Nas’ King’s Disease III Is a Classic Waiting To Happen
“Pac was like Jesus, Nas wrote the Bible.” — J. Cole
Hip Hop in the US needed a cleansing this year. It’s fascinating how some of the very best Hip Hop projects came in the last quarter of the year.
I was about to make peace with the prominent Pusha T’s It’s Almost Dry and thought Drake & 21 Savage’s Her Loss was going to be THAT album.
That was until Nas completed his King’s Disease trifecta with this project.
This album is a celebration of Hip Hop’s rich history. The genre will be 50 next year — relatively young compared to other categories like jazz, rock, funk, or even R&B. Yet, it’s amazing to see how Hip Hop and Rap have transformed from a minor nuisance into a mainstream genre today.
Nas has been there through it all; from beatboxing, gangster rap, flipping samples, and deathly beefs to now that rap rivalry is settled on Twitter threads and Spaces. King’s Disease III is a declaration of his GOAT status, his sprawling legacy, and an establishment that he’s one of the best rappers to bless the mic.
KD3 is an improvement on his previous two efforts, featuring superior rhyme schemes, storytelling, bars, and delivery. It’s a featureless album — a rare thing to see nowadays.
In the first song, ‘Ghetto Rapper’ Nas talks about how rap has transformed over the years and how it has changed him as a rapper and individual. He admits that he may not be able to compete with these new rappers for streams, but he has ‘real people tappin in,’ fans who recognize and laud his lyricism.
The album picked up with ‘Thun’ — a down-pitched pronunciation of the “Son” natives residing in Queensbridge, New York. The track references Queens rappers that he looked up to growing up.
He also addresses his age-long beef with Jay-Z, noting that Tidal (Jay-Z’s music streaming app) plays ‘Ether’ — his diss track to Jay. He also reveals that he jokingly calls Hov to dissect ‘Takeover’ — Jay-Z’s diss track addressed to him.
I love it when an artist works with one producer for their projects. Nas collaborates with Hit-Boy for the third time, creating this project that has a cohesive and thematic appeal. I mean, the King Disease trilogy is Nas’ best rap in years.
Nas highlights this on ‘Michael & Quincy’
“Like Quincy on the trumpet, Hit-Boy on a drum kit
Nasty like Mike on the vocals, I overdub it (Shamone).”
King’s Disease III is a classic waiting to happen.
Favorite Tracks:
30
Thun
Once A Man, Twice A Child
Recession Proof
I’m on Fire
Til My Last Breath
Reminisce
The album is available on all DSPs.
