Nas returns with the third installment of his King’s Disease series.
The East Coast legend began teasing the project in late 2021, when he gifted fans with his 15th studio album Magic. He rapped on “Ugly,” “I’m on offense every day until I see the love/KD3 on the way, this just to feed the buzz.”
While some fans may have missed the King’s Disease III announcement upon the first listen, Nas’ frequent collaborator Hit-Boy took it upon himself to highlight the lyrics on Twitter, where he also referred to the rapper as a “maniac” (in a good way). The Grammy-winning producer kept details to a minimum, but his tweet made it clear he was heavily involved in the effort.
Since then, Nas and Hit-Boy have unveiled the King’s Disease III cover art and tracklist. The album consists of 17 cuts including “Ghetto Reporter,” “Recession Proof,” “I’m on Fire,” “Once a Man, Twice a Child,” “Don’t Shoot,” and the bonus “Til My Last Breath.”
KD3 marks Nas’ fourth consecutive project co-executive produced by Hit-Boy. It follows the aforementioned Magic and the first two installments of the King’s Disease series.
The two spoke about their chemistry in a 2021 interview with Complex, just two months after they unleashed KD2.
“I feel like every song we make, without even consciously doing it, we’re trying to make it better than the last,” Nas explained. “It’s just already embedded in us to do that. I feel like as long as we keep taking that approach, it’s going to get crazier and crazier, and that’s what happened. I keep seeing every day like, ‘Damn, how would y’all top KD1 that y’all won a Grammy for? This is even better.’ That’s a good feeling, and it lets me know that the chemistry is legit. I feel like we caught it quick. Like, the first day we came through, we recorded ‘All Bad,’ and that made KD1.”
You can stream Nas’ King’s Disease III album below.
In addition, Nas and Madison Square Garden announced the rapper will be performing a King's Disease trilogy show for one night only on Feb. 24, 2023. You can check out the details below.
