King's Disease III

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King's Disease III
Studio album by
Nas
ReleasedNovember 11, 2022
Recorded2021-2022
GenreHip hop
Length51:52
LabelMass Appeal
Producer
  • Hit-Boy
  • Jansport J
  • Chauncey Hollis III
Nas chronology
Magic
(2021) 		King's Disease III
(2022) 		Magic 2
(2023)

King's Disease III is the fifteenth studio album by American rapper Nas. It was released on November 11, 2022 through Mass Appeal Records.[1] The album is the third entry in Nas' King's Disease series of albums, and acts as a sequel to his 2020 album King's Disease and his 2021 album King's Disease II. The album, as with the previous two albums in the series, was executive produced by Nas and American record producer Hit-Boy. The album received widespread acclaim from critics.

At the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, the album was nominated in the Best Rap Album category.

Background[edit]

On December 24, 2021, Nas surprise-released his fourteenth album Magic. On the song "Ugly", Nas confirmed the third installment of the King's Disease series was in the works with the lyrics "KD3 on the way, this just to feed the buzz." On the same day, following the release of the album, American record producer Hit-Boy announced via Twitter that he and Nas had begun working on a third King's Disease album.[2]

On October 18, 2022, Nas announced the album, along with its release date, with a promotional poster via his social media platforms.[3]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic88/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Clash8/10[6]
The Daily Telegraph[7]
HipHopDX4.1/5[8]
NME[9]
Pitchfork7.1/10[10]
The Scotsman[11]
Slant Magazine[12]

King's Disease III was met with widespread acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album has received an average score of 88 based on eleven reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[4]

Concluding the review for AllMusic, David Crone wrote that, "The resulting work is at once loose and deeply complex, effortless in its incisiveness yet still dazzling at its peaks. The three bullions on the album's cover say it best: this duo keep on producing gold."[5] Assessing the album for Clash, Robin Murray declared it, "A fantastically consistent, perpetually illuminating full-length, it shows Nas to retain a hunger and sheer fire that so many of his peers have lost. Recalling former glories while remaining fixed on the future, King's Disease III underlines the rapper's current creative streak."[6] For The Daily Telegraph, Thomas Hobbs stated that, "Although King's Disease III might have some tonal missteps, Nas and Hit-Boy should be applauded for bringing warm soul samples back into hip hop culture at a time of such darkness and uncertainty. This is Godfather: Part III if Michael Corleone retired without all the treachery; music about being comfortable with your place and making it to the other side."[7]

Writing for HipHopDX, Eric Diep claimed that, "KD3 keeps Nas in the relevancy conversation because his voice is still impactful, calling to action when some might say he doesn't need to do this anymore. It's a lesson in purposeful storytelling and aging with grace." Reviewing the album for NME, Niall Smith claimed 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."[9] In the review for The Scotsman, Fiona Shepherd described the Nas' work as, "moving with the times, while imparting some of his experience and wisdom – as such, he looks backwards and forwards over a pitch-shifted Mary J. Blige sample and synth arpeggios on album standout 'Reminisce'."[11]

Reviewing the album for Pitchfork, Paul A. Thompson was more critical of it, declaring that, "The paring down of Nas' verses necessarily makes them feel less improvisatory; he has always been such an exacting writer that little seems to be discovered in the recitation of lyrics themselves, but density brings more opportunity for little bends in inflection and hitches in rhythm. The drabbest moments on KD3 come when he lapses into mechanical entrepreneur-speak ... doled out with a deliberate hand and no room for flourishes that might undercut or deepen its meaning. Fortunately these are far rarer than on the first two King's Disease volumes—and they're balanced by more charming references."[10] Paul Attard from Slant Magazine was also slightly indifferent about the album, stating: "By adhering to a creative formula typically associated with many foundational Golden Era classics, King's Disease III often feels like a spartan exercise in pure technical ability."[12]

Commercial performance[edit]

King's Disease III debuted at number ten on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 29,000 album-equivalent units (including 8,500 copies in pure album sales) in its first week.[13] This became Nas' 16th top-ten album on the chart, tying him with former rival Jay-Z for the most top tens among rap artists.[13][14] The album also accumulated a total of 26.47 million on-demand official streams from the set’s tracks.[13]

In the United Kingdom, King's Disease III debuted at number 48 on the UK Albums Chart[15] and number 2 on the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart on November 18, 2022.[16]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks produced by Hit-Boy, except where noted.

King's Disease III track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Ghetto Reporter"
 2:36
2."Legit"
  • Jones
  • Hollis
  • Philip Cornish
 3:22
3."Thun"
  • Jones
  • Hollis
 3:26
4."Michael & Quincy"
  • Jones
  • Hollis
  • Blum
 2:47
5."30"
  • Jones
  • Hollis
 2:18
6."Hood2Hood"
  • Jones
  • Hollis
  • Quintin Gulledge
 3:00
7."Recession Proof"
  • Jones
  • Hollis
 3:03
8."Reminisce"
  • Jones
  • Hollis
  • Blum
 3:33
9."Serious Interlude"
  • Jones
  • Hollis
  • Blum
 2:58
10."I'm on Fire"
  • Jones
  • Hollis
 2:29
11."WTF SMH"
  • Jones
  • Hollis
  • Justin Keith Williams
  • Hit-Boy
  • Jansport J
3:48
12."Once a Man, Twice a Child"
  • Jones
  • Hollis
  • Chauncey Hollis III
  • Hit-Boy
  • C3 Official
3:59
13."Get Light"
  • Jones
  • Hollis
 2:52
14."First Time"
  • Jones
  • Hollis
 2:44
15."Beef"
  • Jones
  • Hollis
  • Dustin James Corbett
 3:05
16."Don't Shoot"
  • Jones
  • Hollis
  • Jun Kim
 2:32
17."Til' My Last Breath" (bonus track)
 3:10
Total length:51:52

Sample credits

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for King's Disease III
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Australian Digital Albums (ARIA)[17] 9
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] 101
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[19] 29
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[20] 97
Japanese Digital Albums (Oricon)[21] 46
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 42
UK Albums (OCC)[15] 48
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[16] 2
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[23] 30
US Billboard 200[24] 10
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[25] 4

References[edit]

  1. ^ Strauss, Matthew (November 9, 2022). "Nas Details New Album King's Disease III". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  2. ^ Price, Joe (December 24, 2021). "Hit-Boy Says 'King's Disease III' With Nas Is on the Way". Complex. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  3. ^ @nas (October 18, 2022). "11•11" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ a b "King's Disease III by Nas Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Crone, David (November 11, 2022). "Nas – The King's Disease III Album Reviews, Songs & More". Allmusic. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Murray, Robin (November 15, 2022). "Nas – The King's Disease III A super return from the rap legend..." Clash. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Hobbs, Thomas (November 11, 2022). "Christine and the Queens turns electro gothic, Wizkid is a wonder – the week's best albums". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  8. ^ Diep, Eric (November 14, 2022). "Nas 'King's Disease 3' Cements His Impressive Second Act". HipHopDX. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Smith, Niall (November 14, 2022). "Nas – 'King's Disease III' review: hip-hop great delivers compelling conclusion to his album trilogy". NME. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  10. ^ a b Thompson, Paul A. (November 21, 2022). "Nas: King's Disease III Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Shepherd, Fiona (November 11, 2022). "Album reviews: Christine and the Queens, Nas, Bis, Kapil Seshasayee". The Scotsman. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Attard, Paul (November 16, 2022). "Nas King's Disease III Review: A Rap Icon at His Myth-Making Merriest". Slant Magazine. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  13. ^ a b c Caulfield, Keith (November 20, 2022). "Taylor Swift's 'Midnights' Returns to No. 1 on Billboard 200 for Third Week". Billboard. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  14. ^ Quan, Jay. "Nas Ties Jay-Z for Most Top 10 Albums". rockthebells.com. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  15. ^ a b "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  16. ^ a b "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  17. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 21 November 2022". The ARIA Report. No. 1707. Australian Recording Industry Association. November 21, 2022. p. 10.
  18. ^ "Ultratop.be – Nas – King's Disease III" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  19. ^ "Nas Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  20. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Nas – King's Disease III" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  21. ^ 週間 デジタルアルバムランキング 2022年11月28日付 （2022年11月14日～2022年11月20日） [Weekly Digital Album Ranking dated November 28, 2022 (November 14, 2022 – November 20, 2022)] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  22. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Nas – King's Disease III". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  23. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  24. ^ "Nas Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  25. ^ "Nas Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
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