Nas - Magic (Discussion Thread)
Distant Relatives collaboration between Nas and Damian Marley not on the list? You make a great point by the way. So many elements gone in hip hop. It was refreshing to see DJ Premier on the track with his scratching.honestly it became nearly impossible for me to rank nas dicography past god's son, just for the simple fact that I can't detached the albums from the era and the context they where released.
for example, most of nas' earlier records where released at a time where big singles were important, the competition was not the same and long albums were the norm.
nowadays it's the streaming era, the albums are shorts, the songs are shorters, having single is not as important, and you don't have to make a checklist album (big single, club joint, street joint, filler joint).
thats why I have trouble ranking a album like i am, and the kd's series + magic are impressive for the simple fact that they were released deep into nas carreer, they may have better replay value than i am or god'son , but they don't have career defining songs. I can only say that illmatic, iww and stilllmatic are probably 1, 2 and 3 nas best albums and nastradamus, nasir and street's disciple at the bottom (and I like those three albums) but all the rest it became too difficult
either way it's really impressive because the hit boy's produced albums are all fire and I still ranked them in the middle pack
illmatic
iww
stillmatic
life is good
god's son
i am
king's disease 2
magic
king's disease
hhid
untitled
street's disciple
nastradamus
nasir
Back in the days unwrapping the cd or cassette to some and seeing the list if producers on the album the production credits the shout outs , also like you said,it's hard to judge cause singles not as important especially having different singles for different audiences. However, it can be for pop rap scene as singles draws audience and many rappers have hit song and on to the next rapper.
Interludes is missing ,dj scratching is missing, hip hop cyphers from established artists no longer around etc....
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xiceman191
Superstar
Idk what's going on in this thread or who y'all even responding to.
its funny cuz those jay albums...2 near classics and 2 near weedplatesOk i'll bite...
Jay starting to sound like what he accused Nas of being on Takeover
thelonious21
I like my women tall
Sobering facts..
The problem with nikkas like Lupe, they think Nas is "like them, same type of rapper, their big bro"
When Nas is letting them know they are NOT like him at ALL and he's the God MC to even guys like Jay-Z and truly doing shyt he's rapping about and telling these stories and it fukks them up that he can do every THING, talk fly shyt, money shyt, street shyt, mental shyt, etc..
And people be like
Dude is the Golden Child..truly sent here to do this and that's not a knock against other rappers..
Dude is truly different and even ALL rappers know it..
That's why they get so offended about things he say and do because they know they can't do what this nikka can do!!!
When Nas is letting them know they are NOT like him at ALL and he's the God MC to even guys like Jay-Z and truly doing shyt he's rapping about and telling these stories and it fukks them up that he can do every THING, talk fly shyt, money shyt, street shyt, mental shyt, etc..
And people be like
Dude is the Golden Child..truly sent here to do this and that's not a knock against other rappers..
Dude is truly different and even ALL rappers know it..
That's why they get so offended about things he say and do because they know they can't do what this nikka can do!!!
thelonious21
I like my women tall
Even if you don't like "HIT BOY" in his tag voice
The man got Nas his grammy..
Like come on
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Mastamimd
Ain't shyt
Even if you don't like "HIT BOY" in his tag voice
The man got nas his grammy..
Like come on
I'm tired of these nikkas wanting Nas to work with the same predictable ass Madlib/Alchemist/Preem etc producers at this point...with HB I don't know what I'm expecting. Dude dropped three albums that sound completely different.
Rapmastermind
Superstar
"I got to have it, I miss Mr. Magic" - NaS (Halftime)
"If you been in it this long, it's going to look like it's Magic" - NaS (40th Side)
Illmatic......Stillmatic.......(Ill)Magic? LOL, well he dropped it basically on the 20th Anniversary of "Stillmatic". He mentioned Rewind in the album. This is the first appearance on a NaS album from Premo since "Stillmatic" It only has 9 songs like "Illmatic". The cover actually looks like younger NaS from back then. It has mirror reflecting 3 times as well on the cover. I mean hey what can you say. Trilogy? LOL....No but seriously gave the album several spins the last few days. What's crazy is I'm still digesting "KD2". I'm from a different time, we don't just listen to albums and move on that fast. You have to "Live" with the album which doesn't really a happen much nowadays as it always being on to the next one right. Well NaS has dropped 2 albums in a year before. 99 with "I am" and "Nastradamus". So this was a nice and welcomed Christmas surprise.
I honestly liked every song. I think the album started out very flawless. "Speechless" was another hard intro. "Meet Joe Black" hit me instantly, that was the one right there. "Ugly" was too much, that beat and flow was wild. Really liked that as well "40-16 building" was just too hard seriously, that had that classic NaS vibe on it. Loved the return of Premo on "Wave Gods", Rocky was cool on it as well. Then he ended it strong with "The Truth" and "Dedication". "Hollywood gangster" was straight and loved the "Rewind" reference. "Wu is for the Children" was dope too and a nice reference to Ol' Dirty. This album basically has no filler, no fat and all muscle. He dropped this joint like he did "Lost Tapes" almost 20 years ago (Low song count, not many features).
Hit-Boy really did another fantastic job. I've always loved NaS's production but I'm enjoying the synergy him and Hit-boy have right now. I'm still digesting the lyrics but I like what I heard thus far. It's only slightly longer than "Nasir" overall. I never had an issue with short albums. I actually grew up more on albums with 9-10 songs than a whole bunch of tracks because that's how R&B, Soul and Jazz albums use to be. Overall he may have said this was to feed the buzz before KD3 but every NaS album is a full course meal. Very happy with this surprise album for Christmas. Again still living with KD 1 and 2 so I'll see how I feel about it as time goes on. Shoot I'm still living with "Lost Tapes II" as well, it's only been 2 years. But I'm just liking the vibe of the album and how it mostly solo NaS songs. Also I have a lot of memories of buying NaS albums in the winter time (Nastradamus, QB Finest, Stillmatic, God's Son, Street's Disciple, Hip Hop is Dead). He's been on his summer ish again recently for the last 7 albums. What happen to taking summers off because he loves winter beef?, lol. Happy Esco back in the Winter time.
thelonious21
I like my women tall
I think really us old heads would want an "illmatic" type album..
mathematik
Pro
Nah The Firm album had classics & good songs! Label politics killed the original album!
Firm Fiasco
Executive Decision
Phone Tap
Desperados
Firm Biz
Firm Biz remix with Half A Mil
Plus the joints that should of made the album are underground classics
La Familia-Cormega & Nature version
Time
Everyday Thing
I disagree entirely. The general public would think a Nas x Alc/Madlib album would be boring. Way too moody and atmospheric.
I'd like it but it wouldnt be for everybody
