Nas announces suprise release of new ‘Magic 2’ – coming this week

nme.com:

Nas has announced the surprise release of his new album ‘Magic 2’ – coming this week.Recently, the ‘One Mic’ rapper – real name Nasir Jones – toured the world with the iconic hip-hop troupe Wu-Tang Clan, including a sold-out show at London’s O2 arena and a Hennessy-sponsored afterparty at London’s KOKO.This week saw Nas post the cover art for his 16th studio album and captioned the picture with “7.21,” revealing that the record will be out this Friday (July 21). ‘Magic 2’ will be the sequel record to the 49-year-old’s 2021 Hit-Boy-produced album ‘Magic’.A post shared by Nasir Jones (@nas)The album will be Nas’ fifth record in three years.

In 2020, he released the critically-acclaimed ‘King’s Disease’,  which earned Jones his first-ever Grammy Award. The next year, he dropped ‘King’s Disease II’ and ‘Magic’.

The last record the New York legend put out was last year’s ‘King’s Disease III‘ – the final instalment in the ‘King’s Disease’ trilogy.In a five-star review, NME said that “With ‘King’s Disease III’, the New York rapper has put the seal on a strong album trilogy that proves that, three decades in, he’s still a force to be reckoned with.”With his label, Mass Appeal, Nas has been celebrating 50 years of hip-hop through various ventures.

In April, Swizz Beatz solely produced ‘Hip Hop: Vol. 2’ which featured Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Fivio Foreign and more in honour of the genre’s birthday.Also, Mass Appeal are promoting Hip Hop 50 Live, a concert celebrating “the day it began in the Bronx, where it all started”.