Illmatic is an album by Nas (Nasir Jones) that I’ve been recommended for a couple of years now, but I never got around to looking it up. In fact it was recommended as the greatest rap/hip-hop album of all time by a colleague of mine and who kept pestering me to have a listen. Well at last I’ve managed to lay my hands on this album and have a listen for myself and I can say I’m not disappointed. Whether it’s the greatest ever rap/hip-hop album or not is something I will not go into, but I will admit that’s it’s a great album indeed and one of the best of all time (if not the best of all time) in its genre. I’m not much into rap and hip-hop these days, but I’ve had my fair share of Wu-Tang Clan, N.W.A., Coolio, Run-D.M.C., Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, LL Cool J, Ice Cube among others, but I’ve always felt that The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, and Eric B. & Rakim were the best of the lot and also my personal favorites especially Eric B. & Rakim. Nas was someone I’d not heard so it was with huge expectations that I turned to Illmatic. I have to admit here that I missed out on it when it first came out in 1994 but like they say better late than never. At the outset, this is an album that has aged very well (like good wine) and does not sound jaded or out of sync at all. The songs, the hip-hop beats, the rhythms, the lyrics are as fresh and relevant today as way back then. Nas is an incredibly talented singer, MC and rapper all thrown into one great package. His vocal control is incredible to say the least and he raps and rhymes way better than anybody else. Of course it helps that the gangsta lyrics and expletive words are kept to a minimum here. This is not Rakim of the famed Eric B. & Rakim duo, but its darn near good filled with great music, rhymes, and rhythms, just no filler stuff. This is one of the best albums I’ve heard in terms of hip-hop beats, they are incessant, to the point and tight, and uplifting at times too. You really need a good subwoofer for them to kick in. Combined with the music, the lyrics and Nas singing his way through them this is one powerful album that you will not tire of easily.
I was reading elsewhere that this was the most celebrated album in hip-hop history. Well it certainly has its fans and I’m one of them. Nas is definitely in the category of a celebrity and a celebrated MC that too. My all time favorite for this post has to be Rakim from the Eric B. & Rakim duo and I have practically all of their albums, but Nas is certainly up there and coming as it is that Rakim had vacated the coveted spot, Nas was more than up to the challenge. More impressive is the fact that Nas was just 20 years old when he recorded Illmatic and reserved a spot for himself in hip-hop history. This is gangsta or ghetto rap at its very best, smart one liners and wordplay all thrown into rhyme but with no reason and only serving to prop oneself and pull down the rest. Brings to mind Eminem’s 8 mile movie, but this is more grassroots and much better too.
The track listing is as follows –
- The Genesis
- N.Y. State Of Mind
- Life’s A Bitch
- The World Is Yours
- Halftime
- Memory Lane (Sittin’ In Da Park)
- One Love
- One Time 4 Your Mind
- Represent
- It Ain’t Hard To Tell
All of them great tracks in what is without doubt an exceptional album. This is a masterpiece that I missed out on when it first came out, but now that I’ve caught up on it (have my colleague to thank for it) I’m mighty glad I did. I will be sampling more of Nas’ work in the days to come, he’s certainly very, very good and extremely talented.
You can purchase Nas Illmatic album on Amazon at -
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