Nas has teamed up with one of his biggest fans, R-Mean, for a new collaboration after hearing the Los Angeles rapper’s nearly-six year old tribute track dedicated to him.
Titled “Candle of the Devil,” the Scott Storch-produced song will arrive on streaming platforms on Friday (April 7). Taking to Instagram to preview the track and its cover art ahead of the release, R-Mean explained how fate and a supportive friend made his dreams come true.
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“Nas always been my favorite rapper. I used to dream about being in the studio with Nas as a youngin’ coming up,” R-Mean began. “But then I would wake up and be disappointed when I realized it wasn’t real. It happened many times….until one day I woke up and it wasn’t a dream.”
He continued: “Back in 2017 I dropped a mixtape song called Letter to the King as a tribute to my 2 biggest influences as an emcee, Nas and Em. It got a lot of love from my fans and online but that was pretty much it.
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“Several years later, on a random Wednesday, I got a facetime call and when I picked up it was Nas [mind blown emoji] He happened to walk into Cookies on Melrose and my brother @alll___1 played him ‘Letter to the King.’ Nas told me ‘that sh*t did something to me right now’ as he pointed to his chest. Three days later we were in the studio at @scottstorchofficial’s house and we created this masterpiece together on the spot!”
He concluded: “Anyone that knows me or has followed me for some time knows how much this means to me. My actual dream came true. And not just because I did a song with my childhood idol, but because Nas and I both agree that this song is truly special. It’s a masterpiece! It’s exactly what I always imagined I would create with Nas if I was given the opportunity.”
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Another collaboration Nas has knocked out in recent weeks is “The Tide,” alongside his Grammy Award-winning producing partner Hit-Boy.
Taken from Hit’s new album Surf or Drown, the project also also includes appearances from Curren$y, Dom Kennedy, The Alchemist, James Fauntleroy, Jay 305, Avelino, Devin Morrison and others.
The album serves as Hit-Boy’s second project of the year following his Victims & Villains collaboration with R&B legend Musiq Soulchild.
Meanwhile, Nas is one of the big names set to perform at California’s Blue Note Jazz Festival in Napa, California this summer.
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The festival will go down July 28 to 30 at Napa’s Silverado Resort, and tickets can be purchased at Blue Note’s website starting Friday (April 7) at 9 a.m. PT.
