Premiere: Cormega Releases “Essential” Music Video From ‘The Realness II’

Cormega unleashes the visual for “Essential,” the lead-single from his new album, The Realness II, which captures the veteran wordsmith delivering stanzas atop production by Havoc. Co-directed by himself and Kenneth Sousie, the clip finds Mega deep in thought while taking stock of the indispensable jewels he’s been given throughout the years.

Cormega spoke exclusively with VIBE about the inspiration behind “Essential” being the first glimpse of what he had in store with The Realness II and the challenge it presented. “Me putting out ‘Essential’ first was a statement,” Mega reveals. “I wanted to push myself in every possible way with this album. That single being just me was definitely intentional because I wanted to show these rappers something.”

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Released earlier this month, The Realness II marks Cormega’s sixth studio album of his career and is the sequel to his critically-acclaimed 2001 debut. The album, which was released via his own Cormega LLC imprint in partnership with Viper Records, includes guest appearances from Nas, Lloyd Banks, and Havoc, the latter of whom also appears as a producer. Other contributors include The Alchemist, Large Professor, Sha Money XL, Harry Fraud, STREETRUNNER, Big Ty and more.

Listen to The Realness II below and read our full-length interview with Cormega discussing the album here.

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