King's Disease III
King's Disease III | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 11, 2022 | |||
Recorded | 2021-2022 | |||
Genre | Hip hop | |||
Length | 51:52 | |||
Label | Mass Appeal | |||
Producer |
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Nas chronology | ||||
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King's Disease III is the fifteenth
At the
Background
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
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 88/100[4] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [5] |
Clash | 8/10[6] |
The Daily Telegraph | [7] |
HipHopDX | 4.1/5[8] |
NME | [9] |
Pitchfork | 7.1/10[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
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
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
Track listing
All tracks produced by Hit-Boy, except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Ghetto Reporter" |
| 2:36 | |
2. | "Legit" |
| 3:22 | |
3. | "Thun" |
| 3:26 | |
4. | "Michael & Quincy" |
| 2:47 | |
5. | "30" |
| 2:18 | |
6. | "Hood2Hood" |
| 3:00 | |
7. | "Recession Proof" |
| 3:03 | |
8. | "Reminisce" |
| 3:33 | |
9. | "Serious Interlude" |
| 2:58 | |
10. | "I'm on Fire" |
| 2:29 | |
11. | "WTF SMH" |
|
| 3:48 |
12. | "Once a Man, Twice a Child" |
|
| 3:59 |
13. | "Get Light" |
| 2:52 | |
14. | "First Time" |
| 2:44 | |
15. | "Beef" |
| 3:05 | |
16. | "Don't Shoot" |
| 2:32 | |
17. | "Til' My Last Breath" (bonus track) | 3:10 | ||
Total length: | 51:52 |
Sample credits
- "Legit" contains a sample of "A Heart Is a House for Love" written by Tristin Sigerson, Davitt Sigerson, and Bob Thiele, as performed by Billy Valentine and The Dells from The Five Heartbeats.
- "Ghetto Reporter" contains a sample of "Just Us" performed by Richard Pryor.
- "Thun" contains a sample of "DJ Scott La Rock & KRS-One under the musical group Boogie Down Productions.
- "Hood2Hood" contains an interpolation of "E.U.
- "Get Light" contains an interpolation of "The Notorious B.I.G.
- "Reminisce" contains a sample of "Dave "Jam" Hall and Eric Milteer, as performed by Mary J. Blige.
- "I'm on Fire" contains elements from Street Fighter II: The World Warrior.
- "Beef" contains a sample of "N.Y. State Of Mind", produced by DJ Premier, as performed by Nas.
- ^[a] "Til' My Last Breath" contains a sample of "Narco", written by Thom Jongkind, Idir Makhlaf and Timothy Jude Smith, as performed by Blasterjaxx and Timmy Trumpet.
Charts
Chart (2022) | Peak position |
---|---|
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 |
2 | |
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[23] | 30 |
US Billboard 200[24] | 10 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[25] | 4 |
References
- ^ Strauss, Matthew (November 9, 2022). "Nas Details New Album King's Disease III". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- Complex. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
- ^ @nas (October 18, 2022). "11•11" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b "King's Disease III by Nas Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
- ^ Allmusic. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
- ^ Diep, Eric (November 14, 2022). "Nas 'King's Disease 3' Cements His Impressive Second Act". HipHopDX. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Thompson, Paul A. (November 21, 2022). "Nas: King's Disease III Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
- ^ a b Shepherd, Fiona (November 11, 2022). "Album reviews: Christine and the Queens, Nas, Bis, Kapil Seshasayee". The Scotsman. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Quan, Jay. "Nas Ties Jay-Z for Most Top 10 Albums". rockthebells.com. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
- ^ a b "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ a b "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 21 November 2022". The ARIA Report. No. 1707. Australian Recording Industry Association. November 21, 2022. p. 10.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Nas – King's Disease III" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
- ^ "Nas Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Nas – King's Disease III" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Nas – King's Disease III". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
- ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ "Nas Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
- ^ "Nas Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2022.