Nas released KING’S DISEASE 3 on November 11, hitting number 10 on the Billboard 200 chart with sales of 29,000 units – tied with Jay-Z for most top 10 albums by a hip-hop artist. Both rappers have had 16 (studio or feature) albums in the top 10 of the charts, Jay-Z has even reached number 1 14 times. Nas won his first Grammy in 2021 with the first part of KING’S DISEASE. Nas’ first Top 10 album was his second studio album IT WAS WRITTEN (1996). It even reached #1 and triple platinum.
Nas and Jay-Z have had a rivalry since the ’90s that has since flattened but hasn’t gone away. So tells Nas in a conversation with “The Daily Show”-Host Trevor Noah: “The day I got my tracklist [von KING’S DISEASE 3] published, loaded [Jay-Z] a picture with all his Grammys up.” Nas also reports there that he and his producer Hit-Boy produced and released four albums in two years. With Nas not wanting to leave his house due to the pandemic, Hit-Boy motivated him to focus on music.
Mass Appeal Records, to which Nas is signed, congratulated the rapper on Twitter and also announced the news.
King’s Disease III marks Nas’ 16th top 10 on the Billboard 200, tying him with Jay-Z for the most top 10s among rap artists. ? ? https://t.co/lm9RmQlZjL
— Mass Appeal Records (@MassAppealRecs) November 21, 2022
With 14 albums, Jay-Z holds the second place for most albums in their own discography to chart at #1. The Beatles are ahead with 19 albums, followed by Drake with 12 albums.