Update: Nas just released a studio version of “The Season,” which you can listen to below.
During last night’s Run the Jewels album-release event at Brooklyn’s Nitehawk Cinema, Nas made a surprise appearance to congratulate Killer Mike and El-P on Run the Jewels 2. The iconic Queensbridge rapper told the audience that he’d been inspired by what RTJ were doing, taking the genre in a new direction with their music — and that’s when he then asked if he could play the Nitehawk crowd a new track.
Tentatively titled “The Season,” Nas’ slippery new song features the MC spitting atop a sampled J Dilla beat, from the late producer’s Donuts cut, “Gobstopper.” It’s a strong lyrical effort on Nas’ part, complete with the standout, weary-minded rhyme, “I just put it down for a second / Damn, can’t the king lounge for a second?” as Dilla’s horns chirp in unison. Hear it above.
