Nas - King’s Disease (Discussion Thread)
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TheDarceKnight
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Yeah. That's definitely what the issue was. FWIW I don't think 9th intended for it to seem as harsh as it did.
Also, I'm not close with 9th anymore, but I'm almost positive he did do a joint that was on the Nas and Demian Marley album, but got cut at the last minute.
Yeah. 9th is a talented producer. I know the general take on here is that he's overrated, but in some ways I actually think he's underrated. His chop game is some of the best out there. He's very good at taking 2 parts of a song/sample that are in different spots, aren't meant to go together, and splice them together in a way that's dope. Even production heads/beat-nerds that don't love 9th Wonder usually give his chopping skills a lot of credit. Here's a great example. I've heard a LOT of flips of In The Air Tonight. He took like 4 parts from 2nd verse, and spliced them together in a way that shouldn't work, but does.
You can hear the chops good on a remake here.
He also works very fast. He did 4 beats for Rhythm Roulette and they probably took 15 mins each, and many fans of that series have his episode as a top 3 episode. Hell, one of my friends that's a producer hates most 9th beats and still thinks it's the best Rhythm Roulette episode ever.
and to add on if yall remember this nikka nas posted a video of him and fivi in the studio together like around february or march? can't remember... but you see he ain't just send a nikka a beat through email like gimme a verse nah.. he was there to direct the action and tell fivi exactly what the song was and what he wanted. that way it stayed true to his vision as opposed to some random feature
UserNameless
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TheDarceKnight
Veteran
Yep. I heard the remix album before almost anyone. He played it for us before he was even intending to sell it. He never said anything about Nas picking wack beats. He just said he wasn't liking the beats on God's Son that much, and wanted to make the type of beats he'd rather hear Nas over. No one expected that project to make as much of an impact as it did on bringing back remix albums, etc. He was also brand new in the game, and I truly think any mistakes made on the framing of that album were errors of the mind and not the heart. He also remixed The Black Album, and liked most of the beats on the original version.
The Listening and the Minstrel Show are some of the best albums of the 2000's. Phonte was actually the true executive producer on those albums, but 9th contributed to two of the best underground albums of the past 20 years. He at least deserves credit for that. And I'm saying this as someone that thinks the reunited Little Brother is better without him, and I think May the Lord Watch could easily go down in history as Little Brother's best album once some times passes and people strip away the nostalgia of the earlier works.
@Ziggiy I'll cool it on the 9th Wonder stuff. I just haven;t checked the thread in a day or two. I know you want it to be about celebrating this album, but I think I have some unique experiences that make it worth me dropping some takes on the situation, since I was right there on the scene when God's Stepson was made.
TheDarceKnight
Veteran
Yea the album sounds incredible both in headphones and especially in the car.
p*ssy Power like Tasha pushed Tommy to KillFoxy really killed this shyt in 2020.
...I Spit ETHER
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UserNameless
Veteran
It does . Shyt sounds crisp playing out the fukkin phone .
But yo, they need to stop coming at Pooh .
And @L. Deezy knows better... “The Listening” is a classic . Stop playin
Minstrel show borders classic, IMO but I know that’s not a popular opinion .
TheDarceKnight
Veteran
No doubt.
I do remember thinking the beats on God's Son sounded a little more subdued and maybe not as exciting as IWW, I Am, Stillmatic, or Lost Tapes.
But yeah...in that early 2000's era, I thought almost every beat on Stillmatic and Lost Tapes were fire as fukk.
People definitely hated on IWW though. Heads at the time looked at it as a super commercial album. @Piff Perkins is right. I mean today If I Ruled The World would be considered a boom-bap/traditional hip-hop joint. But at the time it was considered more of a pop song. And die hard Illmatic fans didn't like all the Trackmasters (and even to some extend the Dr. Dre) stuff.
Also, it's important to remember that De La Soul dropped Stakes Is High on THE SAME DAY as It Was Written. So there was definitely a split in the community, and IMO this was the beginning of the split of the "mainstream" and "underground" hip-hop lanes. It Was Written maybe wasn't seen as a sellout album, but it was NOT viewed as a diehard traditional hip-hop album, especially dropping the same day as De La.
Slim Charles
All Star
Already praised it in here but the Cure is fukkin ridiculous. Every line is a quotable.
On the beat thing, what pisses me off about it is it has become a standard trope to say when people talk about Nas. ‘Oh he picks wack beats’. And 90% of the people who say it don’t even know his catalogue. I’ve already seen reviews and YouTube reaction vids mention it. It’s just become a standard thing to seem knowledgable on Nas’ career.
its fine to say you don’t like Nas’ beat selections if you know his catalogue but lot that say it don’t have the knowledge to back it up
On the beat thing, what pisses me off about it is it has become a standard trope to say when people talk about Nas. ‘Oh he picks wack beats’. And 90% of the people who say it don’t even know his catalogue. I’ve already seen reviews and YouTube reaction vids mention it. It’s just become a standard thing to seem knowledgable on Nas’ career.
its fine to say you don’t like Nas’ beat selections if you know his catalogue but lot that say it don’t have the knowledge to back it up
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spliz
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@TheDarceKnight im not sure what he meant to say. But he definitely came off arrogant and insulting. Meanwhile most people fukked with God’s Son heavy. Of course Nas didn’t mind people remixing it because he put the vocals out there for a reason. But it was the way that it was handled the prolly rubbed him the wrong way. shyt. Even recently with that whole essay he did about Jay and basically shytting on Nas if anyone who feels Nas is better. Nas sees that type of shyt and moved accordingly even tho he don’t vocally bash people.
IllmaticDelta
Veteran
The production on 10 Points is fukking crazy, b...
The mixing & mastering on this album is amazing too...
this is honestly one of the first times where I’m like you really need to hear this album with proper headphones and system. My first listen was on my phone speakers. Might as well been listening to a clock radio. Once I popped on the noise cancelling headphones it was like seeing fire for the first time. This is Dre Dre levels of mixing and mastering. Just very rich and vibrant.
TheDarceKnight
Veteran
I love AZ's verse like everybody else but I like Foxy the most on there. Her voice isn't the same anymore, clearly, but lyrically/delivery wise she is still nasty. I like the whole setup of the song, the 3 men honoring women and showing respect...then the woman comes in last poppin big shyt and talking crazy about how great she is, hahaa, that's dope.p*ssy Power like Tasha pushed Tommy to Kill
...I Spit ETHER
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