Nas-King's Disease ALBUM REVIEW

Background

Before reviewing this album, I will say that i’ve listened to this but only once. I enjoyed it. It was probably the best I’ve heard Nas in a while and if you didn’t know, Nas is one of my favorite rappers. Maybe in my top 3 or 5 if I had to say. His debut Illmatic was my pure introduction to 90s hip hop as that was the first album I EVER listened to in full. In the 8th grade, I had a massive Nas phase. Listening to albums such as Illmatic, It Was Written, Stillmatic and The Lost Tapes repetitively and I still go back to them to this day frequently. On the other hand, there are a lot of Nas releases that have a lot to be desired such as Nastradamus, Street’s Disciple and unfortunately, NASIR. With that being said though, Let’s get into this review.

Lyrics

Nas is one of the best lyricists in the game. Without question. Does he continue to be a strong lyricist on this album? Of course. Unfortunately, Nas sometimes brings up some audacious conspiracies and borderline cringe bars. Other than that, we occasionally get some worthy to look at back. The opening lines on “King’s Disease” says it all. The rhyme schemes, the subject matter, the flow is all there. There are also a lot of Italian gangster references, fashion references and love bars as well. What I will say is that Nas is a versatile lyricist like usual, but sometimes the topics he discusses are not done to its justice.

Themes

Nas isn’t one of these rappers who brags all over his music, he’s a pure focuser. A lot of his music, especially on here are thematically conscious, political and expressive. He also shows the luxury side of fame with Songs like “Car #85” and “27 Summers”. He also talks about love with songs like “Replace Me” and “All Bad” but sometimes a topic like that wont look good on Nas due to some of his controversy with Kelis. Personally, I like a majority of the stuff he talks about, but sometimes he comes off as a little over-exaggerated.

Production

All of the songs are produced by Hit-Boi. If you know Hit-Boy, he doesnt usually produce the songs that he produces on here. Some of his biggest songs include “SICKO MODE”, “Backseat Freestyle”, “Clique”, “Trophies” and “1Train”. As you can see, he is more of a banger producer but on this album, he takes it down a notch with glamorous pianos, lavish Boom Bap drums and synth bass. I honestly think the production on this record might be the best aspect of the album.

Features

For a Nas album, this is pretty feature heavy. As singers go, we have Charlie Wilson,Anderson Paak and Don Toliver and all 3 of them do their job. We have rap features from Big Sean and Lil Durk that come off horrible but we also have features from A$AP Ferg and Five Foreign where they somehow outdo Nas. We also get a long awaited Firm reunion on “Full Circle” and I love to see it. Personally, a lot like the rest of the album, the features are hit or miss, but I will say that the majority of the features come out well.

Inconsistency

This album is real inconsistent. In the beginning, it comes off strong. The production and the bars are the best on the album. The end of the album comes off pretty tiring as you mostly want to listen to something else.

Verdict

The album….is ok. I wouldn’t put it high in the Nas catalog, but its nowhere near the worst. I personally think it might be his best project since “Life Is Good” but even then, I just dont think the album is super impressive.

5/10

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