One of Hip-Hops most dominant duos return on “The Tide”, as Nas and Hit-Boy connect for the second track on Hit’s SURF OR DROWN album.

On the song, Hit-Boy and Nas each rap a verse, before switching the beat up and using the “In & Out flow” to trade bars. This style of rapping has been made popular by other notable artists such as EPMD and Jadakiss & Styles P.

The producer-rapper duo has been kidnapping the rap game over the last few years, with multiple high-quality releases to show. Hit-Boy has executively produced all three of Nas' King’s Disease albums, as well as Magic, a surprise album released on Christmas Eve 2021.

On March 22, 2023, Hit-Boy released the song’s music video two days ahead of the album’s release.

Hit-Boy has rapped alongside Nas before, on their 2021 song, “Composure”, a cut from the King’s Disease II LP, whose sequel track is also included on this album.