Today (October 7), Cormega has delivered The Realness II. As Cormega recently detailed to Ambrosia For Heads’ What’s The Headline podcast, the album was carefully made to be a true sequel to the original—which arrived just over 21 years ago. Beloved song “American Beauty” gets a stylish update on “Her Name.” Meanwhile, “The Saga,” receives a transformative update on “The Saga Resumes” (embedded below).

However, one highlight within The Realness II marks a contrast between the first installment. “Glorious” finds Cormega and Nas reunited. Two friends who met in the days before they were professional Hip-Hop artists have made a number of songs together, from 1996’s “Affirmative Action” to 2020’s “Full Circle” Firm reunion on the Grammy-winning King’s Disease. However, “Glorious” puts a sharp spotlight on the two MCs and their brotherhood, maturity, and love for the art.

Cormega Explains Why The Realness 2 Is A True Sequel To The Original

“If my life was a movie, I’m the Stanley Kubrick of music / I slid through the Transatlantic Slave Trade / No warning, no promo, I just do / Sky’s not my limit, it’s just the view / How do I live forever is through you, the listeners / This occurs when Alan The Chemist in the kitchen, this sh*t is innate,” spits Nas in the opening verse. Alchemist produces the song, having worked with ‘Mega and Nas individually. In his closing, Nasty Nas decorates the moment: “Can’t remember my thirties / Need to make some new stories, more unforgettable / Nasir and Cory, if Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris was one / We live a life, a glorious one / 40th and Vernon, thunn thunn / ‘Mega not who I met through this music sh*t / We from the block, a brother I grew up with, love.”

Cormega follows, in his bag of wisdom. “Struggle inspired me, the hustle justifiably / Conspiring to acquire what was once denied to me / Was mine if I wanted it / Confronted with decisions of going in / With rhymes or rubber grips / I chose wisely knowing I walked within / The shadow of death with a ladder and steps / The road to riches is cold and vicious / Some expire before acquiring growth and wisdom / It’s knowing when the court defendant tone is different / Say less, listen, you can have conviction / Learn from adversity, stand on integrity / And don’t abandon these principles for anything / Not for nothing, I put that on everything.” He also marks the moment honoring his brother: “Me and Nas embody poetic grace / In many ways I’ve changed.”

Ever Hear This 1996 Nas & Cormega Cypher? (Audio)

“It just felt like a very long overdue moment for us as artists, for us as men, for us as brothers, [and] for us as friends,” Cormega tells AFH‘s What’s The Headline podcast at the 16:00-mark. “Glorious” marks the first Nas appearance on a ‘Mega album. “It felt like it was something that the fans wanted so bad—and some thought it would never come to this. And when we got to that moment…that’s why we call it ‘Glorious,’ there was nothing else—that was the best title for it.” ‘Mega describes the song eliciting tears to some of the people he has played it for. “The impact that that song has had on people really made me proud.”

“See, you have to step outside of yourself and know where you was wrong and where you was right,” Cormega says of a relationship that once strayed off course amid The Firm’s personnel changes, song lyrics, and comments in the media. “Pride will deprive you of moments. So back in the days, [Nas and I] probably could have been did [this]. Maybe it was my pride; maybe it was his—we’ll never know, but it’s not that important right now. What’s important now is that the love is restored—like from a real place. Like, we don’t even have to do music; that’s my boy.” The MC who was shouted out on “One Love” 28 years ago reveals, “We’re closer now than we’ve been in a very long time.” “That song is a reflection of brotherhood and where we’re at. The important part of that is the compatibility—the verbal compatibility. We just fit together so well.” “If you could bottle up a perfect moment and put it in a song, that would be that.”

Cormega Releases A Dream Team Remix with AZ, Redman & Styles P (Audio)

Elsewhere in the latest Cormega interview with AFH, the MC speaks about other highlights from The Realness II, his general achievement of wisdom and peace, and more.

In addition to Nas, The Realness II features Lloyd Banks and Havoc. Apart from Alchemist, production is handled by Large Professor, Harry Fraud, Sha Money XL, Domingo, and more.

Alchemist Tells B-Real About Just How Much His Time With Cypress Hill Shaped Him

The official AFH playlist currently features other songs from Cormega, Nas, and Alchemist, as well as songs by AZ, Method Man, Diamond D, Roc Marciano, and more.