Nas - Illmatic

 Golden child of the golden era
To understand how good this album, just consider some of the CLASSIC releases between 1993 and 1995.

1993: Doggystyle, Midnight Marauders, and Enter The 36 Chambers.
1994: Hard To Earn, Dare Iz A Darkside, and Ready To Die.
1995: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, The Infamous, and Dah Shinin.

I've just listed some very good pieces of work, yet none of them come close, and although Ready To Die is seen as it's main contemporary, Illmatic does separate itself from that album as well.

Let's jump into the album minus the intro, but if you want to hear a real intro, try the one on Stillmatic. God like flow at it's best...

The first time I heard "NY State of Mind", I did not want to hear the rest of the album b/c the song was so good I didn't think that it could get any better. The beat provided by DJ Premier has to be in the top five of his ENTIRE catalogue. Just a chilling, haunting beat with the lyrics to match (Heard a few chicks scream/ my arms shook, couldn't look/ gave another squeeze,heard it click, yo my s#&t is stuck). The scratches at the end are the song are on point, too. From there we have "Life's a B!%&h". I think it was the only song where I heard Nas outshined by another emcee. AZ's career never took off, but from this verse alone it's obvious that he has more talent than most guys can fathom.

Next up is "The World is Yours". I never really appreciated this song when it was released. I mean, the lyrics were standard Nas, and the beat by Pete Rock is of a master class, but it didn't catch. To put it short, something was wrong with me, b/c the piano loop is hypnotic, and lyrics are second to none. Just as a cherry on top, check out the video to the remix on YouTube. The second verse is magical.

Halftime is the next song, and even though it's good, you can tell that it was not recorded for this album (Zebrahead Sdtk.). Memory Lane is another song with superior lyrics (Sentence begins indented, with formality/my duration's infinite, money-wise or physiology). The next three songs are good, especially " One Love", and then the album ends with " It Ain't Hard to Tell".

For me, this is my favorite song in his catalogue. It doesn't have the thematic direction of "NY State of Mind" , but it's lyrical wizardry at it's finest. I think everyone went mad like I did when Nas announced that he was half breed (Hit the earth like a comet, invasion/ Nas is like the afrocentric-azin/half man, half amazin'). Also, Large Professor should give a lesson on sampling to fake producers after his "amazin" use of "Human Nature" by QJ and MJ.

Folks, no other hip-hop album can be judged against this seminal piece of work, save for " It Takes A Million" by PE or "Straight Outta Compton" by NWA. It's that good...
April 16, 2008

 3 1/2 The genesis of Nasir
I recently read a book called "It's No Secret" by Carmen Bryan, the mother of Nas's daughter named Destiny. In the book she said that Nas was uninspired at the time and didn't want to go to the studio. She said that she encouraged him to go to the studio daily until he finished "Illmatic." After reading that and hearing the countless good reviews from people's mouths, I knew I had to listen for myself. I feel like a fish out of water because I did enjoy some of the album, but the beats and hooks weren't impressive at all. What really gives this album points is the profound and unforgettable lyrics. Nas impressed me with most of his versus. Further, I have most of the albums that followed "Illmatic", and I must say, I have never heard this much energy from Nas, but it was a virtue.

"Illmatic" is very short for an album, clocking in at thirty-nine point six minutes. I don't usually care for long albums, but this is one of the shortest albums I have come across in a long while and it was a bit of a turn-off. This album has a few guest appearances, and all of the men do well. Dark, haunting production is found from track one to ten. I never was a big fan of the beats on Nas's albums, but this album has some really bad beats. What gave it a bit of saving grace is the fact that one of my favorite songs of all time is sampled: Michael Jackson's "Human Nature." "Human Nature" was sampled on the last song called "It Ain't Hard to Tell." Lyrically, this is an amazing song and I listen to it all the time. The horns should have been left off of this song, but they don't take too much away from its quality. "It Ain't Hard to Tell" and "Life's a B****" are easily this album's best moments. ("Life's a B**** samples "Yearning for Your Love.") This album was released in 1994. The only song I can remember receiving any airtime is "The World is Yours." Music listeners loved that song.

I recommend this album to rap lovers, but, in all honesty, if you love rap, you should already have "Illmatic."

Mikeisha's Top 5

1. "It Ain't Hard to Tell"
2. "Life's a Bitch"
3. "NY State of Mind"
4. "Memory Lane"
5. "The World is Yours"
April 7, 2008

 Definition of Classic Hip-Hop
What can I say that countless other reviewers have not? If you consider yourself a true Hip Hop fan, you must have this album. Since I was only six when this album came out, I was introduced to rap by Eminem in High School. All I knew was what I heard on the radio until I started buying CDs. At one point I was in the music store and found two CDs at a good price: Illmatic - the platinum version and Get Rich or Die Tryin. I had to make a choice between the two. I made the right choice and picked Illmatic based on good reviews I read here on Amazon. At first I did not get the hype, it all went straight over my head. I listened to it again and again until something inside me clicked. Now, this is my favourite album. Here's what I thought of each track:

-1. THE GENESIS 3/5 - Great intro, the beat is grimy and gets me amped up for the rest of the album. Listen closely for Nas's verse from LIVE AT THE BARBEQUE in the background "Street's disciple, my raps are trifle / I shoot slugs from my brain just like a rifle"(the only reason it gets 3/5 is because its an intro as apposed to a full song)

-2. N.Y. STATE OF MIND 5/5 - My personal favourite. Some of DJ Premier's best work is on this album. The beat is dark and gritty. There is an acute sense of a young man trapped in a dangerous world. It is tense and dark. A Rakim sample for the hook completes it. "Heard a few chicks scream my arm shook, couldn't look / Gave another squeeze heard it click yo, my s*** is stuck"

-3. LIFE'S A B**** 5/5 - A killer debut verse from Brooklyn rapper AZ, though both emcees shine immensely. Both feel like they're trapped in the system. Nas has smoother flow, but I consider this song to belong to AZ. "Visualizin the realism of life and actuality / F*** who's the baddest a person's status depends on salary". Minimalist production from L.E.S. is overshadowed by the more experienced producers, love Olu Dara's trumpet solo at the end.

-4. THE WORLD IS YOURS 5/5 - Some of the most poetic work from Nas. The idea that one can take they're life into their own hands is a startling contrast to the previous track. Pete Rock's production is jazzy and I like the hook he drops. "I keep fallin, but never fallin six feet deep / I'm out for presidents to represent me".

-5. HALFTIME 3.5/5 - An appropriate track for the middle of the album. It was Nas's first single, released on the soundtrack for Zebrahead two years earlier. It is probably the weakest track on the CD, more or less because Nas is all over the place. However, it features some very clever wordplay throughout and interesting production from the Large Professor that sounds like a matching of jazz and jingle bells. "I'm max like cassettes, I flex like sex / In your stereo sets, Nas will catch wreck".

-6. MEMORY LANE 5/5 - You can picture Nas sitting on the stoop writing hits lyrics, he paints pictures with his lyrics. Of course, Primo's supreme production helps. "Poetry, that's a part of me, retardedly bop / I drop the ancient manifested hip-hop, straight off the block".

-7. ONE LOVE 5/5 - A conceptual track in which Nas writes his friends that are incarcerated in San Quentin then he schools a youngster headed down the road to prison. Q-Tip's production is spot on, the echoing sounds evoke images of jail cells. "Shorty's laugh was cold blooded as he spoke so foul / only twelve trying to tell me that he liked my style".

-8. ONE TIME 4 YOUR MIND 4/5 - Along with Large Professor's beat, Nas is laid back plus his flow is spot on. This one doesn't pop out as much as the other tracks though. "Ya'll n****s was born , I shot my way out my Mom Dukes".

-9. REPRESENT 5/5 - After chillin' to the previous track, get back up again for this high energy beat from Premier. I love bumping this on in the car. Nas is on point, representing the QB. "This n**** raps with a razor, keep it under my tongue / The school drop-out, never liked the s*** from day one".

-10. IT AIN'T HARD TO TELL 4.5/5 - Nas lyrically kills this track. I did not give it 5/5 due to the lack of direction in this track that was present in the others. He averages about 4 rhymes every 2 lines. Some nice jazzy production from the Professor. "Inhale from the L, school a fool well, you feel it like braille / It ain't hard to tell, I kick the skill like Shaquille holds a bill / Vocabulary spills I'm Ill".

That pretty much covers everything. Give me feedback if you agree or disagree. If you're hungry for more Illmatic type material, check the internet for a mixtape called Pre-Illmatic.
February 28, 2008

 How could you rate this album any less then 5 stars?
I knew from when I first heard this album way back when, that is was classic material. Young Nasir was just a teenager and created a timeless album that will be continued to be talked about for decades to come. This album not only gave birth to Nas but also to the super underrated and extremely dope AZ. To rate this album below 5 stars is ridiculous and to rate it one star is absolutely insane. The one star reviewers must be retarded, smoking crack, as well as sniffing white out. This album helped to define what Hip Hop is. February 21, 2008

 One of the BEST albums you'll ever hear in your lifetime
Now I don't even have to mention how great the lyricism and beats made this album. It's amazing how after reading those 2 star and 1 start reviews, which are mostly comoing from young kids, that they think that these southern rappers are somehow GREAT. All they rap about is how much they love the dough, cars, b***es, etc.. you get my point. No innovation whatsoever, just the same old things over and over. That stuff gets old REALLY quick. Alright enough of my rants. If you want to check out other classics, Here are just a few I recommend although there are lots and I can spend all day listing them:

Wu-Tang-Enter the Wu-Tang Clan (36 Chambers)
Raekwon-Only Built For Cuban Linx
GZA-Liquid Swords
Kool G Rap-4,5,6
AZ-Do Or Die
Mobb Deep-Infamous
Immortal Technique-Revolutionary Vol.1 and 2

That's just a few but I think you get the idea of what my tastes are. :) February 19, 2008

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