Illmatic: 18 Years Later

Nas dropped his first album, Illmatic 18 years ago today- that is, April 19, 1994. The album is considered, by many, the best rap album ever in hip hop history. It received a 5 Mics rating from The Source magazine at the time of release, and a lot of rappers have themed it a yardstick for what can be considered classic material while considering an album. To this effect, Nas's other works have been compared to this masterpiece, and according to the masses, he has not been able to create another album like Illmatic.

The first Nas track i heard was If I Ruled The World (feat Lauryn Hill) back in 1996, but i didn't get to listen to a full length Nas album till Nastradamus in 1999. For an album that is considered his worst, it is a testament to the greatness of this man, cos after listening to that album, i became a fan. I started listening to his past works one by one, but i didn't get to listen to Illmatic till 2003, cos it was hard to come about it in stores. When i listened to it, i immediately knew why there was so much noise surrounding the album. From Life's A Bitch featuring AZ, to Halftime, to It Aint Hard To Tell, Nas's verses are flawless. Nas was so on-point at the time that every producer wanted to work with him- and they did. I think Illmatic was the first rap album in hip hop to have multiple A class producers working on one album- a debut album at that. Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Q-Tip and Large Professor.



It should be known, to the unlooker that this is not your usual present day hip hop album where you have banging beats and catchy choruses being the selling point of the records. This album is rap at its purest. I think what i feel makes this album great is the fact that all the tracks are perfect- there is no misplaced words, and all his vereses were flawless. Of cos if you are a newschool rap listener, you might not understand this. Nas was a beast on the mic back in the day...he still is, but he has little to prove now, and his craft has matured through the years to include great storytelling, poetic illustrations and a lot more versatility.



Illmatic will forever be a classic, and there are a few albums close to it in level of perfection- but i do think that Nas has made some other great albums in his 20 year career. Untitled, Stillmatic, Godson and the the recent collaborative album with Damian Marley, Distant Relatives are masterpieces.