King's Disease III
Nas and Hit-Boy close out their trilogy with a critically acclaimed third chapter.
King's Disease III is the fifteenth studio album by American rapper Nas, released on November 11, 2022 through Mass Appeal Records. It is the third entry in Nas' King's Disease series, acting as a sequel to his 2020 album King's Disease and his 2021 album King's Disease II. The album, like the previous two, was executive produced by Nas and American record producer Hit-Boy. It received widespread acclaim from critics and was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.
- Artist
- Nas
- Release year
- 2022
- Producer
- Hit-Boy
- Label
- Mass Appeal Records
- Role
- Fifteenth studio album in Nas's discography
- Status
- Released
Lore & Background
On December 24, 2021, Nas surprise-released his fourteenth album Magic. On the song "Ugly", Nas confirmed the third King's Disease installment was in the works with the lyrics "KD3 on the way, this just to feed the buzz." That 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 along with its release date via a promotional poster on his social media platforms. The album debuted at number ten on the US Billboard 200, earning 29,000 album-equivalent units (including 8,500 pure album sales) in its first week, becoming Nas' 16th top-ten album and tying him with former rival Jay-Z for the most top tens among rap artists. In the UK, it 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.
Reader's Guide
All tracks on King's Disease III were produced by Hit-Boy, except where noted. The album features samples from a range of sources: "Legit" samples "A Heart Is a House for Love" by Billy Valentine and The Dells from The Five Heartbeats; "Ghetto Reporter" samples "Just Us" by Richard Pryor; "Thun" samples "The Bridge Is Over" by Boogie Down Productions; "Hood2Hood" interpolates "Da Butt" by E.U.; "Get Light" interpolates "Party and Bullshit" by The Notorious B.I.G.; "Reminisce" samples "You Remind Me" by Mary J. Blige; "I'm on Fire" contains elements from NBA Jam and Street Fighter II: The World Warrior; "Beef" samples "N.Y. State Of Mind" by Nas; and "Til' My Last Breath" samples "Narco" by Blasterjaxx and Timmy Trumpet. "Serious Interlude" features uncredited background vocals by Mario.
Did You Know?
- This became Nas' 16th top-ten album on the Billboard 200, tying him with former rival Jay-Z for the most top tens among rap artists.
- The track 'Thun' samples 'The Bridge Is Over' by Boogie Down Productions, and 'Beef' samples Nas' own 'N.Y. State Of Mind'.
- The album accumulated 26.47 million on-demand official streams from its tracks in its first week.
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