Nas’ Illmatic is 30 years old and it’s easy to see why it’s still a groundbreaking, genre-defining album

On April 19, 2024, Nasir Jones — higher often known as the legendary GOAT-level MC Nas — and Christopher Martin — higher often known as the legendary GOAT-level hip-hop producer DJ Premier — released their debut single “Define My Name” from their upcoming collaborative album. In the late Nineties, a collaborative album between Nas and Premier would break the then-defunct Twitter. Hip-hop heads would salivate on the considered two titans of the genre, seemingly at the height of their powers, giving us a project consisting of 1 rapper and one producer. You can count me amongst those people; I still hope that each song Premier has kept within the vault has Nas’ version of Group Home’s “Livin’ Proof” in his will – perhaps his final gift to hip-hop might be the discharge of those records in his will. One can only hope.

Either way, I do not like (*30*) Maybe I’m just old and I’ll be 45 soon. I not miss recent songs that sound old. To be certain, I’ll listen to their album if it ever comes out; each artists deserved my sympathy, but this really made me want to return and listen to Nas’ debut album “Illmatic”, which turned 30 on April 19. I pulled out the album and was transported back to the mid to late 90’s and all of the arguments, debates, and discussions my friends had for hours into the night about whether or not it was the very best hip-hop album of all time. , looking back a seemingly silly discussion. In 1994, we had no idea where hip-hop was heading or whether an album would age well.

In 2024, we all know the reply: Illmatic is still one among – if not THE – hip-hop album of all time. It’s nearly as good in 2024 because it was in 1994. And I do not say that evenly.

I’m late for Illmatic. When the album was released in April 1994, I used to be a freshman in highschool and my hip-hop listening in New York was limited to Pete Rock & CL Smooth and De La Soul. At this point I used to be really into West Coast and South Coast artists. Also, Outkast’s video for “Player’s Ball” was cyclical and seemed rather more familiar to me than all of the New York videos. And when Outkast’s “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik” got here out a week later, well, my entire hip-hop life moved to my area.

It wasn’t until college, after I made friends from all around the world and became curious about sampling and producing, that I actually began listening to New York hip-hop, and that is when “Illmatic” became one among my favorite albums. Not only was Nas an otherworldly lyricist, however the beats – provided by DJ Premier, Pete Rock, LES, A Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip and Large Professor – are unbeatable. I remember seeing a video regarding “It’s not hard to say” and I loved that record, but it surely didn’t make me want to listen to “Illmatic.” But even today, “It Ain’t Hard to Tell” is still my favorite song on the album. Nas’ wordplay and the flow of the song are deeply memorable to me. When I actually frolicked writing rhymes, I at all times wanted to be nearly as good at that song as Nas.

Featured Stories

I do not know if I’ve entered the elder statesman stage of life, but I actually appreciate that a lot of the music that shaped my teenage years is still going strong and price discussing. Debates not matter; “Illmatic” is one of the essential albums of the genre. You could teach a semester-long class on this album and Nas’ perspective and ability to embrace his surroundings and create such striking narratives inside hip-hop. Nas is now and will at all times be considered one among the best artists to ever touch a microphone; the thought that he wrote this album as a teenager is terrifying.

When I delved into the album shortly after entering college, I viewed Nas because the rapper whose work all rappers should aspire to, and I still feel that way concerning the album. When I talk to younger people (nephews, students) about hip-hop, my default is to tell them to listen to “Illmatic” purely due to lyricism and Nas’ ability to construct and explain the world from the window of the project. “New York State of Mind” is a song that many rappers have striven to record, and for good reason: it makes you’re feeling such as you’re in New York. I felt like Queensbridge was a place I needed to understand to understand New York. While this has proven to be unfaithful in my life, the undeniable fact that an album could put me in a place has never impressed me, even today.

Even more impressive is the undeniable fact that Nas is still a top songwriter; This talent can’t be appreciated enough. While I don’t know what a DJ Premier and Nas album would ultimately sound like, I’m without end grateful for what these two gave us on Illmatic, what Nas released into the world, and the way it helped shape my hip-hop education .

Represent, represent.