Nas made his triumphant return with the Hit-Boy produced album, King's Disease. This project frames Nas in a way many thought would happen when he teamed up with Kanye West for NASIR. During a recent interview with The Breakfast Club, Nas explains why NASIR fell short of expectations.
"I don't know what went wrong. I did want to work more with [Kanye]," Nas says around the interview's six-minute mark.
NASIR was part of a hectic G.O.O.D. Music 2018 rollout during which Kanye promised fans that the label would drop a new album every week in June. At first, fans were excited to see Kanye put his all into his artists but it soon became apparent that the super-producer had bitten off more than he could chew. This experiment was marred by delays and resulted in several lackluster albums—including NASIR.
"We spent time and I was working on ideas. He would give me a few loops and I would write to them but they weren't finished," Nas continued. "He was working on a lot. He had [Kid Cudi], he had Teyana Taylor, he had his album and I was the only one coming in starting fresh. So, I had less time with him. We really did that album the week it was supposed to come out."
The rushed process was heard and felt by listeners. Despite this, Nas doesn't regret locking in with 'Ye. "I like 'Cop Shot the Kid.' I like 'Adam and Eve,'" Nas said. "It's a short album. We just didn't get enough time. I wish we would've worked on it more."
After regaining his footing with King's Disease, Nas seems to be ready to continue his stride as he teased a "secret" upcoming project.
"Not ten years," Nas said after the co-hosts claim that fans won't get to see this project until a decade from now. Nas then refuses to talk about it further but he confirmed it was close to seeing daylight earlier in the interview.
Although Nas doesn't shed light on the project, there is a lot of speculation surrounding this "secret" album. Rick Ross has gone on record multiple times stating that he would like to executive produce a Nas album. Also, Lupe Fiasco mentioned that he and Nas could be working on an EP in the near future.
Watch Nas' full appearance on The Breakfast Club above.
In another interview with Apple Music, Nas elaborated on his work with Kanye and NASIR.
"This man is cranking out all of these albums and they're going to come out every Friday. And so he had to mix albums, finish albums. So I kind of had to wait till the last week before the album dropped to really have him in the room to really have him to be there to get these records done. And so, I never been to Wyoming, you know what I'm saying? I thank him for bringing me out there and to see a different part of America and to be around that energy with all the producers and artists. But I also had my room to the side so if I wanted to work with them longer, because we only got, honestly, we hung around, we went over ideas, but it really, really got down to the wire, no pun, like at the last week, in the last week," he said to Zane Lowe.
In other news, Nas alsoannounced his partnership with Pantone Color Institute for “Ultra Black By Nas,” a color inspired by the rap legend himself. “Ultra Black” is a reminder of the contributions made by the Black community. Nas accompanied the release with new “Ultra Black by Nas” merch, which you can shop here. A portion of the proceeds will go to charity.
"It was only right that we work with Pantone on this project, the color experts. This one's from the heart, something the world will feel, the whole vibe of 2020," said Nas.
“We were thrilled to be able to partner with Nas on the creation of Ultra Black, a color symbolic of the powerful message he expresses in his new compelling anthemic statement, ‘Ultra Black’,” says Laurie Pressman, Vice-President Pantone Color Institute. “In our highly visual world, color is one of the most powerful communication tools we can use to draw immediate attention and get our voices heard. Supporting ‘Ultra Black’ with this new Ultra Black color helps Nas share his message in a visually impactful way, one that will further ensure the global reach of his inspiring and uplifting message.”
