Maps of Music

King's Disease III (2022)

Where the lyrics of King's Disease III take you, and where it was really made.

Hit-Boy said on Twitter on the same day Nas released Magic that the two had already begun a third King's Disease album.

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King's Disease III: fifteenth studio album by American rapper Nas
Released November 11, 2022 through Mass Appeal Records
Third entry in Nas' King's Disease series
Acts as a sequel to the 2020 album King's Disease and the 2021 album King's Disease II
Executive produced by Nas and American record producer Hit-Boy, as with the two previous albums
Nominated in the Best Rap Album category at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards

Nas surprise-released his fourteenth album Magic on December 24, 2021
On the song "Ugly", Nas confirmed a third King's Disease installment was in the works
On the same day, Hit-Boy announced via Twitter that he and Nas had begun working on a third King's Disease album
On October 18, 2022, Nas announced the album with its release date, using a promotional poster on his social media platforms

Born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones on September 14, 1973 in Brooklyn, New York City; raised in the Queensbridge Houses, Queens.
Son of jazz and blues musician Olu Dara; began as "Nasty Nas" in 1989 and recorded demos under Large Professor.
Made his recording debut on Main Source's 1991 song "Live at the Barbeque"; signed with Columbia Records in 1992.

Debut album Illmatic (April 19, 1994) is regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop albums; selected for the Library of Congress National Recording Registry.
It Was Written (1996) debuted atop the Billboard 200; single "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" featuring Lauryn Hill brought mainstream success.
Feud with Jay-Z (2001–2005) via the diss track "Ether"; Stillmatic and God's Son helped restore his critical standing.
Released Hip Hop Is Dead (2006) and Distant Relatives (2010) with Damian Marley, whose royalties went to African charities.
King's Disease (2020) won his first Grammy for Best Rap Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.
Released King's Disease II, Magic, King's Disease III, Magic 2 and Magic 3, all produced by Hit-Boy.
Announced Light-Years with DJ Premier, a 2025 collaborative album.

Metacritic: the album has received an average score of 88 based on eleven reviews, indicating "universal acclaim"
AllMusic (David Crone): the work is described as at once loose and deeply complex, with the three bullions on the cover said to say it best
Clash (Robin Murray): called it a fantastically consistent, perpetually illuminating full-length that shows Nas keeping a hunger and sheer fire
The Daily Telegraph (Thomas Hobbs): noted some tonal missteps but praised Nas and Hit-Boy for bringing warm soul samples back into hip hop
HipHopDX (Eric Diep): said the album keeps Nas in the relevancy conversation because his voice is still impactful
NME (Niall Smith): said the album puts the seal on a strong album trilogy
The Scotsman (Fiona Shepherd): said Nas looks backwards and forwards on the album, with 'Reminisce' named as an album standout
Pitchfork (Paul A. Thompson): was more critical, finding the drabbest moments when Nas lapses into mechanical entrepreneur-speak
Slant Magazine (Paul Attard): was slightly indifferent, describing the album as often feeling like a spartan exercise in pure technical ability

Debuted at number 10 on the US Billboard 200 with 29,000 album-equivalent units, including 8,500 pure album sales
Nas' 16th top-ten album on the chart, tying Jay-Z for the most top tens among rap artists
Accumulated 26.47 million on-demand official streams from the album's tracks
Debuted at number 48 on the UK Albums Chart and number 2 on the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart on November 18, 2022
Nominated for Best Rap Album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards

The album is the third King's Disease release, following the 2020 and 2021 albums in the series.
Serious Interlude features uncredited background vocals by Mario.
Reminisce contains a sample of "You Remind Me", as performed by Mary J. Blige.
Legit samples "A Heart Is a House for Love", as performed by Billy Valentine and The Dells from The Five Heartbeats.
Beef samples Nas' own "N.Y. State Of Mind", produced by DJ Premier.
Til' My Last Breath, listed as a bonus track, samples "Narco" as performed by Blasterjaxx and Timmy Trumpet.