Figure it Out

Moroccan-American rapper French Montana is one of the world's most successful African-born artists, with several platinum certifications and collaborations with numerous major hip-hop figures. He rose from the New York mixtape underground in the 2000s and built an indie empire with his Cocaine City imprint, then emerged as a pop-savvy hip-hop act in the 2010s. Starting with his 2013 debut album, Excuse My French, he became known for his high-profile collaborations and a handful of chart hits including the diamond-certified "Unforgettable" from his 2017 sophomore LP, Jungle Rules. 2019's double album Montana was another showcase for big-name guests that featured the hit singles "No Stylist" and "Writing on the Wall." He retained his tried-and-true formula in 2021 for another guest-heavy effort, They Got Amnesia, before collaborating with Harry Fraud on 2022's Montega and DJ Drama on 2023's Coke Boys 6. Continuing another mixtape series, Mac & Cheese 5 arrived in 2024, followed by singles like "One More Chance."

Born Karim Kharbouch in Morocco, he immigrated to the U.S. while in his teens. He set up shop in the Bronx and began releasing his Cocaine City series of DVDs in 2002, mixing interviews with established hip-hop artists and unsigned talent. In 2009 he began releasing his own mixtape CDs with DJs like Evil Empire, DJ Drama, and Big Mike as his hosts. That same year, he would be signed to Akon's Konvict Musik label, but in late 2011 it was announced that they had parted ways and that Montana was signing to both P. Diddy's Bad Boy and Rick Ross' Maybach Music imprints in a unique joint venture. His 2012 single "Pop That" would be the first release for the united labels, while 2013 saw the arrival of his debut album, Excuse My French.

A series of mixtapes, each with an increasing R&B influence, brought Montana to 2016, when he released Casino Life 2: Brown Bag Legend. The mixtape included the hit single "Moses" featuring Chris Brown and Migos. A full LP -- MC4 -- was slated for the end of the year, but after the album was leaked by a retailer months before its official release, Montana scrapped the rollout entirely and issued it as a mixtape. MC4 (aka "Mac & Cheese 4") featured appearances by the Weeknd, Drake, Jeezy, A$AP Rocky, Kodak Black, Miguel, Nas, Kanye West, DJ Khaled, Beanie Sigel, Jadakiss, Styles P, the Alchemist, Max B, and Chinx. The following year, Montana returned with his official sophomore effort, Jungle Rules. The record included guests like the Weeknd, Travis Scott, Pharrell Williams, Quavo, Future, T.I., and Young Thug. Lead single "Unforgettable" with Swae Lee became a hit, topping the Billboard rap chart and climbing into the Top Three of the R&B and main singles list. The album itself, certified gold in the U.S., debuted at number three on the Billboard 200.

In 2018, Montana joined Diplo, Lil Pump, and Zhavia Ward for the bombastic single "Welcome to the Party" from the Deadpool 2 soundtrack, which returned him to the Hot 100. Additional singles "No Stylist" with Drake and "Slide" with Blueface and Lil Tjay were also chart hits, carrying Montana into 2019. Those latter tracks landed on his third effort, which was issued toward the end of the year on the same day he was released from hospitalization in the ICU. A double album, Montana, boasted an impressive cast of guests, including Juicy J ("50's & 100's"), Swae Lee (on the "Unforgettable" sequel "Out of Your Mind"), and Post Malone and Cardi B ("Writing on the Wall"). Upon release, the LP debuted at number 25 on the Billboard 200. The next year, he returned to his mixtape roots with Coke Boys 5.

2021 saw the release of Montana's fourth full-length, They Got Amnesia, which featured guests such as John Legend, Rick Ross, Ty Dolla $ign, Doja Cat, and many more. In 2022, Montana teamed up with Harry Fraud on the joint project Montega, which included the singles "Drive By," "Blue Chills," and "Brick & Bags." Coke Boys 6, with DJ Drama, appeared in 2023 and reached the Top 20 of the Billboard 200. Mac & Cheese 5, another installment in a mixtape series running since 2009, was released in 2024. The ambitious effort was issued in a comprehensive "Versions" edition including sped up, slowed down, a cappella, and instrumental versions of every song. Montana continued issuing singles and collaborations, including "Skyami" (with Skilla Baby), "To the Moon" (with Fivio Foreign and Fabolous), and "One More Chance." ~ David Jeffries

One of the most influential, critically lauded, and controversial artists of the early 21st century, American rapper and producer Kanye West has gone from hip-hop beatmaker to worldwide hitmaker with a wildly successful solo career that counted an unbroken string of chart-topping, multi-platinum albums and nearly two-dozen Grammy Awards. His early-2000s production work quickly led to a major-label recording contract, yielding a classic trilogy comprised of 2004's The College Dropout, 2005's Late Registration, and 2007's Graduation. With each successive album, he pushed the boundaries of hip-hop and soon entered a new phase of artistry with game changers such as 2008's 808s & Heartbreak, 2010's widely regarded magnum opus My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and 2013's industrial-leaning foray Yeezus. Celebrity, tabloid headlines, and a changing artistic vision informed much of his next era, as the trappings of fame and inner turmoil became the focus of chart-toppers such as The Life of Pablo and Ye. He even released a gospel album, Jesus Is King, in 2019. As his outspoken personality and political statements began to eclipse his music into the 2020s, he still managed to top the charts and garner accolades with 2020's exploratory Donda. In 2023, West joined forces with Ty Dolla $ign to form a new project, ¥$ and quickly releasing chapters of a trilogy in 2024 that included the albums Vultures 1 and Vultures 2.

A proud and vocal Chicagoan, West was actually born in Atlanta, moving to the Windy City with his English professor mother after his parents split when he was three years old. One of his major inspirations, Donda West helped shape young Kanye, taking him to China in the late '80s on education exchange and establishing a strong base that made him a top pupil in high school. However, his music dreams would eventually eclipse academics and he dropped out of college, setting the stage for his best-selling school trilogy. With guidance from local producer No I.D., West went on to learn the finer points of studio production, programming, and sampling, the latter technique becoming a hallmark of his early work.

He first got his foot in the industry door in the late '90s, doing quite a bit of noteworthy production work for the likes of Jermaine Dupri, Foxy Brown, Mase, and Goodie Mob. However, it was West's work for the Roc-A-Fella label at the dawn of the new millennium that took his career to the next level. Alongside fellow fresh talent Just Blaze, West became one of the Roc's go-to producers, consistently delivering hot tracks to album after album. His star turn came on Jay-Z's classic The Blueprint (2001) with album standouts "Takeover" and "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)." Both songs showcased West's signature beatmaking style at the time, which was largely sample-based; in these cases, the former track appropriated snippets of the Doors' "Five to One," while the latter sampled the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back."

More high-profile productions followed, and before long, word spread that West was going to release an album of his own, on which he planned to rap as well as produce. Unfortunately, that effort was a long time coming, pushed back repeatedly until a car crash in 2002 threatened to end his solo career before it even started. The accident left him with a jaw wired shut during his weeks-long recovery. He capitalized on the traumatic experience by using it as the inspiration for "Through the Wire" (and its corresponding video), which would later become the lead single for his debut album, 2004's The College Dropout. As the album was further delayed, West continued to create big hits for the likes of Talib Kweli ("Get By"), Ludacris ("Stand Up"), Jay-Z ("'03 Bonnie & Clyde"), and Alicia Keys ("You Don't Know My Name"). Then, just as "Through the Wire" was breaking big-time at the tail-end of 2003, another West song caught fire, a collaboration with Twista and actor Jamie Foxx called "Slow Jamz," which gave the rapper/producer two simultaneously ubiquitous singles and a much-anticipated debut album. As with so many of West's songs, the singles were driven by somewhat recognizable sample-based hooks: Chaka Khan's "Through the Fire" in the case of "Through the Wire" and Luther Vandross' "A House Is Not a Home" in the case of "Slow Jamz." During these early days, West paired his beats with tongue-twisting raps and outspoken confidence. With a backpack and brightly colored polo shirt, his dapper fashion sense set him apart from many of his peers, while his attitude often came across as boastful and egotistical. This flamboyance made for good press, something that West enjoyed, for better or worse, throughout the course of his career.

In the wake of his breakout success, West earned a whopping ten nominations at the 47th annual Grammy Awards in early 2005. The College Dropout won the Best Rap Album award, "Jesus Walks" won Best Rap Song, and a songwriting credit on "You Don't Know My Name" for Best R&B Song award was shared with Alicia Keys and Harold Lilly. Later that year, West released his second solo album, Late Registration, which spawned a series of hit singles ("Diamonds in Sierra Leone," "Gold Digger," "Heard 'Em Say," "Touch the Sky"). The album topped the charts, as did the "Gold Digger" single, and Late Registration eventually won a Grammy for Rap Album of the Year. West's production work continued more or less unabated during this time; particularly noteworthy were hits for Twista ("Overnight Celebrity"), Janet Jackson ("I Want You"), Brandy ("Talk About Our Love"), the Game ("Dreams"), Common ("Go!"), and Keyshia Cole ("I Changed My Mind"). West also founded his own label, GOOD Music ("Getting Out Our Dreams"), in conjunction with Sony BMG. The label's inaugural release was John Legend's Get Lifted (2004), followed one year later by Common's Be. In addition to all of his studio work, West also toured internationally in support of Late Registration and released Late Orchestration: Live at Abbey Road Studios (2006) in commemoration.

After retreating from the spotlight for some time, West returned to the forefront of the music world in 2007 with a series of album releases. Consequence's Don't Quit Your Day Job and Common's Finding Forever, both released by GOOD, were chiefly produced by West; the latter proved to be particularly popular, topping the album chart upon its release in July. And then there was West's third solo album, Graduation, which was promoted well in advance of its September 11 release (a memorable date that pitted Kanye against 50 Cent, who in one interview swore he would quit music if his own album, Curtis, wasn't the top-seller). A pair of singles -- "Can't Tell Me Nothing" and "Stronger," the latter an interpolation of Daft Punk's 2001 single "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" -- led the promotional push. It became his third consecutive chart-topping album, and its success culminated in eight Grammy nominations. West was the victor in four of the categories, and he performed two songs during the ceremony, including Late Registration's "Hey Mama," chosen in honor of his recently deceased mother. That loss, compounded by a breakup with his fiancée, informed 2008's genre-busting landmark 808s & Heartbreak, a major change of pace that saw West singing most of his emotionally pained lyrics with the assistance of Auto-Tune. The album went platinum, spawning Top Three hits "Love Lockdown" and "Heartless," while influencing a generation of young rappers wanting to tap into their emotional sides. West toured internationally, even returning to China in 2008 for a stop on his Glow in the Dark Tour. However, after a headline-grabbing turn at the 2009 MTV Video Awards involving Taylor Swift, West retreated from the spotlight to record another album.

In 2010, West emerged with his fifth work, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, which marked the start of a new era for the artist, one focused on fame, sex, and opulent production. Recorded in Hawaii, the star-studded set recruited a staggering number of guest vocal spots from the likes of Kid Cudi, Elton John, Rihanna, Bon Iver, Rick Ross, and RZA. Preceded by the bombastic, King Crimson-sampling single "Power," Fantasy also included the Grammy-winning "All of the Lights," fan favorite "Runaway," and "Monster," which featured a star-making turn by a young Nicki Minaj. A sprawling and audacious statement, it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, won a Grammy for Best Rap Album, and also went multi-platinum. While the album was still hot, West recorded the aggressive and boast-heavy Watch the Throne with Jay-Z and numerous producers and songwriters. Billed as a set by the Throne, it was released in August 2011 and entered the Billboard Top 200 chart at number one. A trio of hit singles -- "Otis," "No Church in the Wild," and "Ni**as in Paris" -- climbed the charts and each won Grammy Awards, capping a dominant run for the rapper that resulted in 21 Grammys within just eight years.

In September 2012, he released the GOOD Music collaboration album Cruel Summer, which featured artists such as Big Sean, Pusha T, and Lifted. Four singles ("Mercy," "Cold," "New Flow," and "Clique") were released as promotion for the record. Toward the end of the year, there were rumblings from acclaimed producers that a new album would emerge soon. These murmurs were soon confirmed when West himself announced that he was working on his sixth album with the likes of Daft Punk, King L., Justin Vernon, Rick Rubin, Chief Keef, and many more contributing. As one of the most eagerly anticipated albums of 2013, the angry and aggressive Yeezus was released to rapturous reviews from critics. Incorporating industrial-electronic touches, screamed vocals, and soaring gospel, West touched upon both controversial and sensitive topics while delivering an astonishing and bold record, described as his most confrontational and bravest album to date. Despite leaking days before its official release, Yeezus still sold almost 327,000 copies during its first week and singles "Black Skinhead" and "Bound 2" were certified platinum while "New Slaves" received a Grammy nomination.

The year 2013 also proved to be a personal milestone for West, as he became a father for the first time with partner Kim Kardashian. The following year, he announced a new album and released "Only One" featuring Paul McCartney, which, like his 2015 single "FourFiveSeconds" with McCartney and Rihanna, remained a non-LP release. Later, he announced another, different album, titled So Help Me God, which later turned to SWISH, then Waves, and finally The Life of Pablo. The album was released on Valentine's Day 2016 and shot to the top of the Billboard 200. The guest list for the platinum-selling effort included Chance the Rapper, Kid Cudi, Young Thug, Chris Brown, Sia, the Weeknd, French Montana, Frank Ocean, Post Malone, Jay-Z, and many more. In the age of streaming and direct artist-to-fan access, West took advantage of the technology and continued to tinker with the album even after it was released, tweaking production, guest verses, and even lyrics.

During the promotion of Pablo, West canceled the final dates of his revolutionary Saint Pablo Tour -- during which he performed from a "floating" stage suspended above the pit -- and was hospitalized for psychiatric observation. He retreated from the spotlight for nearly a year and re-emerged in 2017 to begin recording material for his next album -- as well as production for artists on his GOOD Music label -- at a studio in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. While there, he also continued to court controversy with his political views and public statements made via social media. Amidst the headline flurry, he released a pair of singles in April 2018: "Lift Yourself" and "Ye vs. the People" with T.I. The following month, West delivered the first of the "Wyoming Sessions" studio productions with Pusha T's critically acclaimed, Grammy-nominated Daytona. A week later, West released his eighth official set, Ye, which featured appearances by Kid Cudi, Ty Dolla $ign, and Nicki Minaj, as well as production by Mike Dean, Che Pope, Francis and the Lights, and Benny Blanco. Singles "Yikes" and "All Mine" were both certified platinum and hovered around the Top Ten on the Hot 100. The third installment of the series arrived the next week, marking the debut of the collaborative project Kids See Ghosts, a duo formed by West and Cudi. Kids See Ghosts featured Pusha T, Mos Def, and Ty Dolla $ign, as well as samples of Louis Prima and Kurt Cobain. West's Wyoming Sessions were completed with the release of Nas' Nasir and Teyana Taylor's K.T.S.E., and he received a nomination for Producer of the Year at the 2019 Grammy Awards.

Following the flurry of activity in Wyoming, West released a pair of singles to close out the year. While the drug- and lust-filled "XTCY" was more of a B-side, its follow-up "I Love It" with Lil Pump took off on the charts and became a viral hit, boosted by a surreal music video and equally quirky live television performances. Certified double platinum, the song was West's highest charting on the Hot 100 since 2015's "FourFiveSeconds." Riding the momentum of "I Love It," West announced that another album was imminent. Like the pre-Pablo SWISH and Waves buildup, the proposed Yandhi -- a sequel to Yeezus -- never materialized and, in 2019, West revealed the album would be titled Jesus Is King. To promote the effort, he expanded his "Sunday Service" gospel revival events across the U.S., playing early versions of the album to fans in Detroit, Chicago, and New York City. Issued that October, Jesus Is King became West's ninth straight number one studio album as a headliner. Singles "Closed on Sunday" and "Follow God" landed the rapper on multiple international charts, while the latter was certified gold in the U.S. A companion set from West's Sunday Service Choir, Jesus Is Born, arrived on Christmas Day 2019. Although West's vocals did not appear on the album, the crew intertwined their takes on tracks like "Ultralight Beam" and "Father Stretch My Hands" with their versions of beloved gospel songs by the Clark Sisters and Reverend Timothy Wright.

Recording for West's tenth album, Donda, began in early 2020. Named after his late mother, the release of Donda was surrounded by the same chaotic energy that encircled everything West was involved with at the time. Release dates were announced and pushed back, and after a listening party at Atlanta's Mercedes Benz Stadium in late July of 2021, West took up residence in one of the stadium's locker rooms to continue mixing and finalizing the recording of the album. Another listening party was scheduled around a new, tentative release date. The Grammy-nominated set finally arrived in August and entered number one in over a dozen countries. A sequel, Donda 2, appeared in February of 2022, exclusively available as part of the Stem Player, a remix device and streaming platform developed by British company Kano Computing in collaboration with West. However, because the release was not made available to purchase or stream outside of the device, it was deemed ineligible for the Billboard charts. Featuring the likes of Baby Keem, Migos, Jack Harlow, Alicia Keys, and many more, it reportedly managed to sell thousands of players, earning West millions. For the rest of the year, despite attempts to maintain a lower profile -- he pulled out of Coachella and Rolling Loud headline slots at the last minute -- West remained in the headlines with his continued controversial and inflammatory statements. In 2023, West joined forces with rapper Ty Dolla $ign to form ¥$. The duo released debut single "Vultures" in November of that year. They slowly leaked out information about the project in the lead-up to an oft-delayed debut full-length Vultures 1 before finally releasing it in February of 2024. The album, which featured guest appearances from a number of famous artists including Lil Durk, Freddie Gibbs, James Blake, and many others, debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart. Though ¥$ initially claimed they would release subsequent chapters Vultures 2 and Vultures 3 as a trilogy at the rate of one album per month, it would be August of 2024 when Vultures 2 finally materialized. The album again included a host of guest appearances, this time making space for collaborations from Lil Wayne, Young Thug, Desiigner, and Kodak Black, just to name a few. ~ Andy Kellman & Neil Z. Yeung

Beginning with his classic debut, Illmatic (1994), Nas has stood tall as one of New York City's leading rap voices, outspokenly expressing a righteous, self-empowered swagger that has endeared him to critics and hip-hop purists. Whether proclaiming himself "Nasty Nas" or "Nas Escobar" or "Nastradamus" or "God's Son," the self-appointed King of New York has battled numerous adversaries, none more challenging than Jay-Z, who vied with Nas for the throne left in the wake of the Notorious B.I.G.'s 1997 assassination. Such headline-worthy drama has informed his provocative rhymes, delivered with a masterful flow and a wise perspective over beats by a range of producers, from DJ Premier and Pete Rock to the Alchemist and Kanye West. Nas has continually matured as an artist, evolving from a young street disciple to a vain, all-knowing sage and humbled godly teacher, as illustrated through Hip Hop Is Dead (2006), Nas (2008), and Life Is Good (2012), all of which were Grammy nominated. Since relaunching and expanding the multimedia hip-hop company Mass Appeal, he's continued to build his deep discography with releases such as Nasir (2018), and a string of collaborations with producer Hit-Boy that includes the Grammy-winning King's Disease (2020), King's Disease II (2021) and III (2022) as well as a trilogy of releases in the Magic series, ending with 2023's Magic 3, the sixth consecutive and final Nas/Hit-Boy team-up.

Born Nasir Jones, son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas dropped out of school in the eighth grade, trading classrooms for the streets of the rough Queensbridge projects, long fabled as the former stomping ground of Marley Marl and his Juice Crew as immortalized in "The Bridge." Despite dropping out of school, Nas developed a high degree of literacy that would later characterize his rhymes. At the same time, though, he delved into street culture and flirted with danger, such experiences similarly characterizing his rhymes. His synthesis of well-crafted rhetoric and street-glamorous imagery blossomed in 1991 when he connected with Main Source and laid down a fiery verse on "Live at the Barbeque" that earned him up-and-coming notice among the East Coast rap scene. Not long afterward, MC Serch of 3rd Bass approached Nas about contributing a track to the Zebrahead soundtrack. Serch was the soundtrack's executive producer and had been impressed by "Live at the Barbeque." Nas submitted "Halftime," and the song so stunned Serch that he made it the soundtrack's lead-off track.

Meanwhile, Columbia Records signed Nas to a major-label contract, and many of New York's finest producers offered their support. DJ Premier, Large Professor, and Pete Rock entered the studio with the young rapper and began work on Illmatic. When Columbia finally released the album in April 1994, it faced high expectations. Regardless, Illmatic proved just as astounding as it had been billed. It sold very well, spawned three charting hits, and earned unanimous acclaim, followed soon after by gold and platinum certifications and classic status.

The two years leading up to Nas' follow-up, It Was Written (1996), brought another wave of enormous anticipation. The ambitious rapper, who had begun working closely with industry heavyweight Steve Stoute, responded with a significantly different approach than he had taken with Illmatic: where that album had been a straightforward hip-hop record with few pop concessions, the largely Trackmaster-produced It Was Written made numerous concessions to the pop-crossover market, most notably on the two hit singles, "Street Dreams" and "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)." These singles -- both of which drew from well-known songs, Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" and Kurtis Blow's "If I Ruled the World," respectively -- broadened Nas' appeal and awarded him MTV-sanctioned crossover success. The latter earned the rapper his first Grammy nomination. This same crossover success undermined some of his hip-hop credibility, however, and a minor backlash by purists resulted.

Nas addressed his critics on "Hate Me Now," the second single from his next album, I Am (1999). The effort had originally been planned as a double-disc concept album comprising autobiographical material, but when some of the tracks were leaked, I Am was scaled down and released as a single disc, with the DJ Premier-produced "Nas Is Like" chosen as the lead single. Besides "Nas Is Like" and "Hate Me Now," which both broke into the Billboard Hot 100, "You Won't See Me Tonight" and "K-I-S-S-I-N-G" also charted as singles. Originally scheduled by Columbia as a follow-up album comprising the pirated material from the I Am sessions, Nastradamus (1999) -- released in time for the holiday shopping season, roughly six months after its predecessor -- instead featured almost entirely new material, recorded quickly to meet the late-November release date. The album still peaked at number seven and spawned two charting singles, "Nastradamus" and "You Owe Me."

In the late-'90s wake of the Notorious B.I.G.'s assassination, Nas reigned atop the New York rap scene alongside a few contemporaries of equal stature. In addition to his endless stream of hits by the industry's most successful producers -- "If I Ruled the World" (produced by the Trackmasters), "Hate Me Now" (Puff Daddy), "Nas Is Like" (DJ Premier), and "You Owe Me" (Timbaland), among others -- he co-starred in the Hype Williams-directed film Belly (1998) alongside DMX and contributed to the soundtrack. Furthermore, Nas led a short-lived supergroup of New York rappers known as the Firm (also featuring rappers Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature, with producers Dr. Dre and the Trackmasters) and assembled a broad coalition of fellow Queensbridge rappers for the QB Finest compilation (2000).

A series of incidents in 2001 provided a key turning point in Nas' career. The rapper's personal life was becoming increasingly complicated, and longtime rival Jay-Z pointedly dissed him on "Takeover," the much-discussed leadoff song from the acclaimed Blueprint album (2001). Nas responded strikingly in December 2001 with Stillmatic, the title a reference to his classic Illmatic album, which had been released nearly a decade earlier. Stillmatic opened with the song "Ether," a very direct response to Jay-Z, followed by the aggressive lead single "Get Ur Self A...." These two songs in particular rallied the streets while the moving video for "One Mic" received heavy support from MTV. Throughout 2002, Nas continued his comeback with a number of guest appearances, among them Brandy's "What About Us?," J-Lo's "I'm Gonna Be Alright," and Ja Rule's "The Pledge."

Amidst all of the drama, Nas salvaged his esteemed reputation and reclaimed his status atop the New York scene. Stillmatic earned immediate acclaim from fans and critics alike and sold impressively, while Columbia furthered the comeback campaign with two archival releases, one of remixes (From Illmatic to Stillmatic [2002]), the other of outtakes (The Lost Tapes [2002], which notably included some of the pirated I Am material). At the end of the year, Columbia released a new studio album, God's Son (2002), and Nas once again basked in widespread acclaim as the LP sold well, spawned sizable hits ("Thugz Mansion," "Made You Look," "I Can"), and received rampant media support. Two years later, Nas returned with Street's Disciple (2004), a double album that delved deeply into various issues, most notably politics and his impending marriage to Kelis. The two-sided "Thief's Theme"/"You Know My Style" single dropped in summer 2004, several months before the album's release, and was followed that fall by the proper lead single "Bridging the Gap."

In a surprising turn of events, Nas made an appearance at Jay-Z's much-hyped I Declare War concert during October 2005. Together the two rivals performed "Dead Presidents," Jay-Z's 1996 debut single. (The classic song features a prominent sample of Nas' 1994 classic "The World Is Yours.") The reconciliation of Jay-Z and Nas opened the door to a deal with Def Jam. The record label, overseen by Jay-Z as president at the time, signed Nas and, in turn, released Hip Hop Is Dead (2006). The album inspired a lot of commentary about the state of hip-hop and included a much-anticipated collaboration with Jay-Z, "Black Republican." A politically charged self-titled album, at one point considered to be titled N*gger, materialized in 2008. It became Nas' fifth number one album.

Following his divorce from Kelis, Nas released Distant Relatives, an album-length collaboration with Damian "Junior Gong" Marley, in 2010. Two years later, Nas' divorce was addressed on the venomous Life Is Good, his third consecutive LP nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Rap Album. Shortly thereafter, Nas made a major investment in Mass Appeal, a fanzine-turned-multimedia company, and co-founded its record label division (eventual home to releases by the likes of Run the Jewels, Pimp C, J Dilla, and DJ Shadow). Meanwhile, Illmatic remained a major part of Nas' legacy. In 2014, the year of the album's 20th anniversary, Nas performed its songs at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with support from the National Symphony Orchestra. Illmatic XX, an expanded edition of the classic, as well as a documentary entitled Time Is Illmatic, reached the public by the end of the year. In 2018, the Kennedy Center performance was aired on PBS, and was eventually issued as an LP on Mass Appeal.

A few months later, Nas released Nasir, a brief album with all seven of its tracks co-produced by Kanye West. This was followed in 2019 with another archival set, The Lost Tapes II, consisting of previously unreleased material recorded during the preceding 13 years. King's Disease, Nas' 13th studio LP, arrived in August 2020. Featuring production from Hit-Boy and guest appearances by Lil Durk and Anderson .Paak, it won that year's Grammy for Best Rap Album. Nas and Hit-Boy -- joined by the likes of Lauryn Hill, EPMD, and Eminem -- returned with a Grammy-nominated sequel, King's Disease II, in August 2021. In anticipation of a third chapter to the King's Disease saga, Nas released the nine-track Magic in late December of that year. The brief set was again produced by Hit-Boy and featured guest spots from DJ Premier and A$AP Rocky. Nas mentioned in interviews that Magic was intended as more of a stopgap release between King's Disease installments than a proper album. King's Disease III appeared the following year, marking the duo's fourth full-length collaboration. Like the chapters in the series that preceded it, King's Disease III cracked the upper reaches of the Billboard charts, peaking at the number ten slot. In July of 2023, Magic 2 was released, continuing the Magic series with production once more coming from Hit-Boy. This installment features guest spots from 21 Savage and 50 Cent. Less than two months later, Magic 3 arrived, touted as the final collaboration between Nas and Hit-Boy, effectively ending their six-album run. Magic 3 was longer than the previous two and featured only one cameo appearance with Lil Wayne's contributions to the song "Never Die." ~ Jason Birchmeier