R-Mean isn’t playing around these days. The West Coast rapper continues to apply pressure with each record. Every time he shows out, he proves that he’s one of the fiercest lyricists in the game right now. Over the years, he’s show-and-proved time and time again, from the Mean Monday series, which showcased his consistency, to projects like December’s Justin Credible Presents: R-Mean, a project that found him trading bars with the likes of Jay Critch, BlocBoy JB, and more.

However, he’s been gearing up for something major in the past few months. With his album M.E.A.N due out later this month, he’s dished out excellent singles. He kicked off the year with “Lonely Day.” Later on, he showcased his versatility when he joined forces for YG on the playful, “Charles Barkley.” Now, he connected with one of his childhood heroes for an incredible collaboration, produced by Scott Storch.

It truly takes a special type of artist to earn praise from Nas, but evidently, R-Mean proved himself worthy through years of hard work. This week, the two connect on their new collaboration, “Candle Of The Devil.” Scott Storch’s xylophone-heavy production feels like a call back to Nas’ 96 runs while the two bring top-tier storytelling and wordplay to the table. R-Mean’s resilience shines as he reflects on spirituality, family, and legacy. Nas follows up with an excellent 16 that showcases his timeless flow and penmanship.

On Instagram, R-Mean detailed how he manifested the collaboration. Back in 2017, he released “Letter To The King,” a tribute to his two idols, Eminem and Nas. Though many of his fans praised the record, he didn’t get any sort of acknowledgment from either rapper, until a few years later. “Several years later, on a random Wednesday, I got a Facetime call and when I picked up it was Nas [mind blown emoji] He happened to walk into Cookies on Melrose and my brother @alll___1 played him ‘Letter to the King,’” he wrote on Instagram. “Nas told me ‘That sh*t did something to me right now’ as he pointed to his chest. Three days later we were in the studio at @scottstorchofficial’s house and we created this masterpiece together on the spot!” Check the song above.

Notable Lyrics
Red wine straight out of Spain, poured from a pitcher
Four hour dinners out with my n***as, pour out some liquor
You was told to accept things you can’t change
I respect that, to me, nothin’ in monolithic
Nobody exempt from who karma visit