Nas has urged his fellow elder statesmen of Hip Hop to follow his lead when it comes to delivering music at a high level this deep into his career.
The Queensbridge rap legend starred on the latest cover of Billboard on Friday (August 4), where he dished on an array of topics surrounding his decorated career and the magic he’s discovered in recent years by joining forces with tag-team partner Hit-Boy.
“I want more people to join me from my era; release your records and work hard on them shits,” he said. “I want to hear how people feel, and I want to hear their art. I don’t want to hear the trends, I want to hear the art. Express it, do it and be free. That’s what I’m trying to give to the game now.
“I don’t pay attention to anything except what I’m doing at this point because I’m having so much fun that I don’t even look up to see what’s going on. I could say that I never had this amount of fun, but I’ve had a lot of fun in my life in the business. But this feeling is unmatched.”
Nas and Hit-Boy got back to work last month as they teamed up for their fifth collaborative project, Magic 2, featuring assists from 50 Cent and 21 Savage.
“It’s magic to get together and do what we’re doing. I didn’t see anybody doing it like [Hit-Boy],” he continued. “Not to sound like I’m feeling myself, but to really look and say, ‘Alright, what do I do now? I’m going to do what I want to do.’
“It’s the freedom of creating records because I just feel like it. It’s a hobby to me now to go to work. I don’t know how long this feeling to make music is going to last, but I’m going for it at the moment. It’s making me have so much fun.”
It’s been quite the winning streak for Nas and HipHopDX‘s 2022 Producer of the Year and it doesn’t sound like they’ll be stopping their run anytime soon.
The first of the pair’s collaborative efforts, King’s Disease — which was released in August 2020 — bagged Nas his first-ever Grammy for Best Rap Album.
The dynamic duo then returned a year later with King’s Disease II in August 2021, with Magic arriving just a few months later in December 2021. King’s Disease III was released the following year in November 2022.
On the opening track from Magic 2, “Abracadabra,” Nas revealed that he and Hit-Boy are “halfway through” recording their next album — although it remains to be seen whether it’s another King’s Disease, Magic or another project entirely.
“I’m a magician, you should listen, it’s never the same tricks/ 2020 when we did the first one, five-album run, not a cursed one, it’s a blessed one/ By the time y’all hear this, we be halfway through the next one/ Bless up, all the rappers we lost, I’m hopin’ they rest up,” he rapped.
