Escobar Season has returned for a new decade. Last night, Nas surprised the Hip-Hop world by announcing a new album exclusively produced by Hit Boy (King’s Disease) and dropping the first official single, “Ultra Black.”
There’s no subtleties here as Nas utilizes short, declarative bars to reference black celebrities from the 70s through today, juxtaposing such figures as Grace Jones, Cash Money Records, Colin Kaepernick, Isaac Kennedy and Sanford & Son.
Despite this, controversy brings the most attention and so far the biggest talking point as Nas’s light jab at Doja Cat’s alleged past entertaining alt-right racists.
Sometimes I’m over-black, even my clothes are black
Cash Money with the white tee and the soldier rag
We goin’ ultra black, unapologetically black
The opposite of Doja Cat, Michael Blackson black
Ironically, Hit Boy’s production has the soulful and celebratory feel of Kanye’s mid-2000s work with Common (Be, Finding Forever) and what some had expected from Ye and Nas on their experiment 2018 collaboration Nasir.
Although these aren’t blackout Nas verses like we heard on “Echo” and “Lost Freestyle,” it shows the old master and young hit-maker have good chemistry and bodes well for what we’ll get on August 21.
King’s Disease is available now for pre-order.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 