Nas — Magic 3 — Album Review
Hip-Hop | Rap
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music
Nas has certainly shown to be a productive force in Hip-Hop (there’s no real argument towards this, at this point). And even though the New York rap legend has been going for a matter of decades, his repeat collaborations with producer Hit-Boy in recent years have given way to some masterful works, which have shown that Nas has truly stood the test of time.
And when I say that Nas has been a productive force, I’m really not lying. The rapper has gone beyond putting his narrative across on only one album; in this case, only trilogies would suffice.
The first of these trilogies I speak of would of course be the King’s Disease trilogy, spanning across 2020 to 2022 (one edition a year, respectively). Of these three albums that the rapper released, King’s Disease II namely sticks out as my personal favourite, blessing us with soulful sounds and lyrical messages that absolutely go hand-in hand with Nas and his overall aesthetic.
However, a new series of albums was in the works before the King’s Disease trilogy even came to a conclusion. This new trilogy would of course begin with Magic, released later in the very same year as King’s Disease II. And as a result of my disbelief that Nas would release yet another record in the same year of the aforementioned masterpiece (along with a busy end to that year in general), the release of that album unfortunately slipped right under my nose, somehow.
I wasn’t willing to make the same mistake upon listening to the follow-up to Magic, however. And I’m glad to say that Magic 2 was yet another brilliant project from Nas. If you want to know more about my thoughts on that album, you can click here to read the full review.
But in the case of this review I’m writing today, I am of course going through what I assume to be the climax in the Magic trilogy, aply named Magic 3.
This album (which stands as his seventeenth studio album to date) follows on from its predecessor a litera matter of months after (I did tell you that Nas was a productive force). But of course, it did set me up with a worry or two prior to going into this project.
I must admit that post Magic 2, I still saw King’s Disease as the superior series of albums. On top of that, I couldn’t help but feel that the supremely swift release of this album would surely compromise some of the great quality fans had received with recent works.
Nevertheless, I was proven that I shouldn’t of doubted Nas for a single second, as to my complete surprise, Magic 3 is arguably the best of the bunch!
On top of Nas’ flows being above par, Hit-Boy brings us an insanely wide variety of beats, the vast majority of which felt pretty damn unique. Fair to say, it didn’t take me that long at all to get on-board with this album’s insane level of engagement.
Magic 3 is essentially what I perceive as the King’s Disease II of the Magic trilogy. On top of being a pretty generous album with 15 tracks and a runtime that veers just over the 45 minute mark, this album somehow feels like the most well thought out piece of the trilogy, despite its fast arrival to listeners.
In short, Magic 3 is absolutely the best way that this trilogy could have concluded (assuming there aren’t more Magic albums planned for the future). I find myself yet again amazed by the raw talent emamated by both Nas and Hit-Boy.
Favourite Tracks: Superhero Status | I love This Feeling | No Tears | Never Die | Jodeci Member | Speechless, Pt. 2 | Japanese Soul Bar
Least Favourite Track: Pretty Young Girl
Mass Appeal
