https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uunn8xkOJJA
It’s been almost a year since DJ Khaled unleashed the track, “Nas Album Done,” on his last record Major Key, and we’re still waiting for the full-length return of Queensbridge’s finest MC. In the meantime, Nas has been busying himself working on the Netflix series The Get Down, and recently contributed a new song to the soundtrack titled “Angel Dust.”
Keeping with the show’s throwback-vibe, the song has a decidedly vintage feel to it. The title and funky bass sample come from the opening track off Gil Scott-Heron’s 1978 LP, Secrets. In the song, Nas raps about his decision to become a rapper, “The sidewalk was my brother’s office / We cut our losses, I had choices / I took a pen, became a voice for the voiceless / My people walking in a zombie state / Life is short, even mine’s at stake.” He also touches on the impact that drugs, and particularly angel dust can have on a person: “Angels with dirty faces/ Angels with broken wings/ The devil’s dust, PCP, invaded bloodstreams.”
Speaking to Billboard recently, Nas claimed that his next album will drop sometime in 2017, even while he’s still putting the finishing touches on it. “It’s not done till it hits the streets,” he said. He also revealed that he want to change up the pre-release strategy a little bit. “We might do a single but we might do something different.”
Check out “Angel Dust” above.
