By John Sutherlin
Illmatic is Nas’s first studio album. Let’s first get into the history of the album. Nas was first discovered in 1991 when he gained attention for his verse on “Live At The Barbecue” by Main Source. Later on he was approached by MC Serch who was a well respected MC from New york. With help from Serch Nas signed to Columbia Records. There he recorded the album in between 1992 and 1993. The album debuted on April 19th, 1994 where it shot up to the number 12th spot on the billboard hot 100. It sold 63,000 copies in its first week. The album had mostly modest sales but it earned amazing reviews from critics. Over time the album achieved double platinum status and set a benchmark for how a solo debut album should sound. Nowadays it’s hailed as one of the greatest albums ever made.
Now let’s get into the ranking. I will give every song a rating out of 10 and give a rating out of 10 for the whole album. There are 10 tracks in total and no intros/interludes that we will have to disqualify.
Let’s start with track 1: “The Genesis” 1:45. The Genesis opens with Nas’s famous Verse from the live at the barbecue. The song is meant to showcase Nas’s incredible talent. 7/10.
Track 2: “New York State of Mind” 4:54. NY State of Mind is probably the most popular track on this list but it is not the best. It has heavy gritty beats and amazing lyrics courtesy of Nas himself, this track deserves to be the most popular. 10/10
Track 3: “Lifes A B**** (Feat. AZ & Olu Dara)” 3:30. Another famous track from the album is this one. This song talks about Nas’s experience with using drugs and alcohol. 8/10
Track 4: “The World is Yours” 4:50. This is probably my favorite track from the album. The song is meant to be a reference to the movie Scarface where the words “the world is yours” pop up many times. Scarface is one of Nas’s favorite movies and it’s all over this first album. 10/10.
Track 5: “Halftime” 4:20. This song talks about Nas’s first time rapping and how he came to love it. The title of the song also serves to show that it’s halfway through the album. 8/10.
Track 6: “Memory lane (Sittin’ In Da Park)” 4:08. Memory lane is a bit more of a chill track and is about Nas reflecting. 8/10.
Track 7: “One Love (Feat Q-Tip)” 5:25. One love returns to the gritty beats that the few first songs had. The song talks about drug dealers and what they do and go through. 8/10.
Track 8: “One Time 4 Your Mind” 3:18. An alright track at best. The song talks about what your mind feels like when it’s “under the influence” 7/10.
Track 9: “Represent” 4:12. This song talks about how you need to represent where you’re from. In this case it’s New York. 9/10.
Track 10: “It Ain’t Hard To Tell” 3:22. It ain’t hard to tell is a song about how it isn’t hard to tell who someone is. Which applies to Nas himself as many people have said that he looks dangerous when he really is a chill guy. 8/10.
After listening to Nas’s first album, I can say that I was pretty disappointed. I love Nas’s music but Illmatic was just so mid. Don’t get me wrong, some of these songs I listen to everyday. But the album as a whole was pretty disappointing. Most of the tracks use boom bap beats which I’m not a big fan of. I like New York rap especially from artists like Jay-Z and 50 Cent but Nas’s first album in my opinion is not his best. (It goes to Stillmatic) 7/10.
