These Legends Still Got The Mass Appeal
One of the most prolific writers of our time Nasir Jones better known as Nas was quoted from a magazine article in the late 90’s “Every old school artist should get a fat check. ’cause they brought it this far. New school rappers should give them teir love. That’s like forgetting Rosa Parks.” Nas has always been at the forefront when it comes championing artists that came before him. An example of that is his Paid In Full Foundation the Queensbridge MC founded the Hip Hop Grandmaster Awards where they honor pioneers who did not receive their due recognition in the industry. This ceremony has honored some of the most notable and influential artist of our time not just in Hip Hop but music period from the most recent honorees Grand Puba, George Clinton, Scarface, Kool Moe Dee, Roxanne Shante, and the God MC Rakim. Not only they get the recognition they deserve but they also receive a $500,000 payout as well.
So with Nas help creating a Hip Hop awards ceremony honoring artists who paved the for MCs of his stature he continues to pay it forward in 2025 with his Legend Has It series. The Legend Has It series is campaign through Nas’ label Mass Appeal, where some of Hip Hop’s legendary acts put an album. I do not know if this is just a one time thing, however this disproves the notion that rap music is a young mans game especially since The Clipse reunited and arguably dropped one of the top albums in 2025.
Mass Appeal records announced at the beginning of 2025 7 albums De La Soul, Slick Rick, Big L, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon the Chef, Mobb Deep, and long awaited album form Nas & DJ Premier. Leading off the series is the one and only Slick Rick with his album titled Victory, The Ruler is still giving us amazing story telling over heavy hitting tracks with this album. Wu Tang alum Raekwon released The Emperor’s New Clothes and Ghostface with the highly anticipated Supreme Clientele 2 where these two MCs continued to give us that unadulterated raw uncut street tales of NYC.
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Legendary group Mobb Deep with The Alchemist assisting the production released Infinite many say this in contention for album of the year staying true to Mobb form they enlisted the usual suspects on the album Big Noyd, Nas, and Rae & Ghost. The Infinite album gives you that winter in New York feel with Havoc and The Alchemist behind the boards and the late great Prodigy giving us those gritty grimey bars. Big L is also getting some shine with his second posthumous album Harlems Finest: Return Of The King although the album may conatin verses we’ve heard before but Big L’s bars sound refreshing and new over new beats with features from Nas, Jay-Z, McGruff, & Method Man.
And the legendary iconic group De La Soul just recently dropped their critically acclaimed album Cabin In The Sky cause with the recent untimely passing of Dave Trugoy aka Plug Two many fans did not expect another album from the Long Island trio. This album feels reconnecting with one of your favorite cousin you haven’t seen in years at the family reunion. Famed actor Giancarlo Esposito beautifully narrates the album with features from Common, Black Thought, Nas Killer Mike Q-Tip, and production from DJ Premier & Pete Rock. This is a fitting tribute for Dave and Cabin In The Sky speaks to your soul and it was one of the top Hip Hop albums in 2025.
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And to end the year on a high note in 2025 Nas and DJ Premier are set to release their highly anticipated and long overdue collaborative effort Light Years. This comes off their first collaboration when Premier help craft Nas classic Illmatic. This time around DJ Premier is the lone producer on the Light Years project and like Illmatic Nas longtime collaborator and Firm alum AZ, however there has been speculation that Light Years may have some hidden features. Coming from the largest projects in the world Queensbridge Nasir Jones bka NAS aka Esco aka God’s Son aka Sun emerged one of the greatest storytellers, MC, poet of all time, this Light Years album along with this Legend Has It series and his Hip Hop Grandmaster awards will stamp him as the GOAT!
