The Realness is the debut studio album by Queensbridge rapper Cormega.Cormega rose to fame in the mid-90s as an original member of The Firm crew, along with Nas, AZ and Foxy Brown, appearing on the song "Affirmative Action" from the Nas album It Was Written. After being booted from the group, Cormega signed a record deal with Def Jam Recordings, and recorded The Testament. The album was shelved, and Cormega was dropped from label, joining LandSpeed Records for his first official release.