Nas chopped it up with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe to discuss what went into his 13th studio album King’s Disease, which Hit-Boy produced. But he reflected on Kanye West helming his last studio effort Nasir two summers ago, when ‘Ye transformed his Wyoming ranch into a hit-making factory for multiple artists.
In June 2018, West put out a new album he either produced or recorded himself every Friday: Daytona by Pusha T on May 25, ye by West on June 1, Kids See Ghosts by West in collaboration with Kid Cudi on June 8, Nasir by Nas on June 15, and K.T.S.E. by Teyana Taylor on June 22. And in the final push to release every album within days of each other, the prolific New York MC made sure to get his necessary one-on-one time with the man behind them all.
“The thing about it was by the time I got there to the studio, all of those albums were done and I was coming to start mine. And I spent a lot of time there working with loops, ‘Ye would play loops and I would write, and he’d be like, ‘I’ll finish the beat later,'” he recalled of working on his album rollout process with the G.O.O.D. Music boss. “This man is cranking out all of these albums and they’re going to come out every Friday. And so he had to mix albums, finish albums. So I kind of had to wait till the last week before the album dropped to really have him in the room to really have him to be there to get these records done.”
He continued: “And so, I never been to Wyoming, you know what I’m saying? I thank him for bringing me out there and to see a different part of America and to be around that energy with all the producers and artists. But I also had my room to the side so if I wanted to work with them longer, because we only got, honestly, we hung around, we went over ideas, but it really, really got down to the wire, no pun, like at the last week, in the last week.”
These days, Nas is keeping up with legendary rap megaproducers the way everyone else has been: Verzuz. Nas told Lowe that he hits up Swizz Beatz, who co-created the friendly Instagram Live competition-turned-celebration of generational hits with Timbaland, in anticipation for the next one.
“I talked to the Swizz, I’m really proud of what he’s built with Verzuz. And I’m more of a fan to know who’s going to be next, so I’m calling Swizz, like ‘Who you got? Who’s next?'” he said. “I’m really a fan. I really want to know. And I think he knows that’s not what I’m trying to do, but I like to know who’s coming next.”
Nas has yet to bring himself to the mic for one of these Verzuz battles, but fans mostly want to see him rap against Jay-Z. But he’s got other colorful quarantine activities underway, including creating his own Pantone shade “Ultra Black by Nas” as a shoutout to his standout single “Ultra Black.”
“This one’s from the heart, something the world will feel, the whole vibe of 2020,” the rapper said in a press release about his song, which celebrates the “richness, complexity, and profound beauty” of Blackness in light of the resurgent Black Lives Matter movement.
Watch Nas’ interview with Apple Music below.