Funny, I had the same thought about Nas/Mass Appeal as Joe. He's gonna pump these projects out because it's 100% ownership. When his sales/streams go up, the newer shyt is gonna go up first. You see that right now, with Magic and KD2 being his best selling albums on the charts this week, followed by Illmatic and IWW. It's an investment for sure.
I also 100% agree that Nas knows Nasir was wack and it's not a coincidence he hasn't gone back to those slower tempo joints. That was always the Nas kryptonite to me. For instance Blunt Ashes on HHID. For a rapper that raps to the drums like Nas, a slow beat can produce a slow flow that sounds ehh. Whereas faster tempo=go off the dome, fast and dope.