This upcoming Friday, Nas will be releasing his brand new album “King’s Disease”. After releasing a 13 song tracklist, which includes features from Anderson .Paak, Don Tolliver, the entire Firm crew, and many more, fans have become increasingly interested in how this record will sound. Today, I will be going over my predictions along with what to expect from this legendary MC’s next LP!
The Content:
Based on the title alone, “King’s Disease” will most likely focus on the greed, corruption, and mistreatment of powerful leaders over their people. Specifically, I’m almost 100 percent positive a lot of the material will address the prominent race issue in America. Coming from Nas’s repertoire, its nearly guaranteed that this won’t be a surface level telling of the horrors we lived but instead an in-depth look into a modern philosopher’s mind and what we can do to achieve equality going forward. Furthering this belief, the already released single “Ultra Black“, talks about unifying and empowering beings who feel that they are outsiders. As a whole, most of “King’s Disease” will linger around these principles, and if it manages to cohesively, we may have something special in store!
The Sound:
Figuring out what to expect sonically from this album was challenging due to the confusing feature list. With new acts like Lil Durk, Don Tolliver, and drill sensation Fivio Foreign, I would expect to see Nas ride over more modern instrumentals than ever. “All Bad” with the musical genius Anderson .Paak, has me extremely excited as the two will most likely work perfectly together due to the versatile skillset Paak withholds. “Full Circle” is another song everyone should look out for as Esco is reuniting with the entire Firm group he used to run with in the late 90s! Another song I’m expecting to be nothing less than sensational is “Car #85” with renowned vocalist Charlie Wilson. The only other collaborators that need to be mentioned are Big Sean, and A$AP Ferg, who I’m sure will do their best to keep up with whatever style Nas has in mind. With such a diverse talent pool, I’m expecting “King’s Disease” to sound all over the place. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing, we will find out on Friday.
Track Record:
While looking promising, I can’t forget the fact that Nas has let me down with his past two releases in “NASIR” and “The Lost Tapes 2”. On both of these records, the once-dominant MC has shown his age spots with his poor beat selection and questionable bars. From preaching false information to promoting the anti-vaccination of children, Nas seems to have lost it at times. With that stated, flashes of greatness have still shined through the cracks with cuts like “Adam and Eve” and “No Bad Energy”. Knowing this information, my hype is not entirely defeated, but I’m on the fence about how good a Nas album can be in 2020.
Conclusion:
“King’s Disease” is looking like it will at least be the best Nas album in nearly a decade. At its height, we may get a mind-boggling concept album, yet at its worst, it will be a messy cash grab that sells units based on brand recognition. My prediction is that it will end up somewhere on the positive side of things but still be accompanied by sizable flaws.
Projected Rating: 7.5/10
Come back here on Friday 8/21 for the full review on “King’s Disease”!
