Nas continues to add historic accolades to his resume, as the rap legend’s latest album King’s Disease III is currently rated as the best rap album of 2022, per reviews.
Hip Hop By The Numbers’ recently pointed out that the 49-year-old’s 16th studio album received an overall score of 92 out of a possible score of 100 on Metacritic, an outlet that accumulates the overall rating of an album based on several reviews made by publications, websites, and other sources.
According to the initial score, King’s Disease III’s was rated higher than Illmatic’s 20th-anniversary edition, which received a score of 89 out of 100. Since @HipHopNumbers’ post, which was uploaded to Twitter in the early morning of Monday (Nov. 21), King’s Disease III‘s Metacritic score has dropped to 88. That score brings its cumulative total to one point lower than Illmatic, but still three points higher than the next rap albums on the list that were released this year.
Nas – KD3 is the highest rated hip hop album of 2022 on Metacritic
92/100 rating
Nas’ highest rated project on Metacritic…
Even higher than Illmatic’s 20th anniversary edition (89/100)
KD3 is better than Illmatic?!
— Hip Hop By The Numbers (@HipHopNumbers) November 21, 2022
The rap albums from 2022 that fell below King’s Disease III on the Metacritic list include Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (85/100), Earl Sweatshirt’s Sick! (85/100), Denzel Curry’s Melt My Eyez See Your Future (85/100), Fly Anakin’s Frank (84/100), Saba’s Few Good Things (83/100), Pusha T’s It’s Almost Dry (83/100), and Danger Mouse’s Cheatcodes (83/100).
Other albums by Nas to receive scores in the 80s by Metacritic include King’s Disease II (86/100), Life Is Good (81/100), The Lost Tapes (81/100), God’s Son (81/100), and Street’s Disciple (80/100). In contrast, the lowest-rated albums of his career are The Lost Tapes II (58/100) and Nasir (58/100).
Released on Nov. 11, King’s Disease III has been hailed by many as an instant classic and one of the best efforts Nas has released to date. Produced entirely by Hit-Boy, the album debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200, giving him the 16th Top 10 album of his career on the Billboard 200. The feat has tied him with Jay-Z as the rap artist with the most appearances within the Top 10 of the albums chart.
Listen to King’s Disease III below.
