Hit-Boy has clapped back at a journalist who slandered the super producer and Nas’ brand new Magic 2 collab album.
Max Bell, who has bylines in L.A. Times, The Ringer and Spin, sniped Nas for his beat selection and referred to Hit-Boy as one of this era’s “least inspired producers” over the weekend after the Grammy-winning combination’s fifth joint project arrived.
“Only Nas — who hasn’t picked an album’s worth of great beats since ‘94 — would make five albums full of loading screen beats from one of this era’s least inspired producers,” Bell wrote.
Bell’s dig quickly caught the attention of Nas fans as they bombarded his replies. Fellow journalist Al Shipley joked, “Goddamn you jumped from the top rope with this one!”
The diss eventually found its way to Hit-Boy who fired back at Bell by calling him both a “failed journalist” and a “failed musician.”
Find the testy exchange below:
While there’s a lot of love continuing to pour in, Nas even acknowledged the hate he’s received with his recent projects while targeting his detractors on Magic 2‘s “Abracadabra.”
“I feel a lot of hate since I’ve been creating with Hit/I’m feelin’ a lot of the hate since I’ve been creatin’ with Hit,” Nas raps.
After the album’s arrival, Nas took to Twitter to put the moment in perspective and called 2023 the “best year” of his life.
“I’m happy to be around making new music because I love it,” he said. “Having the best year of my life. I caught the Holy Spirit and I’m grateful to be giving it all to the world. Magic 2.”
Magic 2 — which was released on Friday (July 21) — is the fifth collaborative project between Nas and Hit-Boy since 2020. The first, King’s Disease — which was released in August 2020 — bagged Nas his first-ever Grammy win for Best Rap Album.
The dynamic duo then returned a year later to release King’s Disease II in August 2021, with Magic arriving just a few months later in December 2021. King’s Disease III was released the following year in November 2022.
The Nas picks bad beats thing is some stupid shit. When corny dudes repeat the same damn critique for 25 years, yo know it’s some groupthink thing and not something borne out of original thought.
💯 can’t even believe ppl are still regurgitating that bullshit
I’m with Max Bell, it’s garbage and Hit-Boy is a below average producer.
So you think Nas only pick good beats in 1994 even though he has multi platinum albums, Madison Square Garden, sellouts, and toward all over the world with multiple classes in the longest longevity catalog and hip-hop history? You white boys need to shut the fuck up and get out of our culture. The truth hurts is that you’re in the nostalgia, ass hurt Jay-Z Fanboy
Naw it’s not that bad he just can’t pick good beats for a whole project since the 90’s I do think hit is mediocre and their working relationship has run it’s course
“loading screen beats” LOL!
None of da last 5 albs had great beats but he went too far with da nonsense and though it may be a good run with hit boy ..it’s time too switch it up a lil r people will continue too say dis …..journalist do better….nas/ hit boy do better
You don’t even make sense just shut the fuck up you ain’t even been listening to music
Imagine being so good of an MC and artist with a career that spans about 3 Decades that the only way critics can shave points from your stellar accolades that they need to say ‘you choose bad beats’, ‘bad beats’ bruh 😂😂😂 Imagine being so great that despite these alleged bad beats you are still in a lot of people’s top5 of his era and possibly top 10 of ALL TIME.
Haters be Pathetic for real.
To speak on Nas legacy, you best get on his level. Bell ain’t no head honch journalist the last we checked. Nas and Hit Grammy award winning work speak for itself. He probably been sent to do somebody dirty work.
Love Nas. But his albums have been uneven for decades. He does not a have a good ear for beats. Good thing most music consumers don’t either.
Mann! All this hating makes me want to listen to the album more. Nas is 50 years and still sounds better than many of my favorites today. There has to be something good in this man music why so much hate.
Illmatic and Stillmatic are the ONLY Nas albums you can play all the way through. From front to back. Classics! Everything else is up for debate due to the lack of good beats. Tupac was the same way. He had a lot of hits but he had a lot of songs with garbage beats. Easy Mo B and Death Row were the best times for Pac and beats.
And it was written I’d take stilmatic out it’s a classic but I’m skipping a song or Two
Clean your ears. Greatest Discography in Hip Hop!
Jay z narrative manipulating machine.
HitBoy is crazy overrated. Just from a sonic perspective…He’s a clearly a software only producer that has never picked up a drum machine or sampler & it shows in his sound. Weak drums, cheap sounding sampling, overproducing, etc… I get that he felt the need to defend himself, but Max Bell is 100% correct. These HitBoy/Nas albums are for young boys, they are not for Nas core fanbase of 30+ years. The production is terrible on Magic 2!
HitBoy is crazy overrated. Just from a sonic perspective…He’s a clearly a software only producer that has never picked up a drum machine or sampler & it shows in his sound. Weak drums, cheap sounding sampling, overproducing, etc… I get that he felt the need to defend himself, but Max Bell is 100% correct. These HitBoy/Nas albums are for young boys, they are not for Nas core fanbase of 30+ years. The production is terrible on Magic 2!