Last August, Nas and Hit-Boy unveiled their joint project King’s Disease, a 3-track masterpiece that saw additional appearances from Charlie Wilson, Big Sean, Don Toliver, Lil Durk, Anderson .Paak, The Firm, Fivio Foreign, A$AP Rocky, and more. The project proved to be a success for the duo, landing at the number five spot on the Billboard 200 thanks to 47,000 album equivalent units sold during its first week of release. It also earned Nas his first — and well-deserved — Grammy for Best Rap Album, further cementing his legacy in hip hop and music overall.
Following that body of work, Nas and Hit-Boy teamed up again on the track “EPMD,” a nod to the legendary rap group of the same name that sees the Queensbridge legend rapping about mixing New York bravado with the lyrical lessons that he’s become well-known for:
“Look, hood theories, Arnold Rothstein rigged the World Series, Gotti ran every union in the city, N-A-S do it B-I-G like Biggie, leadin’ like Huey Newton did, nigga, that’s how official the revolution is, feds holdin’ cameras up and they zoomin’ in…/”
The video is a lesson in the high-end lifestyle, with Nas and Hit-Boy chilling at a beautiful mansion populated by a bevy of beautiful women. The artists can be seen sipping on Hennessy, standing on cars surrounded by goats, donning matching suits, and more.
Last month, the Library of Congress announced that Nas’ iconic debut album Illmatic would be inducted into the National Recording Registry, speaking on its content via an official statement:
“Critics quickly extoled it for its rhythmic originality and its realistic yet fresh take on life in the Queensbridge projects … Characterized by the masterful use of multi-syllabic and internal rhyme, surprising line breaks and rhythmic complexity, the album’s technique has been widely copied and proven broadly influential.”
Press play on “EPMD” below.