Nas has dropped a surprise new album called ‘Magic’ produced entirely by Hit-Boy – you can listen to it in full below.

The legendary MC announced the project on social media last night (December 23), just a few hours before releasing it.

“MAGIC is in the air,” he wrote on Instagram, captioning a post that included the artwork and back sleeve of the album. “Midnight et brand new music to vibe to.”

The new record marks Nas’ second studio album of the year, arriving just five months after the release of ‘King’s Disease II’. It’s also his third collaborative album with Hit-Boy, following the original ‘King’s Disease’ project as well as its sequel.

‘Magic’ is predominantly a feature-less project, but one track, ‘Wave Gods’, sees him team up with A$AP Rocky and DJ Premier.

You can listen to ‘Magic’ below:

 

Nas previously spoke about making a third album with Hit-Boy shortly after the release of ‘King’s Disease II’. At the time, he said the pair had no plans for another joint project but he would be up for working with him again if the idea was right.

“I feel like the next thing I do, if I was to work with Hit-Boy on the next thing I do, I think that we might do something that is going to be magical,” the rapper said. “I think what we have is magic. And I think the next thing we do would have to be the next page. And that, to me, excites me, that possibility.” He also called Hit-Boy his “Quincy Jones”.

Elsewhere on ‘Magic’, the rapper-producer pair confirmed that a ‘King’s Disease 3’ album will be dropping some point soon, with Nas rapping the news on the track ‘Ugly’ and Hit-Boy sharing the lyrics on Twitter.

“I’m on offence every day until I see the love,” Nas raps on the song’s first verse. “‘KD3’ on the way, this just to feed the buzz.”

In October, the duo teamed up once again for the single ‘Big Nas’, which was released as a preview for Nas’ MasterClass series on hip-hop storytelling.

The pair previously received a nomination for Best Rap Album for ‘King’s Disease II’ and Best Rap Song for ‘Bath Salts’ at the 2022 Grammys when the shortlists were revealed last month. Earlier this year, ‘King’s Disease’ won the trophy for Best Rap Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards.