Hear Nas’ Previously Unreleased “Royalty” Which Credits Frank Ocean

Hear Nas’ Previously Unreleased “Royalty” Which Credits Frank Ocean

Back in 2012, Frank Ocean and producer Hit-Boy recorded a song that they would later call “No Such Thing As White Jesus.” In a 2018 interview, Hit-Boy says that he handled the beat and Frank did the hook. The two had been working together since 2006, before either of them really struck gold. A few days after their initial recording, Frank played the hook for Nas during a session for his eleventh studio album, Life Is Good. But the track was ultimately absent from the LP.

“I had it for a while, and then I ended up losing it again,” Hit-Boy said in last year’s interview. “All I have is the original hook from the original session that we did, so I don’t think it’s gonna see the light of day.”

Hit-Boy must have found it because today, we hear the track reworked as a song called “Royalty” on Nas’ new album, Lost Tapes II. Also on Nas’ new album is a truly wacky number called “Jarreau Of Rap (Skatt Attack)” featuring Al Jarreau and Keyon Harrold.

Lost Tapes II follows the first Lost Tapes in 2002. The album compiles selected unreleased tracks from Nas’ last four albums— 2006’s Hip-Hop Is Dead, 2008’s Untitled, 2012’s Life Is Good, and 2018’s Nasir. Listen below.

Lost Tapes II is out now.

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