Meanwhile, “Dedicated” recalls some of the themes of his 2003 hit “I Can,” by recounting several ugly episodes throughout Black history and promoting education as a way to avoid future woes (“ The hood can use more funding, more budgets for more teachers, financial literacy, more speeches,” he raps). On the Illmatic-feeling “Speechless,” he portrays the NYC he grew up in as a land of “dope dealers, street hustlers, pop cases, throw dice, on pavement, cop chases,” and remarks how such a landscape turned him into the battle-hardened MC that he’s been throughout his whole career. He’s also got the penmanship to back it up. At age 48, he can still channel tremendous electricity into his rapping, as can be heard with his furious rhythm on “Meet Joe Black,” “Hollywood Gangsta” and more. He’s able to incorporate sounds both young and old into his beat-making, ranging from an old-school-hip-hop homage on “Wave Gods” to more of his lively, fresh-out-the-FL-Studio work on tracks like “Wu For The Children.” It may not be the world’s most grandiose production, but it’ll more than do for a short, surprise release album of this nature.Īs always, Nas’ lyricism and verbal energy are on proud display here. Like those two, this new LP is comprised exclusively of Hit-Boy beats, and the SoCal native continues to deliver the goods.
Magic prolongs the inventive spark between Nas and record producer Hit-Boy, which they initially fostered on both of the recent King’s Disease albums. Magic, the latest of these releases, provides a half-hour window into what the veteran rapper remains capable of accomplishing creatively. After taking a substantial break following 2012’s Life Is Good, Nas has rebounded with four studio albums and one compilation release in the past three-years-and-change. That much has been demonstrated by the sheer volume of his output in recent years. Yet even though Nasir Jones may have aged, he’s still got plenty of artistic ambition left in him yet. Today, not only is that MC no longer 21, he’s a full “21 years past the 27 Club,” as he announces in the opening moments of his 15th album, Magic. That’s where I learned to do my hustle, had to scuffle with freaks.” In 1994, a 21-year-old kid from the Queensbridge projects of New York dazzled rap fans everywhere by vividly painting his hometown as a “city never sleeps, full of villains and creeps. With ‘Magic,’ an interim release amidst their ‘King’s Disease’ series, Nas and Hit-Boy continue to demonstrate great chemistry as a rapper-producer duo.
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