In a recent interview with Billboard, Nas explained why he chose Hip-Hop Is Dead as the title for his controversial 2006 album, and revealed that he has zero regrets.

"I made an album called Hip-Hop Is Dead in 2006. Sorry, not sorry," he said. "I did because there were so many times the power of this music was in the wrong hands - not the artists but business people."

Nas has explained his motivation for the title a few times over the years and has always stood his ground. "To see that we are here and Hip-Hop is thriving is incredible," he explained. "The art from is crazy right now and that's a beautiful thing and for younger artists that are 20 years old to realize the history that is there and was laid down for them to go look at, its a great feeling,"

Nas recently released Magic 2, the sequel to his 2021 album Magic with Hit-Boy. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Nas detailed the incredible run he's been on with Hit-Boy for the past few years.

"I’m in one of these creative growth spurts," he said. "It’s something that I'm really excited about and it surprises me – but I'm not too, too surprised because I was also waiting for the day that I felt like this again, and I knew it would come."

On Magic 2, Nas and Hit-Boy continue the chemistry that they've cultivated over the last three years with a combination of triplet/bounce styled tracks and Boom Bap beats. The 11-song project marks the fifth collaboration between Nas and producer Hit-Boy which included three volumes of Kings Disease, with the most recent being released last year.