Nas returns to us in rare form!

In support of his 14th studio album, King’s Disease II, Nas drops the album’s lead single and music video for “Rare”. Nas spits over a two-beat instrumental produced by chart-leading producer, Hit-Boy. The first beat keeps a steady groove where Nas spits some braggadocious bars, cementing his place as a veteran that still raps at the top of his game. As the beats switches, we get a more introspective Nas, reflecting on life as a game, referencing blackjack and chess. 

The music video also parallels life as a chess game, with monochrome cinematography and shots of the rapper playing chess in front of a crowd of people, eager to see his next move. Nas delivers a monologue in the video’s intro. “I still remember I saw the black and white squares on the concrete as a kid,” Nas says. “The story goes, ‘the black king rarely ever deals the finishing move, but a man that has no imagination has no wings.”

Nas is showing his usual poise and swagger on his latest single. Make sure to stay tuned for Nas’s King’s Disease II out today (August 5)!