Nas and Hit-Boy have been on quite the run. Their musical partnership began in 2020 with King’s Disease, and since then, the cross-generational duo has released three more albums. Two were follow-ups to King’s Disease, while the third was a “break” between them titled Magic. They distinguished Magic by making it much shorter than the other albums, with grittier production and a rawer approach to the lyricism — taking it back to the streets, as it were.
Today, they announced their fifth collaborative project, Magic 2, which will presumably be similar to the first, a palate cleanser before they drop another installment of the King’s Disease series. The partnership has utterly rejuvenated Nas, who has finally been able to shake off some of his “lead ear” reputation over past beat choices, and given Hit-Boy a second life as a well-respected producer for legacy acts as well as blog-era favorites.
The latest announcement has plenty of fans wondering just when the California beat maker has time to sleep. In the past four years, he’s released three other collaborative projects (with Pacman da Gunman, Dreezy, and Musiq Soulchild), as well as two solo projects under the Surf Or Drown banner. The latter features multiple appearances from Hit-Boy’s father, Big Hit, who spent nine years behind bars but has come back strong, picking up where the duo left off in 2014 with “Grindin’ My Whole Life.”
Magic 2 is due on 7/21 via Mass Appeal Records.