Nas' Illmatic: A Timeless Album

The first verse of Illmatic’s “Genesis” was first heard back in 1991 on a song from American hip hop group Main Source’s debut album Breaking Atoms. As we know, Nas has been rapping since he was 15, but this was his first verse on record, and we hear it again on the first verse of the first song on the legendary album Illmatic. Nas used this verse to introduce the album because as he wants to show you the artistry he’s created now, he wants you to remember his more humble beginnings, as a feature on a debut album three years prior to the release of Illmatic. The song is conversation between Nas, his brother Jungle, and AZ. Nas’ concluding line in the song is “N****s don’t listen man, representin’, it’s illmatic” (“Genesis”). Nas is foreshadowing for the song “Represent” and shouting out his album’s namesake, which according to Nas means “supreme ill. It’s as ill as ill gets” (XXL Magazine). He describes Illmatic as “a science of everything ill”. 

Back in the early 1990’s, the hip hop scene was dominated by artists including Rakim, KRS-One, LL Cool J and Heavy D. Hip hop was flashy and Nas’ described rappers back then as “characters”, “super stars” and, “bigger than life” (XLL Magazine). With Illmatic, Nas’ goal was to tell a story of whats real and what he had to go through everyday on the block, for the other people in the street. Nas’ purpose was a real album for a real audience because “everything else was so lights, cameras, action, gloss. I had to stand out and be the guy who had the projects behind me. Really the record had to represent everything Nasir Jones is about... That’s what is was about for me, being that kid from the projects, being a poster child for that, that didn’t exist back then” (XXL Magazine). Maybe that’s why Illmatic is such a legendary record; Nas knew he had to make a name for himself and what he stood for, which he did in a timeless way. “When you get a chance to put your words out there it’s that serious” (XXL Magazine).

One of my personal favorite songs on Illmatic is “The World Is Yours”. Nas references his life and the people in Queens, New York and his late friend Ill Will who he eventually named his record label after. Nas labels himself the “young city bandit” and mentions the struggles of street life: “getting tackled/Or caught by the devil’s lasso” (“The World Is Yours”). Nas talks about rapping and selling drugs and in the third verse delves into feelings of loneliness and even depression. Despite the very honest and real recognition of Nas’ problems and struggles, and aspects of the street life, Nas counteracts the storytelling verses with a hopeful chorus that often gets stuck in my head: “Who’s world is this? The world is yours/The world is yours/It’s mine, it’s mine, it’s mine” with such repetition that when you hear it you start to really believe it (“The World Is Yours”). At the end Nas breaks it down for Queens, Uptown, Brooklyn, Mount Vernon, Long Island, Staten Island, South Bronx, and all cities in New York. Even though Nas is talking about his life in the Queens and says “God blesses” to all the people of Queens, he’s really representing all of New York as a whole.

Critic’s Opinion

Shortly after the album was released in 1994, Rolling Stone Magazine critiques Nas’ artistic rendition of his story and where he stands in the game of hip hop. After Illmatic Rolling Stone described Nas as “the MC with a street buzz so loud it’s threatening to silence the Death Row bass thump on Broadway” (Rolling Stone Magazine). Certainly Nas achieved his goal of “standing out” and representing everything he’s about. Another thing that heightened Nas’ buzz DJ Premier, Pete Rock, the Large Professor, Q-Tip, L.E.S, some of the hottest producers in New York finished their portions on Illmatic. This fire production, Nas’ smooth but assertive flow and few hard biting tracks was the recipe of success for Nas. Allthough the album has a mainly laid back flow, the “no-nonsense urban tails pair Illmatic’s every beautiful moment with its harsh antitheses” (Rolling Stone Magazine). These no-nonsense urban tales are the renditions of Nas’ everyday life and the struggles he faces on the streets. The harsh antithesis is that there are always going to be struggles and things that must be overcome. Whether its poverty, drugs, or your homies who are still locked up or even dead, you can guarantee Nas will give you the real story.

Rolling Stone makes it clear, however, that what set Nas apart from his competition when Illmatic was not his story but his skill. “if an MC’s history were really more important than his skills, then anyone from the projects would be able to rhyme like Nas, and Nas would be no different from any bum riding down Broadway” (Foreward) In this case is not what Nas said but how he said it that set him apart. The content is no less important than real, his story is relatable to people from the streets, but still catches the attention of the entire industry. As Common said about Illmatic, “Nas was angry without being frustrated, smart but not preachy, and wise but straight up with you” (Foreward). It was possibly these factors that made Nas’ Illmatic such a good and timeless album that you love to listen to. 

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Nas. “Genesis.” Illmatic. Columbia Records, 1994.

Nas. “Nas - The World Is Yours”. YouTube. Youtube, LLC. 11 Sept. 2007. Web. 9 Apr. 2013.

Nas. “The World Is Yours.” Illmatic. Columbia Records, 1994.

Toure. "Illmatic | Album Reviews." Rolling Stone. Jann S. Wenner, 25 Aug. 1994. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. <http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/illmatic-19940825>.