Review: "What This All Really Means" - New Song by Nas
- by Jordan
- in Reviews
Certified Hip-Hop legend, Nas and veteran producer, Hit-Boy have been on a constant run of releasing nearly two albums a year, for three years straight. Starting with King’s Disease in 2020, the duo have yet to slow down. So far, we are on our third album in the King’s Disease series and two weeks ago, Nas and Hit-Boy gave us a sequel to 2021’s Magic. This new album, Magic 2, is another great addition to Nas’ already stellar discography, and further establishes Nas as quite possibly the rapper with the greatest longevity in the history of Hip-Hop. Truth be told, Hip-Hop, culturally, seems to have always been synonymous with Nasir Jones. In fact, Nas draws an interesting parallel between himself and that of Hip-Hop on the track “Bokeem Woodbine” where he says, “Hip-Hop 50 celebration, funny we the same age and / We just keep on getting iller, word to Heavy, word to Dilla.” Nas and Hip-Hop being the same age just goes to show how both have grown together, and molded one another. Hip-Hop is everything that Nas breathes and his influence on artists of every generation is undeniable. Nas is likely in your favorite rapper’s top 10, if he isn’t already in your’s. Nas is the only rapper whose career was born and bred in the 90’s and is still releasing consistently in both quantity and quality. As Nas says on “Abracadabra,” “2020, when we did the first one / Five album run, not a cursed one, it's a blessed one / By the time y'all hear this, we’ll be half way through the next one.” Nas and Hit-Boy are producing more supply than we knew we could demand. And I’m all here for it. When it comes to exhibiting his longevity, Nas’ lyricism has stayed top notch, his flows are becoming more creative, and his subject matter stays interesting. One way to truly understand just how far we’ve come on an artist’s journey, is when they take a step back and reminisce on his or her career. There’s a few cuts on this record that do just that, “Slow it Down” and “Pistols On Your Album Cover” are great examples of such. However, my favorite is the 8th track, “What This All Really Means.”
Produced by Hit-Boy, “What This All Really Means” just sounds lovely. With a tasteful Soul sample, clean boom-bap drums, great chops, and a clever arrangement, the instrumental embodies a blissful celebration of life. It’s no wonder Nas took this opportunity to gaze at his past and embellish in how far he’s come.
Nas proves his longevity not just through the content of the song, but the technicality of his verses. He makes constant use of multi-syllable rhyming, “The feelin' of the first time seein' your name on a flyer / It just was yesterday, picture that on the day you retire / And they still shocked and amazed, I made it up higher / 'Cause I came up with them hot heads that played with the fire.'' From there he makes use of consonance alliteration as well as playing with letters, in the opening lines of the verse, “Product of the '80s, Prada Milan store for the lady / I'm a carnivore, constantly come with concepts to pay me / I'm responsible for they most cockiest behavior / My DNA in they G'd up ways, and they surveyin' us.” Technical details like this are all over the track. You don’t need to be a rapper to hear them. Nas has always been slick with words and letters. He knows how to give musicality to his rhymes. It’s why a line might fly by and it just sounded nice. You may not even realize or know why. Well, it’s because he’s a master of words.
Regarding the content of the song, Nas gives us a handful of memories while making sure to remind us, he’s the man. “Back then, we charted with CDs and tapes” is a great line because it’s nostalgic, gives us a distinct setting, and reminds us that this dude has been around for awhile; all while remaining successful through it all. Another favorite line of mine is, “I be on the block easy with a glass full of wine / Red Chrome Heart lenses to see I'm in my third prime.” We’re not the only ones who know that Nas is still in his bag. In a world that seems to be continuously growing more pessimistic, and the shape of contemporary music reflects that (as it should), songs like this have even more of a special place. “What This All Really Means” truly feels celebratory, and it makes the ears and soul happy to hear.
Nas and Hit-Boy show no signs of slowing down. If you’re a lover of Hip-Hop, I recommend jumping on this ride sooner than later. The fact that Nas can still have an output like this just goes to show that the guy really makes magic.
