Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Coachella
Nas reunited 1990s hip-hop supergroup The Firm for “Full Circle,” a cut from his latest album, King’s Disease. In addition to the original rappers from the collective, the song also features a surprise appearance from Dr. Dre.
The legendary Compton producer and rapper appears on the outro, shouting out the track’s producer Hit-Boy and spitting a few bars:
King sh-t, Firm Biz
Mastered this, no alternative
Classic sh-t, that’s affirmative
Ha, got me out here on my first degree murder sh-t
Stretch marks from this art, gave birth to this
And I stand by every word of this
Malcolm X with a check, close curtains, b-tch
The Firm was formed by Nas, his then-manager Steve Stoute [Editor’s Note—Full disclosure: Steve Stoute is a Genius board member], Dr. Dre, and hitmaking production duo The Trackmasters in 1996. The group first collaborated on “Affirmative Action” from Nas' sophomore album, It Was Written, and originally featured fellow New York rappers AZ, Foxy Brown, and Cormega.
Before The Firm’s 1997 debut, The Album, Cormega was replaced by Queens rapper Nature due to financial concerns and artistic differences over the Mafioso rap direction of the group. The project received mixed reviews and was a commercial failure. It sold 147,000 copies during its first week, falling far below expectations despite debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
The group disbanded the following year. Dre later addressed the criticism over The Firm’s lack of success on 1999’s “Forgot About Dre,” rapping:
All you n-ggas that said that I turned pop or The Firm flopped
Y'all are the reason that Dre ain’t been gettin' no sleep
“Full Circle” is co-produced by Hit-Boy with G. Ry. Other guest appearances on King’s Disease include Big Sean, A$AP Ferg, Anderson .Paak, Lil Durk, Don Toliver, Fivio Foreign, and Charlie Wilson.
Read all the lyrics to Nas' “Full Circle” on Genius now.
