The Year is 1994. The City is Crown Heights, and a young man by the name of Nasir Jones has just released his debut studio album ‘Illmatic’. An Instant Hip Hop classic, it was clear very early on that “Nas” was going to be a force to reckon with in the music industry for a long time. Now here we are in the year 2020. An unusual year that has seen us craving music and entertainment much more than what we are typically used to, and yet again Nas has managed to surprise us. On August 21st, 26 years after his debut, Nas dropped his twelfth studio album entitled ‘King’s Disease.’ For those that don’t know, King’s Disease refers to Gout. A nasty infection that comes from excessively eating foods that are rich. When you think of Nas’s catalogue, nasty, rich, and infectious are exactly the words that come to mind.
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Nas' "King's Disease" is the Perfect Late Summer Anthem
While ‘King’s Disease’ is definitely modern in its approach, Nas doesn’t stray away from the sound and lyrical content that’s made him Rap Royalty. With witty puns and word play along with top notch production from Hit-Boy, and features from A$AP Ferg, Big Sean, and Lil Durk to name a few, critics are already calling it one of the best albums of the year. As usual, Nas also stands alone on tracks such as ‘27 Summers’ and ‘Blue Benz.’ Another unique feature of the album is the length of the tracks. Many of the songs are about two minutes long, and the album itself is only 38 minutes all together. Short and Sweet, but gets the job done.
As we round out the summer, ‘Kings Disease’ is the perfect anthem for those I-75 drives, or late night rides out around the city, and Nas once again drops an album that shifts the industry, while still remaining culturally relevant after 30 years in the game.
