Magic 2

by 

Nas

AlbumJul 21 / 202311 songs, 31m 58s
East Coast Hip Hop Conscious Hip Hop Hardcore Hip Hop
Popular

If, at any point over the past three decades, Nas’ status was ever in question, his 2020s run with Hit-Boy shut down any and all such speculation. The Queensbridge-bred rapper earned his spot in the GOAT debate well before the critically acclaimed and award-winning *King’s Disease* dropped in 2020, and the full-length sequels to that album only strengthened his position, not to mention his already legendary pen. Yet when *Magic* dropped on Christmas Eve 2021, listeners felt the difference. This was Nasir Jones operating on a decidedly different vibe, rapping for the love of it for a half hour straight over some of his go-to producer’s most gratifying beats. A sort of modern-day parallel to his archival *Lost Tapes* compilation, *Magic 2* serves his fans with a veteran’s ear and a dexterous flow. “Abracadabra” offers a rigorous recap of this era of his career, nodding back to his past while marveling at it all. He pulls off a Queens coup with the homegrown “Office Hours,” reuniting with 50 Cent on record for the first time in some 20 years. Hit-Boy’s instrumentals vary between the understated chill of “Black Magic” and the melodic boom-bap revival of “Pistols on Your Album Cover.” The closing bonus of “One Mic, One Gun” with 21 Savage feels less like a victory lap than a leveling up.

1962

6.5 / 10

Nas and Hit-Boy cook up another collaboration, a low-stakes mid-career rap album to show that one of the genre’s icons is still in decent fighting shape.

6 / 10

8 / 10

There’s an oft repeated truism about Nas that he peaked too early; scaling the Himalayan heights of genius on ‘Illmatic’, some venture that the Queens

Album Reviews: Nas - Magic 2