On King's Disease II

 

Credit-Spotify

From Illmatic to Stillmatic. From King's Disease I to King's Disease II. From Illmatic to King's Disease II. And everything in between. Consistency. Evolution. Depth. Range. Versitility. In this his latest outing, Nas, establishes himself as the Master Sonic Teacher.

It is two decades short of the anniversary of the release of Ether, the explosively caustic rebuke of fellow New Yorker, Jay Z, wherein Nas described himself as a teacher. It is clear that in those long intervening years he has soaked up the lessons of the school of life and his trade to deservedly and justifiably earn the accolade of Master Teacher. And the evidence is served up hot on King's Disease II, the Master Teacher's specially prepared balme for healing minds. This is the 13th studio album in the Nas oeuvre. He won his First Grammy for King's Disease I. Serious hiphop heads consider Illmatic the greatest rap album ever. Where to place this one then? Sure sign of the disease of surfeit quality. Now his works will vie for each other going forward for which takes the elusive diadem of magnum opus. An internal battle in an artistic life of prodigious creations. 

I have taken my time to take a good listen of the album. In my morning walks on the streets of my neighbourhood in Accra. The New York(Queensbridge) accent is there wrapped in the peculiar lingo and ciphers. That may be a barrier for some international lovers of his work. No stress. It comes with the territory for all art must come from source. But the work is clever for the international appeal is unmistakable. In the first line of the first verse of Nobody, Ghana, my homeland gets a mention(bragging rights for life). And then Egypt, Argentina, Paris etc. 

Nobody is a tale of angst even double consciousness. It reminds me of Dubois. And Kobina Sekyi in his irascibly funny yet cerebral work, The Anglo-Fanti. Nas clearly has in mind the complexity of America on this track exacerbated by the George Floyd murder as he contemplates fight or flight with the irrepresible Miss Hill(who classily signals in that well rendered take that she went nowhere). In the end and expectedly Nas choses the former. 

The social consciousness of Nobody resonates through Count me in, Composure(Shaka Senghor is grippingly arresting; a heartfelt gesture to the streets; for all of us confronting life's unsparing barbs), My Bible, 40 Side and Pressure. Nas the Master Teacher at work. True to a form going back to Illmatic.

And then there are historical pieces. On Nas is Good he returns to a theme he has pushed hard(2010, 2018); far better than many scholars I know in the Academy in Africa. The centrality of the Ancient Kemetic Civilization to Black's Africa's historical heritage is very important to him. The linguistic, historical and pychological value. Read cultural in the Diopian sense. On Death Row East one reads some Survivor's Remorse as Nas tries to bring some clarity on the purported East-West Coast rivalry that took the lives of two greats : Tupac and Biggy. Nas pays respects to other greats on Moments. 

The standard fare of hiphopery of machismo, lust, love, wealth, power, success etc are telescoped through YKTV(YG and Boogie wit da Hoodie hold their own well), No Phony Love, Rare and Brunch on Sundays. Charlie Wilson, Blxst and Don Toliver provide effortless vocal soporific trimmings to the album in spades. 

HitBoy delivers with a virtuoso production that runs the gamut of stylistic range from soul, R&B, jazz, gospel to what have you. I loved the haunting play of the synths on gritty Count me in. 

In this banger of a work Rap is back. Boooooommmmm!!!!