An Alternate Take On The Perception Of Nas’ "Illmatic" 20 Years Later

Today Nas’ debut LP Illmatic is regarded as an unadulterated Rap classic and is arguably the greatest Hip-Hop album ever recorded. Nasty Nas was considered the second coming of Rakim and his album was declared a classic months before it ever even surfaced by leading Rap publications like The Source and Rap Pages.

The Queens rapper’s album was highly anticipated and it received a perfect rating from The Source with the review being written by a young Minya Oh AKA Miss Info as Shortie. Even with all of this critical acclaim heaped upon the album it failed to sell due to a combination of heavy bootlegging and the lack of a hit single to catch on at either radio or the clubs.

“If Illmatic dropped today, many of the bloggers who talk about what a masterpiece it was would clown it’s opening week sales and ‘dated’ sound.” 

To further put things into perspective, the day Illmatic dropped Shyheim’s debut AKA The Rugged Child was also released and it outsold Illmatic off the strength of his hit single “On & On.” While Nas had all the critical acclaim one could wish for, a dream team of producers and the Bible Of Hip-Hop itself cheerleading for him, the best he could muster was selling 59,000 units in his opening week. I know you’re wondering what this has to do with the album being an unadulterated masterpiece both lyrically and in term of production? I’m getting to that.

At the time Nas’ debut album was released, Rap fans focused on the quality of the album rather than its sales numbers. The only reason I even know how many units Illmatic moved it’s opening week is because Serch revealed the numbers in a recent appearance on Cipha Sounds and Peter Rosenberg’s Juan Epstein podcast. I honestly wasn’t aware that none of Illmatic’s singles were hits (although “It Ain’t Hard To Tell” actually succeeded at cracking the Billboard Hot 100, it peaked at #91) until I checked the Billboard charts numbers at the beginning of this month. These aren’t things that even the most knowledgeable Hip-Hop head cared about in 1994.

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Photo: WENN.com

However, in 2014 everything is about sales, numbers, chart position, spins, “hotness” and “relevance.” It’s odd to see those that don’t appreciate the more lyrical, creative and artistic Rap of the day (let’s be honest, they just ignore it) heap praise on Illmatic considering if it came out today they’d probably think it was boring & opt to hear YG instead.

“Nas’ debut album was purposely built to stand the test of time and age like Pharrell Williams.”

If Illmatic dropped today, many of the bloggers who talk about what a masterpiece it was would clown it’s opening week sales and its “dated” sound. They’d remark that Nas needs production from DJ Mustard or Mike Will Made It and guest verses from 2 Chainz or Nicki Minaj. They’d treat him exactly like they do Roc Marciano and Ka today, like second or third tier citizens when they actually make the most concise, timeless Hip-Hop albums of the present day Rap world.

Illmatic was not an easily accessible rap project by any stretch of the imagination. It was geared towards those who appreciated music from previous eras and challenged the listener. It was dense, layered and took multiple listens to grasp even though it was short by 1994 rap album standards. In many ways it was a jazz album made for those that had the attention spans and a high enough level of maturity to fully accept it. It forced multiple producers to all get on the same page to craft a concise Rap album with no notable guest appearances other than unsigned MC AZ who opened the song Nas received The Source’s Hip-Hop Quotable Rhyme Of The Month for.

In an era of short attention spans and radio or club pandering, Illmatic sounds out of place; reason being is because it’s an example of painstakingly crafted art in an era of disposable music. It kills me that I see people who praise this album yet ignore modern Rap made that follow its example. Everything about Illmatic was made to appeal to a specialized audience as opposed to chasing big sales numbers. Nas’ debut album was purposely built to stand the test of time and age like Pharrell Williams. Each song was made with the mindset that it was part of a greater body of work.

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The album opens with “The Genesis” which uses music from the score of Wild Style as well as audio from the film’s opening scene. In 1994, few people outside of New York had even seen Wild Style to fully grasp the significance of the album’s intro. Wild Style wasn’t widely available for sale or rental on VHS at the time and the only places to purchase it were mail order ads in the back of The Source or from catalogs in imported graf magazines. This was not easily accessible music that catered to the listener, you had to take three steps towards it. Nas is the son of a Jazz musician & Bluesman, after all.

The reason so many heads of my generation fell in love with Illmatic is because it dredged up nostalgic feelings when music meant so much more to our lives, when we all huddled around the radio because it reflected the voice of our community and was genuinely invested in our well being. Back then records seemed to perfectly capture the spirit and flavor of the times they were made in. Illmatic drew directly from the classic albums of the past and in turn inspired many classic albums of the future.

Illmatic is praised today and regarded as a classic even though it was overshadowed by The Notorious B.I.G.’s classic debut Ready To Die, which was powered by the hit singles “Juicy” and “One More Chance” back in 1994. Nas and Illmatic also failed to receive any accolades at the 1995 Source Awards from the same magazine that the previous year regarded him as the “Second Coming of Rakim”. This week alone we’ve seen multiple think pieces, retrospectives, mini documentaries and the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Time Is Illmatic. Amazing considering it took this same album more than two years to initially go gold and another 5 after that to go platinum. I can’t wait to see what they do for Ready To Die’s 20th anniversary!

One.