Magic Johnson Responds to Nas’s Praise for His Business Acumen on ‘Magic 2’ with Humility

Magic Johnson responded enthusiastically to Nas’s tribute song dedicated to him, titled ‘Magic 2’, which commends his remarkable achievements as a mogul. Taking to Twitter on Saturday (July 22), the 63-year-old expressed his gratitude for the gesture and reciprocated the praise by acknowledging Nas’s own prowess as a businessman.

He tweeted, “On Nas’s new album Magic 2, he dedicated track 7 to me called Earvin Magic Johnson! Thank you for the respect and honor of my business acumen. You’re a hell of a businessman in your own right!”

In the song, Nas pays homage to Magic Johnson’s accomplishments in the business world, highlighting how he has built one of the most significant empires among Black athletes. The lyrics include references to Magic’s enterprising spirit, while also drawing parallels between Nas’s recent successes and the dominant Lakers teams led by Magic and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the 1980s.

The track, produced by Hit-Boy, showcases Nas’s lyrical prowess, with lines like “On my Earvin Magic Johnson, I’m enterprising/ I keep it ghetto like the hood before they gentrified it” and “I still ball, me and Wilson put up forty on the board/ At The Forum like I’m Magic and Kareem on the floor/ Pat Riley on the bench callin’ plays, I just score.”

Nas, in turn, expressed his gratitude for the creative rejuvenation he’s experiencing, calling this period the “best” of his life. He shared on social media, “I’m happy to be around making new music because I love it. Having the best year of my life. I caught the Holy Spirit and I’m grateful to be giving it all to the world. Magic 2.”

Earlier this year, the 49-year-old rapper spoke on the recent resurgence in inspiration he’s experienced that’s led to the uptick in album releases over the past five years. “I’m in one of these creative growth spurts,” he told Vanity Fair last month. “It’s something that I’m really excited about, and it surprises me – but I’m not too, too surprised because I was also waiting for the day that I felt like this again, and I knew it would come.”