Nas — Magic 2 — Album Review
Hip-Hop | Rap
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music
If you’ve been following my reviews for a while now, you would know that I am a pretty big fan of Nas and his consistently great music. And while the Queens rap artist really needs no introduction, I still feel it worth mentioning my own experience listening to Nas.
In true “late to the party” fashion, I honestly heard little to nothing of Nas until the arrival of 2018’s NASIR, which was his eleventh studio album. Through said album, I finally latched on to just how talented this artist was in his flows, not to mention the pure uniqueness of many of the beats found on there.
All qualities continued by the time the King’s Disease trilogy kicked off back in 2020. However, it was through the album released the following year, aptly titled King’s Disease II, that stood as the moment where this trilogy really shone for me. On top of that, I genuinely believe that it is the greatest album that Nas had released in recent memory.
I was clearly so caught up on how great King’s Disease II was, that somehow, another album that Nas released in that exact same year, titled Magic, slipped right under my nose.
And with the King’s Disease trilogy concluded by King’s Disease III in 2022, I guess it made sense for Nas to begin developing a new series of albums. Little did I know, however, that Magic would be the subject of said series. I certainly wasn’t going to make the same mistake that I did with the first Magic album, so in I went on Nas’ newest album, Magic 2.
Now, I know that I’m still a little late to the party, even with this album (which did arrive on the 21st July). However, I still wanted to give Magic 2 the time it deserved and not rush through it. I admit, that this was a very good decision of mine, as Magic 2 did take a little more time to grow on me than your typical Nas album. However, giving it a few more listens certainly paid off.
There’s something about Magic 2, particularly in its best songs, that really give this feel of Nas being even more real, down to earth, and soulful than before. Not only do the beats (mostly courtesy of Hit-Boy; one of my favourite producers currently) give that soul feel that is practically part and parcel with a Nas record, there was something about this album that did ultimately feel more engaging. It doesn’t do too much to be flashy. Instead, it simply does everything it needs to do.
It feels like Nas has definitely found a new level of comfort and inner peace with his signature rap style. And in the case of Magic 2, it is certainly for the better.
There were admittedly a few tracks here and there that simply felt a little bit repetitive, but for the most part, this record is one to really stick with the listener, not to mention it did a fantastic job of growing on me.
In short, Magic 2 is yet another winning record from the incredible talent that is Nas, and get listeners like myself super excited to find out if we’ll be getting a third instalment of this new album series.
Favourite Tracks: Office Hours | Slow it Down | Pistols On Your Album Cover | One Mic, One Gun
Least Favourite Track: Bokeem Woodbine
Mass Appeal
