What caused the rift between Nas and Hit-Boy?
Nas and producer Hit-Boy haven’t spoken to each other in three years, despite their successful collaboration between 2020 and 2023, during which they released six albums, including the award-winning *King’s Disease* trilogy. The rift appears to be deep, possibly caused by personal and artistic differences, including rumors about Nas’s attitude toward Hit-Boy’s father, but the exact reasons have not been confirmed. Despite the end of their collaboration, their joint work remains an important chapter in hip-hop history, demonstrating that veterans can continue to grow creatively.
There's something going on between Nas and Hit-Boy. Something that doesn't add up. The producer has revealed that he hasn't spoken to the Queens legend in three years. Three years. After everything they've accomplished together.
Between 2020 and 2023, they dropped six albums—about eighty tracks. Hit-Boy produced almost all of them: the entire *King's Disease* trilogy and the entire *Magic* series. It earned Nas his first-ever Grammy when *King's Disease* won Best Rap Album in 2021. This wasn’t just a one-off collaboration. It was one of the most productive rapper-producer partnerships in the history of hip-hop.
That's why the silence feels so heavy.
"We've done a lot of good work, but I don't see us working together anymore," says Hit-Boy. He suggests there are "many reasons" for the split and calls the situation too personal to discuss publicly. Even Joe Budden weighed in on the conversation.
This doesn't sound like two artists who are simply going their separate ways. But no one knows exactly what happened. There is a rumor circulating, though. It fits with the limited information available, but it's still just a rumor.
The claim: Nas was reportedly not interested in collaborating musically with Big Hit, Hit-Boy’s father. That could have led to tension. Nas has not confirmed this. Hit-Boy did not mention it as one of the reasons. However, there is a photo online showing them standing together. Without words, their body language says it all.
Hit-Boy has invested heavily in his father—nearly a million dollars, as he revealed in a VladTV interview. Music videos, housing, clothing, travel, studio time. Big Hit was released from prison, and his son tried to help him build a rap career. Things got even more painful when Big Hit got into trouble with the law again and ultimately ended up back in prison, despite having previously been on probation.
For Hit-Boy, this was more than just making beats for his father. It was about repairing a relationship, building a legitimate business, and breaking a cycle that has affected their family for decades. If Hit-Boy wanted Nas to cooperate and Nas wasn’t into it, Hit-Boy might have taken that personally. But Nas also has the right to make that artistic choice.
Then there's that line from the BMI Awards: "Death to all suckers and love to all winners and people who believe." Nas is part of the biggest beef in hip-hop history—not Kendrick and Drake. He’s a monster when he wants to be. We haven’t confirmed that he was referring to his former studio partner, but the timing is striking.
This is Nas. He has earned the right to decide whose music moves him, which beats he wants, and which collaborations make sense. Supporting Hit-Boy doesn’t automatically mean you have to work with his father.
Important detail: when *Magic 3* was released in September 2023, there didn’t seem to be any bitter rift. Hit-Boy said he’d be available "whenever forever," and Nas said they could easily make more albums together. That makes the producer’s statement that it’s "pretty deep" all the more intriguing.
Maybe resentment arose after the music stopped. Maybe business, money, loyalty, or creative differences played a role. Maybe Big Hit was involved; maybe the rumor isn't true at all.
What we know: Nas and Hit-Boy made six albums in three years, haven't spoken since, apparently, and Hit-Boy is no longer interested in collaborating. He refuses to explain the underlying reasons.
Until Nas or Hit-Boy tells the full story, everything else is just speculation. Their run did, however, change the conversation about veterans in hip-hop. It proved that maturity doesn’t have to mean a decline in creativity. Whatever happened on a personal level, those six albums remain a remarkable chapter in both of their careers.
Enough salt to stick.
