Nas - Magic 2 (Discussion thread)
- Thread starter Dylmatic
- Start date
Prolific_1011
All Star
Dude floated on every single track on this album.
This is hyperbole breh, if it resonated with the younger generation that much it would reflect in the streaming, this album is actually streaming less than he’s other KD releases, at this point whichever young fan liked KD2 and 3 will probably like this also, but I don’t think this album in particular resonates with younger fans anymore than his other releases.
spliz
SplizThaDon
See this is also hyperbole. Because it’s streaming low cause of the lack of young people checking for new Nas in itself. But the younger people who HAVE heard it love it. Add to the fact that u got brand new artists that young people listen to everyday that do similar first week numbers. Did u think that maybe this is streaming and selling lower because a big portion of his die hard older fans not fukkin wit it too heavy? Regardless I’m just going by what I see in real life and the responses I’ve gotten.
This is it. Young fans not checking for older artists for the most part. Especially a product that's not even promoted.
The way for Nas to reach the widest audience is do a project with a retro half and modern half with a lot of guests that catch the attention of older and young fans. And promote it. But nothing he done since KD2 show he overly concerned with that.
I can't yet put it into words/don't understand why, but this album does have a 'magical' sound to it.. The pistols beat being maybe the best example but it's stamped all over the album. Plus nas pulling new flows out of the hat
I've seen and understood criticism of some of HitBoys beats but he puts very cohesive and well rounded projects together. Blessed that these two got to work together,they are both obviously in their element and as such all I can personally really ask for is more of the same
I really enjoy 50s appearance too, he doesn't sound too bad and it's like 'I don't even do this anymore, I'm just here with my boy Nas and I'm gonna talk my shyt' lol. It might not be the verse people expected or hoped for but it captures 50s whole aura in like 8 bars and was good to hear him
I've seen and understood criticism of some of HitBoys beats but he puts very cohesive and well rounded projects together. Blessed that these two got to work together,they are both obviously in their element and as such all I can personally really ask for is more of the same
I really enjoy 50s appearance too, he doesn't sound too bad and it's like 'I don't even do this anymore, I'm just here with my boy Nas and I'm gonna talk my shyt' lol. It might not be the verse people expected or hoped for but it captures 50s whole aura in like 8 bars and was good to hear him
Looking across the board. Everyone’s album sales are down.
yea 50 sounded fine to me. I think if he would have made it a 16, it wouldn’t have had any complaints.
Yea I agree. Features and more marketing in line with KD2 is really all he is missing. The quality of music is there. Truthfully 2 modern day features and 1 act from his era per album would probably do the trick.
perfectblack999
All Star
It’s the instruments sampled/used in the beats. Lots of piano keys and string instruments that give a whimsical or dark sound depending on the song.
I think it’s a bit of both, I don’t think Nas is someone young people listen to in large numbers though, like I said before I think Eminem(cac fanbase) Wayne and to a certain smaller extent Jay are the only 90’s early 00’s who still have lots of young people listening to them like that, my little cousin is 16 and he loves Nas due to influence from his father but you ask his peers who their most listened to rappers are and they would say Lil Baby Durk NBA Young Boy, and newer artists like Rylo Rodriguez would probably be mentioned before they mention any 90’s or 00’s rapper, rather than modern production alone the best way for Nas to still get more younger fans and be relevant to that age group of 17-25 is to do more songs with the biggest streaming artists Drake J Cole 21 Savage Kendrick Lamar etc.
Features are key, quality wise though this is run of albums is one of the best we’ve seen from any rap artist in the last 10+ years, I think only Kendrick comes close truthfully.
Smokin' and My Country are straight up not good songs, and I've always found What Goes Around to be largely hotep babble. And even Ether and Destroy & Rebuild aren't "great" songs in a vacuum, but elevated by context and the moment. And Rules' a pretty divisive song but I love cheesy earnest shyt like that so I give it a pass...same time though I won't argue with anybody who doesn't fukk with it. But still, the highs are so high that I still think it's a strong 8.5/10 album. I Am's highs are just as high as Stillmatic but the lows are way lower and leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth
Smoking my country and rule are dope your buggin
He enjoy the challenge of having few features and it's more satisfying artistically. He spoken on this before
But fans love features and it's the easiest way to get casual fans to check a new release out. Like, just using Magic 2 as the example, Motion is the right lane for Rae and Ghost and you can perform it live on the upcoming tour, easy promo. Core fanbase always asking for AZ collabs so put him on WTARM, perfect fit. Rick Ross on EMJ, perfect fit. Do any or all of these plus a star of the streaming era like Kendrick on Pistols and you reaching a lot wider audience
Like you said thats not Nas though
He’s a soloist through and through. Even when he had a plethora of features on KD1 they were mostly regulated to the same song, not really dispersed throughout
Example- of the 7 rapping features on KD1, three are on one song and 2 are on one song.
Of the 6 rapping features on KD2, 2 are on one song and 2 are on one song.