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Illmatic
Nas
Retail Price (not our price): $11.98
Release Date: 1994-04-19
Manufacturer: Sony
Format: Audio CD
Discs: 1

Track List
Now here, for your listening pleasure, the tracks...

Disc 1

Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):

1) Amazon.com
Nasir Jones made this debut album at the age of 20, already armed with the calm perceptiveness and been-there-done-that attitude of a much older ghetto vet, though sometimes his inner callow youth shows itself. Illmatic is a look back at a life spent in the culture of the projects, acknowledging joy as much as pain and taking note of violence as a fact of his environment rather than a focus of his life. It's enlivened by Nas's kicky, deep-threaded multiple rhymes--you can tell he grew up listening to Mr. Magic's rap show and internalizing the secrets of everybody's flow--and by tracks from a bunch of all-stars, including the Large Professor, DJ Premier, and, most memorably, Q-Tip ("One Love"). --Douglas Wolk

Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5

1) Definition of Classic Hip-Hop   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
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.

2) How could you rate this album any less then 5 stars?   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
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.

3) One of the BEST albums you'll ever hear in your lifetime   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
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 LinxGZA-Liquid SwordsKool G Rap-4,5,6AZ-Do Or DieMobb Deep-InfamousImmortal Technique-Revolutionary Vol.1 and 2That's just a few but I think you get the idea of what my tastes are. :)

4) Best album of all time   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
When I first heard this album I couldn't believe my hears. This album is perfect in every way

5) Lyrically Mindblowing!   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
BOTTOM LINE:This is a moment in time when everything in hiphop came together in perfect, concise harmony. Not only did a 19-yr old Nas have the hottest beatmakers during hiphop's glory days - but God blessed him with a flawless flow and lyrics that are still unrivaled to this day! In my book, this album is the 'Thriller' of lyrics. 'Memory Lane' is simply mindblowing.A+. Another Hip-Hop Essential.