Nas - Magic 3

Magic 3, the septuagenarian who closes his trilogy

Released on September 14, 2023, via Mass Appeal Records, Magic 3 arrives as a late but necessary revelation. The official announcement came two days earlier through an enigmatic Instagram post from September 12, before the tracklist was revealed just hours prior to sales opening. The album fits into Nas's schedule as a major interlude: it coincides with his fiftieth birthday and concludes the Magic trilogy, initiated by Magic in 2021 and followed by Magic 2, released a few weeks earlier, also in 2023. This opus constitutes the seventeenth studio album from the New York artist and marks the end of an unprecedented artistic collaboration with Hit-Boy.

Fever, Opening an Album of Memories

The opening track of the album, Fever, immediately sets the terms for the project: a retrospective on his catalog. This track opens up a series of fifteen songs that unfold like a sum, where each verse adds to Nas's personal library. The production, entirely signed by Hit-Boy, gives the album a stylistic homogeneity that leaves no room for the uncertainties of a fleeting collaboration. This sonic continuity is the thread running through an album where the artist seems to have reached an absolute level of mastery, without it being necessary to seek surprise or radical rupture to feel safe in his own words.

Never Die feat. Lil Wayne, the only official collaboration

At the center of the album, sixth on the tracklist, Never Die (feat. Lil Wayne) brings the sole officially credited feature across the entire project. This presence is notable because it occurs in a context where everything else about the project aims to be intimate and introspective. Lil Wayne's intervention contrasts with the central theme of the record: while Nas speaks of ending cycles, closing out a trilogy, the appearance of an artist like Wayne introduces tension between the idea of a definitive departure and that of an exchange always possible. It is indeed just one collaboration among the fifteen tracks on the album, which further accentuates the uniqueness of this shared moment at the heart of a work conceived as a monologue.

1-800-Nas&Hit, the dialogue with Hit-Boy

The album closes with the final track, 1-800-Nas&Hit, which transforms the relationship between the artist and his producer into a kind of phone call. This conceptual approach seals the end of a six-album run, five of which were produced by Hit-Boy following the trilogy King's Disease. The album title itself, read as a direct call number to the producer, crystallizes this idea of personal and professional connection. It is indeed the last studio album produced entirely by Hit-Boy for Nas, giving an extra dimension to this conclusion: we are not just talking about the end of a trilogy, but the end of a long-term artistic partnership.

A solo-produced series' legacy review

Beyond form and collaborations, Magic 3 stands as a statement of heritage. With an average score of 86/100 on Metacritic, based on five professional reviews, the album received universal acclaim that validates the choice of this monolithic configuration: one producer, one artist, one vision. The lack of variety in collaborations is not presented here as a weakness, but rather as a coronation of an artistic endeavor where quality takes precedence over the fame of associated names. If Nas were to release a new studio album after Magic 3, it would be Light-Years, a project slated for 2025 that will undoubtedly mark a new chapter in this now-closed series.

Technical Details

- Release Date: September 14, 2023 - Label: Mass Appeal - Tracks: 15 (45 min 50 sec) - Opening / Closing Track: Fever / 1-800-Nas&Hit - Guests: Lil Wayne - Previous Album: Magic 2 (2023)