Nas - King's Disease III (Discussion Thread)
- Thread starter Dylmatic
- Start date
Damn you just worded exactly how I feel about that album, I will jack this explanation going forward so dap+rep.
I remember first hearing Hit Boy's production, but it was a co-production with Polow Da Don on Mary J. Blige's "Stronger". Then it was Lil Wayne's "Drop The World". I thought he was a cool producer then he did one of my favorite beats on Watch The Throne in "nikkas In Paris".
Then he was listed as a producer that Nas was working with on Life Is Good. Around that time "Clique" was huge, so I was thinking he would give Nas something like that. Then "Another Black Girl Lost" leaked. It kind of soured my anticipation for their collaboration, but it was more so because that song sounded like a mismatch. The vocals, lyrics, nor subject matter matched the beat.
Life Is Good dropped and there was no Hit Boy, but it still turned out to be one of Nas's best albums and one of his best produced albums.
Then there was a report of one of the Hit Boy songs didn't make the album ("No Such Thing As White Jesus"). He said he lost the file and I thought I'd never hear the song. A few years later, a very short snippet leaked and it sounded much more like a Nas song than "Another Black Girl Lost".
By the time "No Such Thing As White Jesus" found a home on Lost Tapes 2 with a new name ("Royalty") and the Frank Ocean vocals replaced with a female vocal, Hit Boy's status had grown exponentially. Though he'd already worked with Kanye, Jay, Wayne, and Mary J Blige, he'd now also added multiple Beyonce songs, another Jay Z collabo, work with Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, and Travis Scott to his credits.
Then came another unreleased Nas snippet in late 2019/early 2020 during Hit's Verzuz with Boi-1da. Thinking this was just another snippet that we'd be waiting years to hear in full, I was like more unreleased fire. Then came the announcement that Hit Boy was producing a new Nas album. I anticipated this as I knew this would be something different from both of them and it was. KD1 dropped and it was a dope album. It was the best Nas project since Life Is Good.
Then, the announcement for KD2 came. When it dropped, the music was much more a surprise than the original announcement. Nas was pulling off different flows and Hit Boy was giving Nas some crazy beats. The beats on KD1 were dope, but KD2 just sounded bigger on all fronts. This album, to me rivaled not only Life Is Good, but it was some of the best work I'd heard from Nas since God's Son and maybe even rivaling that album. That's saying a lot because that album was special to me.
Then there was Magic, another surprise. This was the album that I was expecting Nasir to be. This was 9 songs of a nod to 90's Nas, but updated. It was on par with KD2 and after sitting with it for nearly a year, it might be slightly better.
Now, here's KD3. This album wasn't the surprise that the past three albums were because we pretty much knew this was dropping. Listening to this album, I got chills and that is rare. I mean, this really is some of Nas's best work. Hit Boy has really produced 4 crazy Nas albums in a row. This one might be the 5 mic, knocked it out of the park, grand slam though. This is Nas killing 17 songs with no guests over crazy production, and we get a conceptual Nas ("Beef") and storytelling Nas(Serious) and Nas just going in. There's all kinds of beat switches that are seamless. You will find yourself dancing to a couple of these ("Hood2Hood" and "Get Light"). There's an interlude that I'm questioning why it's an interlude because those are usually fillers, but this is one of those Nas stories that sounds like he was going back through an old journal.
Then he was listed as a producer that Nas was working with on Life Is Good. Around that time "Clique" was huge, so I was thinking he would give Nas something like that. Then "Another Black Girl Lost" leaked. It kind of soured my anticipation for their collaboration, but it was more so because that song sounded like a mismatch. The vocals, lyrics, nor subject matter matched the beat.
Life Is Good dropped and there was no Hit Boy, but it still turned out to be one of Nas's best albums and one of his best produced albums.
Then there was a report of one of the Hit Boy songs didn't make the album ("No Such Thing As White Jesus"). He said he lost the file and I thought I'd never hear the song. A few years later, a very short snippet leaked and it sounded much more like a Nas song than "Another Black Girl Lost".
By the time "No Such Thing As White Jesus" found a home on Lost Tapes 2 with a new name ("Royalty") and the Frank Ocean vocals replaced with a female vocal, Hit Boy's status had grown exponentially. Though he'd already worked with Kanye, Jay, Wayne, and Mary J Blige, he'd now also added multiple Beyonce songs, another Jay Z collabo, work with Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, and Travis Scott to his credits.
Then came another unreleased Nas snippet in late 2019/early 2020 during Hit's Verzuz with Boi-1da. Thinking this was just another snippet that we'd be waiting years to hear in full, I was like more unreleased fire. Then came the announcement that Hit Boy was producing a new Nas album. I anticipated this as I knew this would be something different from both of them and it was. KD1 dropped and it was a dope album. It was the best Nas project since Life Is Good.
Then, the announcement for KD2 came. When it dropped, the music was much more a surprise than the original announcement. Nas was pulling off different flows and Hit Boy was giving Nas some crazy beats. The beats on KD1 were dope, but KD2 just sounded bigger on all fronts. This album, to me rivaled not only Life Is Good, but it was some of the best work I'd heard from Nas since God's Son and maybe even rivaling that album. That's saying a lot because that album was special to me.
Then there was Magic, another surprise. This was the album that I was expecting Nasir to be. This was 9 songs of a nod to 90's Nas, but updated. It was on par with KD2 and after sitting with it for nearly a year, it might be slightly better.
Now, here's KD3. This album wasn't the surprise that the past three albums were because we pretty much knew this was dropping. Listening to this album, I got chills and that is rare. I mean, this really is some of Nas's best work. Hit Boy has really produced 4 crazy Nas albums in a row. This one might be the 5 mic, knocked it out of the park, grand slam though. This is Nas killing 17 songs with no guests over crazy production, and we get a conceptual Nas ("Beef") and storytelling Nas(Serious) and Nas just going in. There's all kinds of beat switches that are seamless. You will find yourself dancing to a couple of these ("Hood2Hood" and "Get Light"). There's an interlude that I'm questioning why it's an interlude because those are usually fillers, but this is one of those Nas stories that sounds like he was going back through an old journal.
spliz
SplizThaDon
I think the album is better than DAMN. But even with that. I don’t feel it’s all THAT. I think it’s cool. Especially for an album off a 5-6 year hiatus. Kendrick gets praised more than any nikka I ever seen in rap by the media and a nikka like Cole doesn’t get extended this same kind of artistic grace when he tries some different shyt so it is what it is imo. To each his own tho I’m not tryna change no one opinions.The Coli is just weird in general when it comes to Kendrick Lamar.
I love "our" music and the culture that spawned it, so albums like To Pimp A Butterfly hold a special place in
my heart. I also study music theory, play multiple instruments, been a rapper for damn near two decades etc.
I also like progressive musical ideas that push ideas into new realms, Mr. Morale does all kinds of crazy shyt
with bridges, transitions, orchestration etc. Kendrick Lamar has a distinct musical and lyrical voice that takes
a proverbial dump on most cats underground OR mainstream. If anything I think he should be championed
for pushing our art as hard as possible.
I extend this same kind of love and analysis to many people within Hip-Hop but for whatever reason
I always get called out when I say Kendrick is legit a modern great.
spliz
SplizThaDon
What happened with Coop? I hear shorty pissed him off. Which it don’t seem like it’s hard to do that nikka come off sassy as fukk to me. Lol
spliz
SplizThaDon
Did this ever get cleared up?
Biff_Omalley
Rookie
Thief's Theme
All Star
damn
we're not gonna hear that or the track he did with Benny that got cut from KD1 until like Lost Tapes 4 or 5
I really wanna hear that though
Insensitive
Superstar
Man, I think that's where I feel like a bit of an outsider lately.
I love Hip-Hop but almost all of the music I find myself listening to lately is either Jazz (Jazz Hip-Hop like Alfa Mist or Robert Glasper or Jazz Fusion or contemporary Jazz), heavily Jazz influenced (Left Field Hip-Hop, Boom Bap, Neo-Soul, "Lo-fi"), prog metal/rock or classical. I've also only recently started to try to learn Arranging & Composition in earnest and I've started purchasing texts by David Baker, Ted Pease and Ken Pulling and so on. While broadening my understanding of Jazz harmony and how it's works in modal and "normal" harmonic contexts . So for me, when I returned to Hip-Hop more heavily in the latter half of this year (where I finally truly listened to Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers), I found myself repeatedly "wowed" not just by the lyrical density but in the structure of the songs and the harmonic choices underneath.
It almost feels like a redux of "To Pimp A Butterfly" but with a focus on bringing in instruments with a different timbre than those that appeared on that album (distorted 808s, strings sections, piano playing that's distinct and different from the Blues/Jazz/R&B tradition etc.)
I totally understand if it isn't for everyone but I really dig the "fukk ***'s" to Hip-Hop convention which feature on that album, I also like that it embraces Hip-Hop in earnest again doesn't try to be "different for the sake of different". I was kinda shocked to see that there is seemingly even more of a divide over that record on The Coli.
I feel that's a big issue that Kendrick deals with now. As a Hip-Hop head, I'll admit that I don't think Kendrick is the ONLY ONE doing cool interesting
things in Hip-Hop or that being "unique" should be the only reason we elevate someone.
For example Cole's last album was Hip-Hop through and through, it wasn't doing anything "new" but what it did do was deliver EXCELLENT Hip-Hop
which is just as important and I think people who are coming from the outside and only respect "special" and "unique" and "new" (to them of course, not to us, who are in the know) those people are evaluating Hip-Hop in the wrong manner.
With that said, you guys often don't see the people who deride Kendrick Lamar and in turn the entirety of Hip-Hop when he gets all of that praise.
Many, many people who railed against "To Pimp A Butterfly" and the rewards Kendrick received also would go on to say said Hip-Hop isn't Music/Musical nor Poetry and that he (Kendrick) nor any other rapper deserves respect.
It's rough because I feel like I need to defend Hip-Hop at times and it's frustrating but I see how great it is as a fan and as a participant yah know ?
I'll readily acknowledge other cats are trying dope things like JPEGMAFIA, Lupe Fiasco, Elzhi, J. Cole etc.
I don't mean to stray to far off topic though:
King's Disease 3 is fukking great, seriously.
This thing Nas has going on where he's dropping albums yearly is crazy !
erker
All Star
Lol, I wouldn't exactly call Gnarls Barkley underground, as they had an enormous single with Crazy and their St Elsewhere album had a lot of mainstream success. They were everywhere in 2006-2007.Nas shouted out Gnarles Barkley omg
Nas got his ear to the underground shyt
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Artfull Dodger
All Star
thats a jewel breh...one of the highs off this album