) other skips like Reach Out, Worlds an addiction, Accident Murderers, songs that are just ok and that i haven't replayed since 2012

But just imagine if he had someone like Hitboy with him for the last 15 years saying "nah bro, that summer on smash/we make the world go round/makings of a perfect bytch ain't it", "there's too much filler on SD to make a double LP, let's keep 13 tracks", "people are not gonna feel Who Killed it", "why in the fukk u rhyming in a woman's voice?" etc etc.


On KD2, the general feeling is that the job was done BETTER. The whole shyt feels more solid, there's no cringe moments, even though some of the highs on LIG are higher than the highs on KD2..


I said before, Nas will never again make an album that will crack his top 4, it's not in him anymore and there's nothing wrong with being less sharp at 48, after 4 decades writing this rap shyt. It's technically a blessing to have him release such an album that long in his career


My only beef with dude is how he dared compare KD2 to the instant and timeless classic that is LT1. And how he compares albums, going chronologically song for song.. That's not how you do...

 

[HNIC973]

U don’t go back to You Wouldnt Understand or Back When?

or this

or this

or this

again these dudes is crazy

 

[spliz]

Ok si this is Coop from the video i posted yesterday. Very consistent with what he was saying throughout the video.

On LIG, i kinda understand where he's coming from. He seems to give high value to skipless albums. And that's a question I asked yall some time ago, how many skips does KD2 have compared to Nas' other albums? In that context, i think dude rated it 2nd just behind Illmatic, for having the less skips.

And LIG, in that same context, has several skips. To me, it just reminds me of an era (ie the 15/20 years prior to KD1) where Nas was somehow always doing something wrong to fukk up a potential dope album (leaving out good songs from final tracklist, forced/wrong single, bad sequencing etc..). There's huge mistakes on all his albums from 2002 to 2020.

With LIG, it was SOS, it was having 4 of the best tracks as bonus tracks (shyt changes totally the weight of good vs average tracks) and it has (to me) other skips like Reach Out, Worlds an addiction, Accident Murderers, songs that are just ok and that i haven't replayed since 2012

But just imagine if he had someone like Hitboy with him for the last 15 years saying "nah bro, that summer on smash/we make the world go round/makings of a perfect bytch ain't it", "there's too much filler on SD to make a double LP, let's keep 13 tracks", "people are not gonna feel Who Killed it", "why in the fukk u rhyming in a woman's voice?" etc etc.


On KD2, the general feeling is that the job was done BETTER. The whole shyt feels more solid, there's no cringe moments, even though some of the highs on LIG are higher than the highs on KD2..


I said before, Nas will never again make an album that will crack his top 4, it's not in him anymore and there's nothing wrong with being less sharp at 48, after 4 decades writing this rap shyt. It's technically a blessing to have him release such an album that long in his career


My only beef with dude is how he dared compare KD2 to the instant and timeless classic that is LT1. And how he compares albums, going chronologically song for song.. That's not how you do...

Anybody saying anything like that is invalidated in my eyes. U def Dont compare albums in that way and honestly. No matter how u compare. LT1 is just better in every facet.

 

[IllmaticDelta]

Life Is Good is a weird one for me. I played it like crazy when it came out but I don’t go back to it as much as other Nas albums. Its definitely a mood album. I respect it for what it was artistically but as far as Nas albums it ain’t a top 5 for me, and it’s not because it’s bad, it’s just that Nas has so much more incredibly dope shyt that fits my mood that I would prefer to listen to, and even when I fukked with it heavy there was always tracks I skipped. The only joints I still play is Bye Baby and Nasty.

meanwhile I can throw on illmatic, IWW, I am, Stillmatic, Lost Tapes, Distant Relatives, Untitled and right now KD2 and let em rock all the way through.

Distant Relatives and Untitled are more "mood" albums than Life Is Good

 

[HNIC973]

Anybody saying anything like that is invalidated in my eyes. U def Dont compare albums in that way and honestly. No matter how u compare. LT1 is just better in every facet.

Now thinking about that video he said some shyt like "Outside of doorags& Blaze a 50 what does LT have that can compete with KD2"?. I damn near cut the vid off at that point l legit had the

like is this nikka serious
Purple My Way Nothing lasts forever U gotta love it No Ideas Original Poppa was a player Fetus Drunk by Myself Black Zombie da fukk is this nikka talking about

 

[HHID]

Anybody saying anything like that is invalidated in my eyes. U def Dont compare albums in that way and honestly. No matter how u compare. LT1 is just better in every facet.

Yeah LMAO, he seemed so serious in the beginning with his notes and shyt, and soon as he started comparing Nas and Jay albums song for song in order, i was like naaah..

If anything, if you want to take a sort of mathematical approach, you should rate each songs and compare the averages. But even here, I'm sure i can find albums that i would personally rate the songs lower in average but still rate the whole album higher.