Nas' 'Illmatic' Turns 30 Today

[chazraps]

Critically it might be the most acclaimed rap album of all time. A landmark of the genre, a behemoth of a debut, a paradigm shift - and it's just as potent now as it was 30 years ago.

Happy Birthday to Nas' 'Illmatic!'

I penned a 30th anniversary piece for The Current today, putting the album into a context that most retrospective pieces tend to miss - www.thecurrent.org/feature/2024/04/18/nas-illmatic-at-30-a-classic-album-still-in-a-class-of-its-own

Where were you when you first heard it and what are your favorite tracks/moments from it?

[Cyno]

Favorite track would be either NY State of Mind or The World is Yours. Album is a classic of the genre.

[GOTHIC CHARISMA 🧊 🥶❄️FURY]

crazy to think he coasted for 20+ years and somehow went right back to making classic stuff. he’s coming up on like around 10 albums I’d say are great

[Cyno]

I think of Nas as the quintessential New York rapper. More than Jay. More than any of the Wu-Tang Clan. Even more than Biggie. I feel like his lyrics and sound are just so uniquely "New York" and the ultimate representative of that East Coast sound from the 90's.

[ChitownKnight]

I think “It ain’t hard to tell” and “Life is a bitch” were the best tracks. But it’s kind of crazy that he Ethered Jay Z (no pun intended), but Jay Z became more relevant after. I think Nas is one of the most underrated rappers of all time in that sense

[Ronny Rayguns Is All Elite]

NY State of Mind and Life's a Bitch are my top tracks.

AZ damn near stole the track in his guest spot

[agent817]

I didn't first listen to this album until 2001 when I got a burnt copy (which shows the time period very well) of this album. I was immediately when I heard "NY State of Mind," "Halftime," and "The World is Yours." While this is still Nas's most prolific album, I will say that he still had good ones that followed, like "It Was Written," "Stillmatic," "God's Son," etc.

[BK From WV]

I remember the first track I heard from it was The World Is Yours some time during my junior year of high school in '94. While I really liked the song, I actually didn't listen to the whole album until later that summer. I loved it. Getting to see him, Wu-Tang Clan, and De La Soul with Talib Kweli in concert this past October was a real treat.

[Urethra Franklin]

Large Pro used four samples on “It Ain’t Hard to Tell” including the intro to Mountain’s “Loud Red” (which has been sampled literally hundreds of times) and a Kool and the Gang song, but the most prominent is “Human Nature.”

The story goes that Michael would only clear the sample if he got a guarantee that Nas wouldn’t curse on the track. And he didn’t.

[mo]

“It Ain’t Hard To Tell” might be my favorite hip hop song ever. If not then it’s high up there.

“Life’s a Bitch,” “The World Is Yours,” “NY State of Mind,” “One Love.” One of the greatest albums of all time.

[wankah]

World is yours, prolly. That's one of them albums that are around 9.5/10, others are Overkill by Motörhead and Miami by Gun Club.

[wankah]

Just wondering about them brasses, must've been plugins.