Nas Illmatic Tracklist
Often cited as one of the best hip-hop albums of the '90s, is the undisputed classic upon which ' reputation rests. It helped spearhead the artistic renaissance of New York hip-hop in the post- era, leading a return to street aesthetics. Yet even if marks the beginning of a shift away from -inspired alternative rap, it's strongly rooted in that sensibility. For one, employs some of the most sophisticated jazz-rap producers around:,,, and, who underpin their intricate loops with appropriately tough beats. But more importantly, takes his place as one of hip-hop's greatest street poets -- his rhymes are highly literate, his raps superbly fluid regardless of the size of his vocabulary. He's able to evoke the bleak reality of ghetto life without losing hope or forgetting the good times, which become all the more precious when any day could be your last.
As a narrator, he doesn't get too caught up in the darker side of life -- he's simply describing what he sees in the world around him, and trying to live it up while he can. He's thoughtful but ambitious, announcing on 'N.Y. State of Mind' that 'I never sleep, 'cause sleep is the cousin of death,' and that he's 'out for dead presidents to represent me' on 'The World Is Yours.'
Nas Illmatic Tracklist Disciple
Elsewhere, he flexes his storytelling muscles on the classic cuts 'Life's a Bitch' and 'One Love,' the latter a detailed report to a close friend in prison about how allegiances within their group have shifted. Hip-hop fans accustomed to 73-minute opuses sometimes complain about 's brevity, but even if it leaves you wanting more, it's also one of the few '90s rap albums with absolutely no wasted space. Reveals a great lyricist in top form meeting great production, and it remains a perennial favorite among serious hip-hop fans.
Nas Illmatic Download
View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1994 Vinyl release of Illmatic on Discogs. Two decades after the album's critically-acclaimed release, hip-hop icon Nas teamed up with the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. To stage a symphonic rendition of illmatic, one of the most revered albums in hip-hop history.