Magic 2
Magic 2 is the sixteenth studio album by American rapper Nas, released on July 21, 2023, through Mass Appeal Records.[1] It serves as a direct sequel to Nas's 2021 surprise release Magic and represents the fifth consecutive full-length album produced entirely by Hit-Boy, following the King's Disease trilogy (2020–2022).[2] The project spans 11 tracks and includes guest features from 50 Cent on the song "Office Hours" and 21 Savage on "One Mic, One Gun."[3] The album builds on the established creative synergy between Nas and Hit-Boy, which revitalized Nas's career in the late 2010s and early 2020s, culminating in a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album for King's Disease in 2021.[4] Lyrically, Magic 2 explores themes of legacy, street life, and personal reflection through Nas's signature dense storytelling, set against Hit-Boy's sample-heavy, boom-bap-infused beats that draw from 1990s hip-hop influences.[5] Tracks like "Black Magic" and "Motion" highlight Nas's technical rhyme schemes and vivid narratives, while the production incorporates elements of Southern trap rhythms for a modern edge.[6] Critically, Magic 2 garnered generally favorable reception, earning a Metacritic score of 71 out of 100 based on seven reviews, with praise for its consistency and Nas's enduring skill but some critiques for its formulaic approach relative to the duo's prior output.[7] Pitchfork awarded it 6.5 out of 10, noting it as "a low-stakes mid-career rap album" that demonstrates Nas remains "in decent fighting shape" through engaging flows and adventurous production, though occasional forced wordplay detracts from its impact.[5] The album debuted at number 52 on the Billboard 200 chart, further solidifying Nas's position as a hip-hop elder statesman amid his prolific late-career phase.[8]Background
Development
Magic 2 marks the fifth full-length collaboration between Nas and Hit-Boy, succeeding the critically acclaimed King's Disease trilogy—comprising King's Disease (2020), King's Disease II (2021), and King's Disease III (2022)—as well as the surprise release Magic from December 2021.[9] This partnership, which revitalized Nas's career with Grammy-winning output, including Best Rap Album for King's Disease in 2021, laid the foundation for continued joint efforts.[10] Conceived as a direct sequel to Magic, the album extends the original's innovative surprise drop model, which bypassed traditional promotion to deliver immediate impact.[3] It builds upon Magic's core thematic elements, blending introspective reflections on life and legacy with vivid street narratives, all unified by Hit-Boy's soulful, sample-heavy production style.[11] The project's development emphasized creative continuity, with tracks crafted to capture the duo's established chemistry while pushing boundaries in hip-hop storytelling.[12] Approaching age 50 alongside hip-hop's own milestone anniversary, Nas described entering a "third prime" driven by unwavering passion for the genre, rather than external accolades.[13] This mindset, echoed in his reflections on sustained productivity, underscores the album's role in bridging his foundational influences with contemporary expression.[9]Announcement
On July 18, 2023, Nas surprised fans by announcing Magic 2 on his Instagram account, revealing the album's title as a direct sequel to his 2021 project Magic and unveiling its distinctive cover artwork featuring a dual-faced design.[14][15] This teaser post generated immediate buzz, emphasizing the project's imminent arrival without prior promotional buildup.[16] Mass Appeal Records, Nas's label, swiftly confirmed the release date as July 21, 2023, just three days after the initial reveal, underscoring the album's surprise-drop strategy.[17][18] During the announcement, key collaborations were disclosed, including a feature from 50 Cent—confirmed by the rapper himself on social media—and 21 Savage, whose prior single "One Mic, One Gun" with Nas had already hinted at their involvement.[19][20] The reveal sparked enthusiastic initial reactions from fans, who praised the unexpected timing and high-profile guests, drawing parallels to the stealthy rollout of the original Magic album two years earlier.[16][20] Media outlets quickly covered the event, highlighting the element of surprise as a hallmark of Nas's recent releases and fueling pre-release anticipation across hip-hop circles.[15][14]Production
Recording sessions
The recording sessions for Magic 2 took place primarily at Chalice Recording Studio in Hollywood, Los Angeles, spanning from 2022 to 2023 as part of the duo's ongoing collaboration.[21] Hit-Boy, serving as the primary producer, initiated the process by preparing packs of beats for Nas, often crafting them rapidly—sometimes in under 10 minutes—to harness genuine creative energy, drawing from both fresh ideas and archived material dating back years.[9][21] Nas recorded his vocals directly over these instrumentals in focused, intensive sessions while Hit-Boy handled vocal production in Pro Tools, utilizing a high-end setup featuring a Sony C800G microphone, Neve 1073 preamp, and Tube-Tech CL 1B compressor.[21] The production adopted a minimalistic ethos to preserve raw performance vitality, relying on FL Studio for beat construction on a PC with Universal Audio Apollo interfaces and straightforward plugins like stock FL Studio EQs, Valhalla Vintage Verb, and Serato sampler, rather than elaborate layering, which expedited the workflow across their five joint albums in three years.[21] Challenges in aligning sequel expectations with novel content were navigated through iterative adjustments, where Nas provided sample suggestions and feedback, allowing Hit-Boy to refine arrangements collaboratively before final mixing.[21]Key collaborators
Hit-Boy, born Chauncey Hollis Jr., served as the sole producer for Magic 2, crafting all beats with a blend of soulful samples and hard-hitting drums that define the album's sound, while also overseeing mixing and arrangements to maintain a cohesive flow across tracks.[22][21] David Kim served as the mixing engineer, finalizing the mixes for the album.[21] The album features guest appearances from established rappers, including 50 Cent on "Office Hours," where he delivers narrative verses emphasizing resilience and dominance in competitive environments, drawing on Queens-rooted authenticity to underscore survival themes.[23][1] Another feature comes from 21 Savage on the bonus track "One Mic, One Gun," contributing a confident, minimalist verse with assertive flow that highlights personal triumphs over adversity, adding a gritty, street-savvy edge to the collaboration.[24][25] Writing credits for the project are primarily attributed to Nasir Jones (Nas), who penned the core lyrics, with Hit-Boy co-writing hooks to enhance the rhythmic structure and thematic punch.[22][26]Music and lyrics
Musical style
Magic 2 is firmly rooted in East Coast hip-hop, characterized by boom-bap rhythms that evoke the genre's golden era while incorporating modern trap elements such as 808 basslines and Memphis-inspired hi-hats.[5][27] Hit-Boy's production emphasizes sparse, sample-heavy beats, drawing from soul and funk sources like The Dells and Della Humphrey to create looping melodies that underpin Nas's flows.[27][28] The album's 11 tracks span a concise 31 minutes, prioritizing punchy arrangements with hard-hitting, though sometimes subdued, drums that avoid excess filler and maintain a tight, focused energy throughout. Variations in sound include orchestral flourishes like tinny horns and fanfares on more introspective selections, contrasted by aggressive synths and pianos on street-oriented cuts, blending nostalgic jazz-rap influences with contemporary production tricks.[5][28] This sonic palette allows for dynamic interplay, where booming percussion and sampled loops provide a versatile backdrop for rhythmic delivery.[27]Lyrical themes
Magic 2 explores central themes of legacy reflection, where Nas contemplates his enduring impact on hip-hop and his evolution from street origins to elder statesman status, building on the introspective tone of the original Magic album by incorporating more triumphant self-mythology.[27][6] In tracks like "What This All Really Means," Nas delves into the cultural significance of rap in Black American experiences and his career longevity, asserting lines such as "When you turn to legend, no such thing as relevance," emphasizing timeless relevance over fleeting trends.[28] Street resilience emerges prominently through narratives of survival and perseverance, as seen in "Motion," where Nas raps about failing upward—"When we failed, we only failed up"—and luxurious vignettes that highlight overcoming adversity from Queensbridge roots.[27][28] Industry critique is woven in via sharp attacks on detractors and the commercialization of hip-hop, notably in "Abracadabra," where Nas dismisses undeserved criticism and subpar rankings with tongue-twisting bars like "y’all movin’ brainless."[6] Specific tracks address personal milestones tied to Nas's Queens heritage and family dynamics, evolving the album's introspection into grounded social commentary. References to Queens roots appear in "Office Hours," celebrating the borough's dominance with 50 Cent through boasts of local power and doo-rag energy, while "Slow It Down" ties back to his formative origins with warm, reflective hooks like "If you gotta slow it down, I won’t laugh at you."[6][29] Fatherhood and familial struggles surface indirectly in "Pistols On Your Album Cover," referencing themes from Tupac's work on single mothers relying on EBT to "feed they seeds" amid broken dreams, while shouting out Tupac's stepfather Mutulu Shakur, underscoring generational resilience.[27][30] Anti-violence messages manifest in the album's juxtaposition of gun imagery's tragic duality, as in "Pistols On Your Album Cover," contrasting celebratory album art with real-world devastation from street conflicts.[27] "One Mic, One Gun" further advances this with 21 Savage, focusing on growth and kingship over gossip, investments, and moving beyond violent pasts to achieve greatness.[29][28] Nas delivers these themes through a mature flow that blends braggadocio with vulnerability, showcasing dexterous wordplay and regal yet ferocious couplets informed by decades of experience.[27][28] He mixes confident assertions of superiority—such as claiming a "third prime" in "What This All Really Means" and luxurious triumphs in "Motion"—with yearning reflections on '80s ephemera and personal failures, referencing past beefs like his reconciliation with 50 Cent and nods to Tupac.[6][29] Collaborative verses amplify these motifs; on "Office Hours," 50 Cent contributes assertive lines on business acumen and street survival, likening Nas's trajectory to his own enduring success while playfully resolving their long-standing feud through shared Queens pride and weapon metaphors for industry battles.[27][29]Release and promotion
Singles
"One Mic, One Gun," featuring 21 Savage, was released on November 29, 2022, as the lead and only official single from Magic 2.[31] Produced by Hit-Boy, the track reconciled a brief public tension between the artists and previewed the album's exploration of street life, resilience, and hip-hop legacy through its raw, confrontational verses. The single reflected solid initial reception amid Nas's established catalog.[32] Following the album's surprise drop on July 21, 2023, no further singles were issued, consistent with the project's strategy of minimal pre-release hype and reliance on the full body of work to engage fans.[33] The decision emphasized artistic cohesion over traditional promotion, allowing "One Mic, One Gun" to stand as the sole commercial teaser.Marketing efforts
The album Magic 2 was released digitally on July 21, 2023, exclusively through Mass Appeal Records, with no physical formats available at launch to emphasize an immediate streaming rollout.[34] This approach aligned with the surprise drop strategy, allowing fans instant access via platforms like Apple Music and Spotify.[35] Promotional hype was built primarily through social media teasers from Nas and Hit-Boy, including cryptic Instagram posts by Nas featuring imagery like rainstorms and Houdini escapes to evoke the album's magical theme.[36] Hit-Boy complemented these efforts with behind-the-scenes shares on his platforms, amplifying anticipation in the days leading to the announcement on July 18.[37] Although specific Instagram Live sessions were not prominently documented, the duo's online activity fostered direct fan engagement and viral buzz.[18] Nas engaged in key media appearances to discuss the project, including a Rolling Stone feature where he elaborated on the sequel's role in advancing his legacy and creative momentum with Hit-Boy.[16] In the interview, Nas highlighted motivations rooted in continuous artistic evolution rather than commercial pressures, positioning Magic 2 as a testament to his enduring relevance in hip-hop.[16] Marketing extended to limited merchandise tie-ins, with vinyl reissues announced in late 2023, including colored editions targeted at collectors to capitalize on demand for physical copies post-digital launch.[38] These variants, such as semi-transparent black ice and five-color pressings, were distributed through specialty retailers, enhancing the album's cult appeal without broad retail saturation.[39]Reception
Critical response
Magic 2 received generally favorable reviews from critics, earning a Metacritic score of 71 out of 100 based on seven reviews.[7] Clash awarded the album 8 out of 10, praising its "succinct, tightly wound, and often explosive" energy as well as Hit-Boy's effective beats, which the publication described as some of the producer's best in the Nas collaborations.[28] Similarly, AllMusic gave it 8 out of 10, highlighting Nas's veteran lyricism and the seamless synergy with Hit-Boy that underscores his late-career resurgence.[40] HipHopDX rated it 3.8 out of 5 (equivalent to 76 on Metacritic), commending the strong chemistry between Nas and Hit-Boy for delivering "acrobatic flows and self-mythology" over competent production, though noting occasional drab elements.[27] In a mixed assessment, Pitchfork scored it 6.5 out of 10, critiquing the album's lack of innovation relative to the King's Disease series and calling it a "low-stakes mid-career rap album" that feels solid yet unremarkable, despite Nas's engaged delivery.[5] Common across reviews was acclaim for the Nas-Hit-Boy partnership, often cited as a reliable return to form without bold reinvention.[28][27]Commercial performance
Magic 2 debuted at number 52 on the US Billboard 200 chart, accumulating 17,000 album-equivalent units in its first full week of release.[41] The album later peaked at number 18 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, demonstrating stronger resonance within genre-specific audiences. Internationally, Magic 2 reached number 65 on the Canadian Albums Chart, indicating limited but present crossover appeal beyond the US market. In the UK, it achieved a peak of number 13 on the Album Downloads chart. Streaming performance remained modest, with the album surpassing 50 million streams on Spotify by the end of 2023, underscoring its niche positioning in the digital era. As of 2025, Magic 2 has earned no certifications from major industry bodies such as the RIAA or BPI, a reflection of its targeted appeal amid the dominance of streaming over traditional sales metrics.Track listing and personnel
Track listing
The standard edition of Magic 2 features 11 tracks. All tracks are produced by Hit-Boy.[42] The album includes guest appearances from 50 Cent on "Office Hours" and 21 Savage on "One Mic, One Gun."[33]| No. | Title | Featuring | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intro | 0:39 | |
| 2 | Abracadabra | 2:46 | |
| 3 | Office Hours | 50 Cent | 3:52 |
| 4 | Black Magic | 2:36 | |
| 5 | Motion | 2:52 | |
| 6 | Bokeem Woodbine | 3:00 | |
| 7 | Earvin Magic Johnson | 3:34 | |
| 8 | What This All Really Means | 2:48 | |
| 9 | Hamilton | 2:31 | |
| 10 | Once Upon a Time | 2:31 | |
| 11 | One Mic, One Gun | 21 Savage | 2:49 |