Thoughts on King's Disease 2 by Nas and Bobby Tarantino 3 by Logic

Here are my thoughts on Nas' sequel to King's Disease 1 - King's Disease 2. And also the 3rd instalment of Logic's Bobby Tarantino series - Bobby Tarantino 3, appropriate names if you ask me.

Logic - Bobby Tarantino 3

Well, it didn't take long. After retiring in 2020 with his 'final' project 'No Pressure', Logic was back exactly 12 months later to grace our ears once more with this 12 track tape 'Bobby Tarantino 3'. From twitch streaming to spitting once more. From rapper to father to a father who's a rapper. Am I surprised? Not really. Although his words on 'No Pressure' felt genuine, I don't ever see the point when rappers say they're retiring, because they never do. If you love music like that, why would you cut that off? Ultimately, Logic's heart will always be on Hip Hop, and it was never in retiring.

So what did the music sound like. After 'No Pressure' and the success and positive reviews of that album, I expected Logic to pick up that vibe really but with his Bobby Tarantino persona/style. And he does that for the most part. The singles were weird and a bit soft and not entirely fitting of the other two Bobby Tarantino projects, but I went with it in expectation there'd be more of that hard hitting trappy sounds on the project that I have grown accustomed to for this series. The majority of the beats here were chilled and boom bap, but Logic did flow ill on them, particularly towards the end of the project, with songs like 'Theme For The People' and 'Untitled'. The track 'Untitled' I really enjoyed actually, it had a sort of more 'lo-fi' aesthetic which was dope, this reminded me a lot of 'No Pressure' and a bit like the song 'Dark Place' (one of my favourite songs from that album).

As well as Logic spazzing here and there, he still gave us some more commercial cuts, 'Flawless' probably being the best one with a nice catchy hook and cadences through the verses. Despite being one of the best singers in the rap game in my opinion, the track 'My Way' was probably one of the most skippable joints. 'Call Me' had a funky instrumental to bounce you through the track, 'Get Up' had cloudy backing vocals that chilled the listener and made the track a nice easy experience. Don't get me wrong, a lot of the tracks were very middle ground and nothing to get too excited over. But overall Logic handed us a good blend of melodic sing-song shit and bar after bar sprees. I'm just not overly sure it needed to be part of the Bobby Tarantino canon. Also, Logic, why you need to be trolling like that on the intro, probably one of the most fire beats and yeah... Just listen to the intro track for this project and you will see what I mean.

Star Track - Untitled

7/10

Nas - King's Disease 2

For some bizarre reason, I never actually reviewed the original record of this series. I remember checking it after not giving it my time and realised I was sleeping.

So then, when I saw that number 2 was coming out and feature list was phat, I knew I had to check in early.

The lazy comment of Nas having bad beats can once again be put to rest. Hit-Boy did a great job once again, as the album spars between boom bap and 808's, giving Nas evergreen platforms to flow and fill his lyrics with punchlines and metaphors, all thought of and created for the listeners pleasure. The only beat which needed to improve was probably 'Death Row East', I can see what they were trying, but would've liked something a little more simple and minimalist.

Features - EPMD set the vibe great for 'EPMD 2' going bar for bar and trading punchlines, leading into a superb Nas verse and a great Em verse with one of the filthiest flows that dominated a naughty beat switch as well. Wasn't a fan of Eminem's 'Santa Claus' bars but yeah, apart from that it was a pretty sick verse which I will return to often.

A Boogie and YG did their thing on one of the funnest tracks of the record 'YKTV' but my favourite feature was certainly Lauryn Hills on 'Nobody'. The way her verse comes in is so cool and her voice is clear and the laid back, and sleepy instrumental just crystallises the track into a low-key masterpiece.

It was nice to hear Hit-Boy spit on the track 'Composure' as a bit of a nod to his work with Nas on this record in my opinion. I didn't massively enjoy 'No Phony Love' or 'Brunch on Sunday', I just wasn't feeling the hooks at all. The two closing tracks 'My Bible' and 'Nas is Good' were ever-so slightly forgettable, they just didn't have the lyrical highlights that the other songs contained.

Overall, Nas is showing off his versatile, skilled flow and his consistently cool-ass voice and delivery throughout King's Disease 2. Nas' jumpy flow on 'Rare' is potentially the pinnacle of this record and it does not surprise me that 'Rare' is leading the way in terms of Spotify streams. 

The album of the year contenders keep on piling up this year, and I reckon when the curtain closes on 2021, King's Disease 2 could be very much at the top of that pile.

Star Track - Nobody

8.5/10