Marking the alleged end of and 's triumphant collaborative run, is truly the end of an era. The sixth album to be issued in just three years from this unexpected late-career pairing, this project represents the completion of one of modern hip-hop's most miraculous phenomena, a barrage of albums that feel as definitive and vivid as the rap icon's classics. Though perhaps landed the least acclaim of the six, there are no qualms to be had with the series' final chapter: this is the definitive ending to 's incredible partnership. The ground on which stands here is so effortlessly self-assured that you'd be forgiven for thinking rap was easy. Bars are constructed loosely but never carelessly, rattled out at a headstrong pace and tossed around like playthings, jeweled with slick double entendres and the wisdom of decades behind the mike. The vast weight of the MC's legacy is the bedrock behind the words, but his snapshot living is as high-life as ever, with New York luxuries coursing like paper trails through the wordsmith's verses. Yet, for all the hedonism, it's the spectrum of life that refracts here that proves most remarkable: the chaptered "Based on True Events, Pt. 2" is a near-instantaneous story track classic, back-to-back "Never Die" is like half of a rap Mount Rushmore come to life, and "Sitting with My Thoughts" sweeps across ' history with sonar-like precision. This is gold from the surface to the core. 's productions continue to occupy that charmed middle ground between innovation and nostalgia, a formula that has refreshed ' historic sound authentically across the pair's previous five LPs. The steadfast soul that underscores works like fuel for the MC's relentless flows, adding a stone-cut drama to back-to-back "Never Die," an old-school thwomp to "Pretty Young Girl," and jazzy urgency to "Superhero Status." It slinks with sinister probes under the morbid "Based on True Events, Pt. 2" and brightly flits from chop to chop on "Speechless, Pt. 2" -- but never proves anything other than the perfect complement to ' stalwart vocals. Audio engineering from -- who gets a long-deserved shout-out on "1-800-Nas-&-Hit" -- is the final touch in the full modernization of the sound. Six incredible albums in just three years. The Magic and King's Disease series offer nothing less than a hall of fame-level performance from -- and sits alongside at the apex of this legendary run. This is hip-hop history, indeed. ~ David Crone