Released Christmas Eve, seeing Magic in my inbox was quite the surprise. With King's Disease III now confirmed for 2022, I expected that this shorter album, clocking in just under 30 minutes across nine tracks, would be a collection of outtakes from his fruitful collaborations with Hit-Boy. But alas it is not so! If anything, Magic speaks volumes to the stride Nas is on as his lyrical content feels interchangeable with that of King Disease II. Thinking of these songs as sub-par in anyway is erroneous. It simply seems as if he is oozing with creativity right now and enjoying sharing it with us all. Unsurprisingly though, the tone of these songs are in the same lane. Nas is offering up his unique personal perspective within the Hip Hop scene and addressing his audience with wisdom and a little introspection in doses, much as he has been doing.
Wu Is For The Children is the one underwhelming cut. A reference to the Wu-Tang Clan setting high exceptions for a dreary percussion-less track. The following Wave Gods brings on DJ Premier to drop his iconic drum break style and scratches of classic Hip hop snippets whilst resurrecting Gang Starr themes. The opening Speechless kicks off with a remarkable verse, referencing fallen musical icons of the twenty seven club and the grittiness of his neighborhood. Its a wonderfully articulate flow that extends into Meet Joe Black as Nas touches on successes built, mistakes made and criticisms keeping him energized as he words it. Interestingly it ends with a snippet of individuals mocking his Hip Hop I Dead record statement from back in 2006. I didn't feel like his words provided much of an answer to that though.
Ugly is a wonderfully aesthetic track as its wobbling distorted sampling creates a foggy drone for Nas to paint a gloomy scene with his words in the opening verse. The following couple of tracks are much livelier in contrast and his rhymes are tight and slickly delivered as you could expect. All in all its a sweet selection of tracks to salivate on in anticipation of part three. Not much beyond that though. Hit-Boy's approach get one in the mood but I didn't feel like these beats were exceptional. There wasn't anything here that "leapt off the page". I'm satisfied, left with high hopes for KD3!
Rating: 7/10