Review: Nas – King’s Disease

Nas is a legendary multi-platinum rapper and songwriter that needs no introduction. He drops his twelfth full-length studio record King’s Disease in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The shorter 38-minute album spans thirteen tracks long and features artists like Anderson .Paak, Big Sean, and Charlie Wilson. The LP noticeably only has one producer, Hit-Boy, and the name of “King’s Disease” refers to gout, which is an inflammatory arthritis disease related to eating rich foods and alcohol. Hence, the name King’s Disease. Nas starts with an immaculately produced introduction track that talks about teaching someone (or some people) why they made mistakes in choosing self-benefit over authenticity. Here is my track-by-track analysis:

Blue Benz – The piano and synthesizer are well-incorporated into the verses as they work in tandem to create a groovy feel. Nas opens up about him being defrauded in the 2000s when he thought he was just paying his taxes.

Car #85 – Charlie Wilson is featured on this track for his singing on the chorus and many other accompanying parts. The whole song is about reflecting on Nas’s flexing by using this luxury cab service in NYC.

*Ultra Black – This reminds me slightly of some older Kanye vibes, but more lyrical. Nas indulges in his black culture and shows his deep love and appreciation for it. At the same time, he disses Doja Cat in this song, which is very amusing. “Unapologetically black” is my favorite phrase.

27 Summers – A primarily electronically-produced song, 27 Summers is a nice, short transition track of sorts.

*Replace Me – The song starts with a very “love it or hate it” singing style by Don Toliver; he continues this on each chorus. I love Big Sean’s dialogue verse as he talks about treating an ex-girlfriend with the utmost effort in being a good significant other.

Til The War Is Won – Nas has a deeply revealing verse here as he wishes that his father would have died instead of his mother in his childhood. Lil Durk surprisingly attempts to be profound on this feature, and I respect it. Though Durk’s autotune voice sounds silly here, the two artists combine to talk about issues like Black Lives Matter and black-on-black crime. Nas ends by praising and thanking women, especially single mothers.

All Bad – A catchy reflective song, All Bad sees Nas blame the bad elements of a relationship on the female rather than himself. His passion is apparent by the emphasis and speed of the execution of his bars. Anderson .Paak contributes great refrains and verses to accentuate Nas’s feelings in a different manner.

The Definition – I honestly do not get much out of listening to this track. It is weirdly short and could have used a lot more lyrical substance for song progression purposes.

Full Circle – Nas talks about his realization of women having different standards of men. Features from AZ, Cormega, and Foxy Brown give their incites of their experiences with or thoughts about women.

10 Points – The song starts with Nas rejecting the notion of a cultish belief that black people have to sacrifice family members to become successful. The trumpets are so warm on this track.

The Cure – Nas alludes to critics who want him to adopt a more mainstream or modern sound. He also pays tribute to the late rapper Nipsey Hussle and basketball player Kobe Bryant. There is an apparent instrumental switch-up in the middle of this track that brings in vintage-sounding production. He ends the song remembering Kiing Shooter who was a generational rapper who died this past May.

Spicy – I like the Bobby Shmurda shoutout, and I feel conflicted about Fivio Foreign’s verse. It is not very substantive and not fitting because of his modern, sloppy delivery (but I still enjoy it); I do not find it appealing for the ending track. A$AP Ferg is an alright feature, but I do not know if it adds to the conclusion of the album. The song also ends abruptly, so the song itself is not a very good ending as well.

King’s Disease is a clever name for this album, flaunting Nas’s extreme success in such a unique manner. However, I feel as if Nas could have played into the disease as a concept for the project, making the theme more interesting with bars about luxury and riches as a disease. Nevertheless, Nas performed great with his veteran writing and rapping. He surprised me with features like Lil Durk, Don Toliver, and Fivio Foreign, but maybe it is not as farfetched as I think it is (I could see some collaborations through mutual friends). Nas’s theme of success is still captured by the album along with positive lyrics about women in a historically misogynistic genre, especially in his early career. I honestly do not have much else to contribute except that King’s Disease is just another good album from a great artist.

Favorite tracks: Ultra Black and Replace Me

Least favorite: The Definition

Score: 7.2