Reviews (page 11 of 14)
Each song transitions well into the next. The album tells a well defined story of a kid clawing his way to the top. Though it’s possible I’m desensitized by today’s brutalist rap culture, but the bars seemed very cute. Though he doesn’t carve out a new lane, Nas does well in everybody else’s, and I enjoyed it all the same
Automatic classic. Simply Iconic
Pretty good album but no one song stuck with me.
HipHop? 0/5
Its a classic
Impossible to overstate how much this album shaped my taste in music. I must have been 14/15 when I first heard this and it completely solidified my love of rap. The lyrics, flow, production, etc. throughout this is perfect. NY State of Mind or Life's a Bitch are in my top 10 rap songs of all time. The stretch from NY State of Mind through The World is Yours is prob the best 3 track run in any rap album. Just an incredible album front to back with an iconic cover to match.
Я никогда не был большим фаном рэпа. Да, оно чётко, чисто, хорошо зачитано. Но мне как бы так похер. Две звезды.
crazy atmosphere and beats so perfectly ear-grabbing. Nas never lets the listener drift off and its perfect like that. It's just not a project I'd listen to a ton.
Hyviä biisejä esimerkiksi ny state of mind jota ei edes julkaistu singlenä... En kuitenkaan ole varma joutaako tämä ylistetty albumi vitostasolle.. Matala ku lepinjärvi... shallow..
Not a fan of this genre
One of the best examples of a legendary rap album. Excellent lyrics, flow, etc. Everything you need is here.
The perfect rap album. Nas is a master lyricist and Illmatic is the best example of that.
super happy to finally have gotten a hip hop album! i actually listened to this in full for the first time last month (though i had listened to parts of it before). a bit of a grower for me, i liked it more today than i did then. overall, really great beats and timeless production. Life’s a Bitch is my fave song :)
A rap classic that I've listened to many times. Illmatic is so tight - not bloated with skits or pointless tracks. Even within each song it's so densely packed with great rhymes and stories that I'll never get tired of listening to this - there is simply no filler anywhere. Although it obviously has highlights, the quality is so consistent. The only element I'd say is slightly unremarkable are some of the beats, which is not to say they're bad, but more that they simply provide the canvas for Nas to paint his picture of the NYC streets. He is the star and facilitating his flow is really the backing music's job. Perfection
5+4.5+5+4.5+5+5+4.5+5+5 4.83 5/5 Pretty much flawless album. Every sample and rhythm seemed perfect, lyricism was on point track after track. Aesthetic throughout album was also great, lyrics and music.
masterpiece
one of my fave albums EVER
This is an incredible album. For some reason it never clicked for me. This time it did.
Great
müsste ich kennen, aber nochmal hören
2/2/24. Classic, gritty hip hop by Nas. Never gets old.
Not the best rap I’ve ever heard, but still markedly better than most modern rap.
I’ve never been much of a rap fan and I am using this project as a way to expand my horizons. I remember this album coming out and not thinking much of it. I was in the military and the album was everywhere but I was on a college radio kick at the time. Listening to it now…omg. This album is incredible. To think I could have been listening for 30 years but I’m only understanding its genius in 2024. That’s on me, shame on me.
Rap ist und bleibt für mich nichts
Good but not my favorite
I wound up FFing through this one. I just don’t get it. Nothing redeeming or even remotely listenable about it for me. I understand rap is a valid art form but try as I may, I just can’t find a handle or route into this kind of rap.
I still can’t believe this is his debut album. To me this is a perfect album, nas has one of the most distinct and timeless styles. The tracks themself are incredible, absolutely no gimmicks just careful sampling choices and beautiful breaks. This whole album made me nostalgic for a time that I wasn’t even there for. Arguably, the deciding catalyst between grandmaster flash style original hip hop and the state of hip hop/rap today.
Nas is an anomaly in hip hop. Very few artists burst onto the scene with this distinct of a style and attitude, let alone put the rap game in a chokehold with a debut album. Nas’s presence (specifically the energy captured on illmatic) is still seen today and will exist forever throughout the genre. Extremely formative personally, as well as for countless hip hop artists. 5/5
Love the rap stories...don't care for explicit element of the lyrics.
Wow, I did not think of myself as a Nas fan, but this album is genuinely great. And at least track I have long loved, without even knowing it was Nas.
The Genesis - 7.5/10 N.Y State of Mind - 10/10 Life’s a Bitch - 7.5/10 The World Is Yours - 8/10 Halftime - 7.5/10 Memory Lane - 7.5/10 One Love - 7.5/10 One Time 4 Your Mind - 7.5/10 Represent - 7.5/10 It Ain’t Hard to Tell - 7.5/10 TOTAL - 78/100
I hated this album. The lyrics were good, sure. The instrumental was awful and felt like it was missing something. The flow was not there.
No
Good rap, like it
Rap & my brain dont mix..... sorry.
💪 guter alter hip-hop!
Solider Hip Hop aber für mich etwas zu jazzig.
Okay for a 90s classic hip hop album, maybe even more entertaining and easier to listen to for an outsider. The lyrics re also more listener friendly, so maybe it's actually better than average? I will give it a 3, but for hip hop albums in here it's like 7/10.
One of my fav albums
Classic but not an album I often come back to
30 years later and there's still no misses. I got into this as a freshman in college, and it instantly became one of my favorite rap albums. The hype is real behind this.
I never think I'm all that much into rap (I have several friends who know every detail of every rapper's lives and who has guested on whose albums and the whole infrastructure of it all) then occasionally one like this hits and it's going on loop for the next month
A really great debut album by Nas and one of the best hip-hop albums ever. It has great flow, great rhythms, good samples and shows a very real picture of Queensbridge. It was an enjoyable listen.
Life’s a bitch and then you die. I have a hard time trying to evaluate rap music. On a simple note: I liked the record. I liked that I could make out everything that was being said the entire time. The backing beats were not difficult to comprehend: interesting to listen to, but certainly they didn’t distract from the lyrics. The hooks were simple and catchy, the jockey scratched good, and the bars were real / emphatic / Illmatic.
This album is just great. Period. One of the best hip hop albums that will grace ears, in my opinion. The instrumentals are so great and smooth; everything just fits perfectly. I LOVE the "Human Nature" sample, one of my favorite Michael Jackson songs, in "It Ain't Hard to Tell." And meanwhile Nas' lyrics and rhythm throughout all the tracks....they just don't miss. This is a legendary hip hop album through and through.
So many classic hip hop beats came from this album. Nas is a master of creating intricate rhyme schemes that for effortlessly. The album captures that gritty ethos that can come only from a legit gangbanger, but also contains the true artistry of someone who works hard at the craft.
I find very little enjoyable about rap in general. So it comes down to if it has a nice groove to it or if is just children banging on instruments. This one didn't sound half bad. I'm giving it a 3 which, for rap, is like a 6 for normal music. Scale: 5 - My absolute favorites. 4 - Albums I like. 3 - It was ok to listen to but I wouldn't seek it out. 2 - Didn't like. 1 - Absolute shit.
To triangulate this in the broader rap ecosystem, I like Nas more than Wu-Tang stuff, but I'm still not all the way crazy about him. His songs have good musicality, but I would like catchier hooks (as a rube / lame person). I enjoyed this, but I can't say I'm big into it.
All time greatest.
I'm not normally a big rap fan, but I really like this. The wordplay is pretty sophisticated.
Mundane gangsta rap with the usual drugs, violence and sexism, but without clever wordplay or rhythms.
Enjoyed. Decent listen
The beats were fine, but nothing particularly new or different. I have a feeling the lyrics and the meaning behind them is where Nas shines and I didn’t really follow everything well.
I have this record. While I've always appreciated NY State of Mind and a few other tracks, it never made its way into heavy rotation for me. Likely because I picked it up 15 years after the moment and never quite connected with this facet of hip-hop to begin with. What does this boil down to in listening? Respect to Nas as I enjoy a couple of tracks today but come tomorrow I won't be reaching to replay the whole record.
This screams 90s rap. I am not a fan of the genre, it's all much same-y, the repetitive beats get irritating pretty fast, and lyrics tend to make me cringe and/or roll my eyes. I've read about the impact of this album and I understand, but it's not for me.
N.Y. State of Mind Life's a Bitch The World Is Yours Halftime Represent It Ain't Hard to Tell
Good rap/hip hop! Some really solid beats and catchy rap melodies
I like the juxtaposition between life’s a bitch and the world is yours. One is about living in the moment because you never when you’re gonna go but the next track is about making plans for the future. Also the boom bap drums and the bass lines under the piano and DJ scratching. Good stuff. Not afraid to call out pain. Struggling. Also is there an ace of bass reference?!
fun to go on a walk with v flowy
At age 20 Nas released a genre defining masterpiece of an album that is just as relevant now as it was when it was released cementing him as one of the GOATs of rap. At age 20 I was working at a gas station an blowing my paycheques on weed.
NOPE!
This was one of the reasons I started this list. I can't believe it took me 1033 days to get it. 5
Not a fan personally but the beats were sick and there are some bars that really worth the listening.
Good listening for a particular type of mood. Rap but not too aggressive. Strong lyrically. No real stand out song that I could determine.
Not really something I would usually listen to, but that is part of the point of this exercise, for me anyway. I did find some if the cuts interesting but surprisingly I found it all ran together for me. 3/5
Man, what an absolute treat. No skips. I’d forgotten he was still making music, so this led me down the rabbit hole of listening to his most recent release. Not the same, of course, but still amazing.
Summary: While I didn't love the whole album straight through, there were some tracks that were just duds for me but there were others that I definitely enjoyed and will return to. If I had a 1/2 of a star this would definitely be a 3.5 but it doesn't quite make it to the 4. Track by track: 1 - I don't really like intro tracks unless they are really funny or necessary to set up the album. Just something I have to skip in every subsequent listen. 2 - Like it a lot. Definitely hear some Wu-Tang similarities. 3 - Don't like it. Just doesn't appeal. This would be a skip in the future. 4 - This one is fine. Isn't blowing me away but also is very listenable. 5 - Love this track. Might be my favorite so far. 6 - Difficult to follow track 5. This one is ok. 7 - Decent track. I don't like the chorus much. 8 - I like the flow. It is almost acapella at times it has so little accompaniment. I'll never seek it out though. 9 - Very Wu-Tang. The flow is great, the beat is great. The chorus isn't impressive. 10 - I like this one a lot. The beat is nice, the groove works.
Not only one of the greatest and most important hip-hop albums of all time but also one of the best albums of all time just ever. Absolute masterclass.
Already a fan of this album before today
I don't think I've ever found a rap or hip-hop album that I've loved from first listen, but this was one. The second track opens with a sextuple internal rhyme and I was HOOKED. I didn't notice or love all the production, but I didn't also notice it standing out in a bad way. It's a huge boon for my listening that the mix is so lyric forward. I could make everything out which is good cuz the lyrics are all full meal here and you wanna hear em!
10/10
Sweet! Looking forward to listening to this album. Truly never heard this album at all. So far I really dig it. Ironic I have never listened to this album, but these first couple of opening tracks have a familiarity to them.
Classic. I’ve listened to this album a thousand times.
Not a big like. Tried, just couldn’t get into it
Masterpiece.
# Playlist track - The World is Yours # Notes - A bit repetitive. In some songs, like "NY State of Mind" you are already annoyed by the same 3 notes by the middle of the song.
Good album. I don't really have the critical ear to know if this is a classic hip hop album, but I did enjoy it.
alo, zašto ovaj album nije u prvih 1001???
5/5
Excellent! One of my favorites.
I don't mind the rhythm and beat of this music, but if the music is blocked from my work server, then it's probably not for me.
Decent. Beats too boring
Fantastic hiphop album with a lot of recognizable tracks. Not what I usually listen to at the moment but a classic for sure!
I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, but didn’t love it. It was an interesting experience.
How have I never listened to this? The World is Yours is a standout on first listen. Clean, simple beats. Didn't expect it to be so jazzy. *One Love *The World is Yours *Memory Lane
"Illmatic" was great. Nas's flow was nice, the beats were great and it was not oversaturated with distracting foul language like a lot of hip-hop albums seem to be. Open to listening again to take in more of Nas' lyrics.
N.Y. State of Mind is quite possibly one of the greatest songs ever recorded. been meaning to listen to this album in full for a while and it did not disappoint
I get why this is influential. I don't listen to a lot of rap and I still hear echoes of this in the little I've listened to. Powerful stuff.
I don‘t like hip-hop. I gave this album a try but I still don‘t like hip-hop.
y en 2021, fue seleccionado por la Biblioteca del Congreso para su conservación en el Registro Nacional de Grabaciones por ser "cultural, históricamente , o estéticamente significativo".
Clearly a genius of weaving stories and history.
Was ok for the time period, just not my cup of tea
90s east-coast rap at its best. dope grooves and perfect sampling infused with old-school hip-hop and blues influences.
this is just not my genre
Classic
holy shit.i don’t think i’ve ever heard an album feel like a place quite like illmatic feels like new york.
I'm not a rap fan, but Nas' flow is for real. Fully agree with the top comment on this site, that this album sounds, feels, and smells like NYC in the '90s. Or so I believe, I've never been. But Nas masterfully paints the picture, enough so that I feel the vibe through my headphones. Vibe is the right word. I know for many, this is a 5-star, but due to my limited exposure to this album, I'm going to be a little more conservative -- but I enjoyed this listen far more than I expected to.
I like the beat, but not my type of music.
Daniel and I have been discussing East vs West Coast style rap recently. I felt like this is a perfect mix of both styles. Even though I’m not a big fan of rap, it’s pretty impossible to not love this album.
Loved it! Wish I could have listened while not driving because I wanted to read the lyrics. A lot of hiphop and rap songs sound all the same to me (mainly because I don't know what I'm listening to) but Nas did lots of unusual or unexpected thingas n each song that made them distinct from each other.
расслабляет, но очень уж однообразно и конечно... я не люблю рэп
Some good songs in this but in between them not as interesting to me.
Generic and predictable
Straight Rap. No funk. Deep personal experience. No BS
An album of despair. Instructive but unpleasant listening
Fav: The world is yours y Represent
Almost perfect hip hop album. Consistent sound. Too short. 4/5
It's not bad- I expected to hate this but it's from the 1st half of the 90s so is still edgy. I like it- very good rapper (not that i'm an expert).
Overall a really solid album that put Nas on the map
I have been waiting years for this album to click for me and it finally did. I’ll be riding this high all week
A milestone in hiphop history ! Outstanding
Well, here it is. The first album of 2024. I've only been doing this for a few months, but the beginning of a new year is still an important milestone. So, does Illmatic feel like a good album to start the year on? Absolutely. This is what a 1994 debut album that deserves to be on this list looks like. Everything about this album is just so immaculate. The beat production and sample usage creates this sound that really exudes this feeling of being in New York's inner city. I've never experienced that for myself, but through this album I can kind of see what that's like. The rapping itself is on a whole other level. Nas's internal rhyming on this thing is excellent and very impressive. The writing lends itself well to telling its story through some of the finest rapping you will ever hear. The one feature this album has, AZ's verse on "Life's a Bitch", is just as good as what Nas offers on that same song. That's not to mention how the pacing on this album is great too. My big problem with a similar East-coast 1994 debut rap album, Ready to Die by The Notorious B.I.G., was that it could've had better pacing, what with all of the skits and such. This album starts off with something like that in "The Genesis", but everything after that is just straight-up rapping. Overall, this is often considered to be one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, and while I'm not an expert on the genre, I can definitely see why people feel that way. The impact of this album is hard to understate. 5/5.
Just a great album with complex lyrics that paint a vivid picture of life in New York in the 90s. Very repetitive sound which is my only criticism. Would be hard to listen to on repeat.
Classic in the pocket rap
A hip hop legend. Forever a classic with production and lyrics that are timeless. Longtime favorite of this record. An icon of hip hop.
really good
I think the lyricism is the standout material of this album, which is great since that’s such a pillar of hip hop/rap. That being said, there wasn’t a ton that stuck with me after a day. So I’d say it’s good, but not great.
An album that without a doubt ranks 5, for me, the best of the "golden era" of gangsta rap. The piece can capture with precision the sound and struggle of New York, bringing with it elements of jazz, R&B, soul and gospel; one of the most interesting and rich lyrics I ever seem.
Rap - hat nicht meins
Nicht mein Ding...
Nothing to say here.
I enjoyed a few songs but most of the songs sounded the same to me.
Decent listening, I wasn't a huge fan. There were some moments where I was bobbing my head.
Not something I normally listen to, but I liked this. Good beat and flow, very smooth
Much like my review for The Chronic, 1994 saw me still listening to rock, be it classic or modern. Still, I like Illmatic more as the beats and sampling is more nuanced and rhythmic. There's more throwback to jazz and R&B. It's also an incredibly important album for the genre and the times.
Brilliant and seminal album, an important piece in the history of hip-hop but also, more importantly, a joy to listen through, with bangers at every turn and lyrically engaging. Manages to sound fresh even nearly 30 years on. 5/1001
It's good, wow.
You ever heard an album that transports you to a time and place? If someone were to ask me this question, my first answer will always be Illmatic. Because it isn’t even really close. No artist has ever made a record that brings you closer to the culture, the lifestyle, and the energy of 90’s New York than Nas did with this. The Genesis and N.Y. State of Mind being the opening pair of songs sets this record straight very quickly. The former is the only skit on the record, and the latter is a legendary song that sounds like sitting waiting for your train in the subway station. Large Professor and DJ Premier, who do most of the production, along with Pete Rock, L.E.S., and Q-Tip give some of the best beats they’ve ever made on this album. This is without a doubt THE defining rap album of the 90’s. It came out just early enough in the decade where every MC moving forward was trying to reach this level of greatness. Surprisingly, this performed pretty poorly on release, which blows me away considering the massive critical darling this is in modern times. This is one of the most essential hip-hop records ever made, and should be studied in every aspect. Because it excels at everything it does. It is excellence from start to finish. Rating: 10/10
Absolute Samplefest. Classic 90s HipHop, more Jazzmatazz than Public Enemy.
As a gen xer I’m supposed to love 90s rap. I don’t hate it. It’s not really my musical dna. It was only when I was lecturing in contemporary music that I started to understand hip hop. It’s folk music. ‘Goddamn it’ as Roy Acuff said about the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, when the long haired scruffs started playing. ‘This is country.’ . NAS isn’t quite folk music in the way a lot of people would define it. Or even country. Except … When you look it at, the themes of country and hip hop aren’t that far apart… Good ol boys running moonshine, versus gangstas selling crack? What’s the difference? Not much, once you take race and class and 'respectability' out of it. Alcohol is acceptable. Crack isn’t. But don’t they fulfill the same basic human needs? Johnny Cash shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die. Merle Haggard turned 21 in prison doing life without parole. His mamma tried. These are hip hop songs, just sung differently. NAS could sing them. Merle could do a nas song. It was surprising that old town road took so long to exist. But here we are. So this leads us to illmatic. I didn’t hate it. But I prefer jay-z. Or Erik b and rakim. Or, gulp, early Kanye. Or the beastie boys. Or lil Kim. But this is good. And an important album. (I know. Most of these aren’t 90s. I know). Just not as good as others I like. But better than others.
Really does nothing for me.
I am aware that this held up as one of the most perfect hip hop albums of all time; five microphone rating in the Source, etc. I can appreciate it; his flow is exceptional, and is the link between Rakim and the big names of the 90s (Biggie and Jay-Z in particular). The production is schmick, although, in an article titled, "How Nas' "Illmatic" Ruined Hip-Hop," Insanul Ahmed of Complex argues that one "unintended consequence" of Illmatic was the overall decline in the cohesion and quality of rap albums: "Next thing you knew, rap albums started having a different producer for every song. And like a film that has a different director for every scene, albums became unfocused affairs. This also meant that producers weren't tied to artists anymore." I don't blame De La Soul for introducing the blight of skits into hip hop, and similarly, can't really blame Nas for the trend of multi-producer albums that followed Illmatic. I also really appreciate that it is a reasonable length for an album. I wish people would have learnt that lesson. The 70-80 minute album that became standard int he 90s just turned into bloated, over-long mess, and I appreciate that this is a tight 40, with not much fat on it. Nas also manages to produce a hardcore hip hop album that reflects the vérité of his childhood in the Queensbridge projects without devolving into the scourge of violence and misogyny that gangsta rap seems to revel in. There is a greater poetry and emotional truth, dare I even say vulnerability, to his lyrics, which sets him miles apart from his gangsta contemporaries. That is sweet blessed relief. I can appreciate and admire this record, but it doesn't speak to me, so it hard for me to love. I am, admittedly, not really the intended audience for this. But I would listen to this any day in preference to an album by NWA, Ice Cube, et al.
so good
One of the best debut album of all time. A masterpiece! 5 stars
It's classy, chill. Veo que influye a mucha banda actual.
Very simply put, Illmatic is the greatest hip hop album of all time. Few albums ever are so tied to a time and place that you truly feel like you are there. Nas is a master lyricist, killer beats on every song, iconic hooks. If you don’t like Illmatic, you don’t like hip hop 9.4/10
horrible
Pretty good stuff.
2-3. I like the musicality, the bass lines, backing singers and overall vibe. I just fundamentally don’t think I enjoy rap and man I really tried. I think it’s good rap I just don’t like it.
Ganz schrecklich.
NY State of Mind is my favorite NY song
Einu sinni átti ég plötu sem hét 90s rap og mér þótti hún skemmtileg. Ég hef samt í seinni tíð komist að því að ég og rapp förum ekki vel saman. Kannski 90s rapp en ekki þetta.
This is Nas' debut album.
Nice old school rap
Really really good!!
It was good. Not something I would usually listen to but I loved the driving beat and throwback feel. I knew a couple of songs too which was a nice surprise.
This isn't my first rodeo with Illmatic, I did a tier list of albums earlier this year and this was an album my cousin suggested I listen to, I didn't like it too much and I put it in the C tier (average). But how does it hold up now? Honestly, Its a little bit better than when I first listened to it. The front half was pretty good but it mostly fell off with the back half (aside from represent, that song was pretty good). I think this album is better than when i first listened to it but not by all that much. I would have initially given this a 2 star rating, but now i will bump it up to a 2.5 star rating (obviously adjusted to 3) Best Song: N.Y. State of Mind Worst Song: Memory Lane (Sittin' in da Park)
Feels like the shift from old school to modern hip hop. Lyrics feel authentic, unlike a lot in the genre that feel too forced or artificially hard.
Gangsta rap Gut zum nebenbei GTA zu spielen
This is probably the highest rating I'll ever give to this genre
ознакомился я значится с базой репа. этот альбом действительно не напрасно называют Библей хип-хопа - по мимо просто фундаментальной роли в жанре, это еще и своего рода энциклопедия по хипхопу восточного побережья. но так уж вышло что я такой тру гэнгста реп не сильно люблю. вот в гта по городу кататься или в перестрелках банд участвовать самое то. но просто так не особо могу такое слушать, ну не выкупаю, не нраица. я бы сказал так - это звучит пиздец стильно, но стиль явно не мой. короче уважаемо оценка - 6,5/10
One of the all time classics
This might become one of my favorite Rap albums.
👍🏻
3++
I'm a big fan of It Ain't Hard To Tell and one or two others here. Overall I'm not in love with this enough to give it a 5, something about Nas' flow I find a bit hit or miss but I think it'll just take time to land for me. In that sense I do actually find it hard to tell.
One of my favourite hip hop albums of all time, easy 5
A hip-hop clinic 🐐
This is a perfect album and by the time I’m done with this list this album will assuredly be in my top 30. I do a corny thing when I drive through states or cross country, I listen to certain records that I associate with that state or city. This album and Big L’s Lifestylez are my New York soundtracks.
It was good! I enjoyed all of it!
Nas is a poet and gifted story teller. Truly a legend and forefather of modern rap. Amazing beats and lyricism on display here.
I would never be able to listen to this out loud in public.
3 1/2
10/10
Imi place. Rap străin clasic chiar nu prea am ascultat. E nice
Seems pretty good as far as rap albums go. But I don't need to listen to it again.
Wow, I thought this was just fantastic - can't believe I've never listened to it before. Totally see why it's so acclaimed. The complex rhymes here must have been a revelation in 1994.
This album is great. Is always hard people talk about it but never listened to it. Great music and nas has great rhymes.
So many iconic lines in almost every track!
Just as close to perfect as you can get for a Rap album. Every song has something to offer and goes UNREASONABLY hard. Listening to it really makes you feel like you're right alongside Nas gooning around and hustling in the streets of New York. Nas takes the relatively shallow subject matter of being a gangsta in the city and reflects thoroughly on it, giving the album an incredible depth where you can feel the conflicts of morality and practicality that many young people in cities across the world wrestle with every day. 10/10
Nas has really appealed me to. I understand and respect how influential this was on East Coast rap, but it just doesn’t do it for me. There’s some good hits tho don’t get me wrong. And every song Nas is going pretty hard and has good flow, it’s just not a 5 star album for me. I wanted to give it a 3, but i’m giving it a 4 bc it’s influence on modern rap
classic I don’t like 😩
It was only a matter of time until we ultimately were going to get to this one. Let me make this abundantly clear for those who may not already know: this IS one of the greatest hip hop albums AND arguably one of the greatest albums ever made. There's a reason that its frequently referenced, constantly brought up, mentioned in discussion so much that its become a parody.... Its one of the rare contributions that is much worth all the hype no matter how people feel. It one of those instances where, you put this album on and are instantly teleported into the very mind of Nasir Jones himself. He takes you on the journey of self-discovery through his eyes and every word that is said is purposeful. You can feel the emotion. You can almost see just how much the things that happen around him effect him in multiple ways. It takes a truly masterful lyricist, like him, to paint such paint such a vivid story with simply their words. It may sound hyperbolic but I believe there isn't too abundant of material in the hip hop landscape that can compete with Illmatic. It truly set such a high standard for the music out around the time and current day.
Pleasantly surprised
It's saving grace is that it was short
Nice
3.3 - Struggled to start with, but some great tracks later. If I get into the genre it could easily be higher for me
Don’t listen to hip hop but this is pretty good actually. most: the world is yours least: one time 4 your mind 3.5/5
Was an okay album, wasn’t amazing for me but appreciate this was out so long ago it would have been a massive debut album.
only reviewing this bc ive listened to it before. just some good hip hop. a gold standard for this exact style of hip hop eveyrthing from production, flow and lyricism. also smth nostalgic about this form of sampling idk brings me back to watching ableton/fruity loops tutorials in high school learning how to make beats for the first time. also love it when rappers just make a track where its just people yelling and talking to each other. last also sorry for making everything abt bts but every time i listen to nas i can rlly tell how much he has influenced rm. faves: ny state of mind, halftime (my style switches like a faggot but not a bisexual is crazy, this is not why i like the song), the world is yours, lifes a bitch
it took me a long time to listen to this because i had to shift my brain over to listening to hip hop. but it really is excellent. iconique.
Very embarrassed to say this was my first time listening! I’d vaguely listened to NY State of Mind and The World Is Yours a few times but not enough to really catch the lyrics much. I’m finishing up my 4th or 5th listen and wanted to start writing out my favorites but I started writing down every track name. Man!!!! The kind of album where every song has several moments where I’m genuinely taken aback by the idea that someone could’ve come up with those lyrics (especially at 19/20???). Love the samples, love the storytelling, love the rhyming and diction, love the fact that Q Tip randomly shows up as usual, idk it’s fucking good!!!! It’s Illmatic. Five stars
Tremendo llenísimo de barras
5/5 best of boom bap (in fact all of rap)
Very unoriginal at times.... you know wh-i'm sayin? Full of unnecessary language...too many 'niggas' in the lyrics for my taste. Luckily the music carries this album.... Standouts: One Love, The World is Yours, Life's a Bitch, Others: N.Y. State of Mind, Halftime, Represent, It Ain't Hard to Tell 3/5
The jazz is nice
Meh. Not a huge fan
cool chill album to study/work to
Not for me.
A really hard listen
Visualizin' the realism of life in actuality Fuck who's the baddest, a person's status depends on salary And my mentality is money-orientated I'm destined to live the dream for all my peeps who never made it 'Cause yeah, we were beginners in the hood as Five Percenters But somethin' must've got in us, 'cause all of us turned to sinners Now some restin' in peace and some are sittin' in San Quentin Others, such as myself, are tryin' to carry on tradition Life's a bitch, indeed. Outstanding album. 5/5
À écouter dans le bus c'est cool Du bon rap us à l'ancienne Un défaut par contre l'instru se répète énormément
# 114 : RAP! Hip Hop rubbish is not my thing at all. Still, I can listen to it, pretty solid throughout. Favourite Track : Life's A Bitch Listened : 21/11/2023
I'm not a big hip hop fan but I appreciated Illmatic more than I thought I would. I definitely prefer old-school 90's rap compared to what comes out today, the bars of yesteryear seem a lot more genuine. No particular standout track to me, it was quality and consistent the whole way through. I give it 3 stars but more because it's not really my jam; I can imagine a lover of the genre would award it 5 for its mastery. I would listen to Nas again.
I like this one a lot more than i thought I would
Another classic hip hop album that I had never listened to. And another album that is deserving of the hype it gets. Great beats and production, great flow. Truly poetry in motion. Good stuff!
I understand that it’s a significant piece in hip hop history but it just doesn’t resonate with me
I know it's influential. But as a European, the message and lyrics just dont have the impact I see it having on other people
The second album generated that I have listened to before, although it was years ago and played in the background. It is extremely apparent as to why it is so revered; the technical skill comes out first to me, but beat selection, hooks, and features all come together to form a larger sense of place and time. Nas places himself strongly among the New York rappers and groups I'm familiar with, although I need to listen to more early records from him to start appreciating him alongside Jay-Z. Overall accomplishes all it sets out to be and will be very listenable when looking for skillful smooth spitting. 9/10
Don't care about rap. Maybe one song is tolerable.
Starts out a little messy and confused. Second track a little middle of the road, but not annoying. Easy listening hip hop.
I knew NY State of Mind but there are so many other tracks on this album worth checking out. Great record. Favorite tracks: N.Y. State of Mind, The World is Yours, Memory Lane (Sittin' in da Park)
Goes on a bit
Nice vibe, I enjoyed it enough, though not my favourite genre.
Bang bang I sell drugs.
Boring.
Super big ballin
It’s ok
Not my usual style of music but I enjoyed it.
Always nice when an album I already have downloaded comes up. I'd agree with Aron that some of the beats aren't amazing but still an enjoyable album.
Was surprised by how consistently good this album was I don’t really like NY state of mind, but it definitely has the most unique beat I felt like the songs had amazing flow, and if they had better beats they might be more popular Wasn’t a song that I didn’t like on this
Production is super cool and rhythm of the lyrics I enjoyed too - quite a few songs I recognised. V fun this came up, I've been meaning to listen through for a while.
Very good!
Incredible flow and lyrics & topped up by great production, classic hip hop album
“Memory Lane”
cheese omelette
I don't really like rap.
Not for me at all
I liked most of the songs. The “multi-syllabic internal rhymes” really brought some songs to the next level. There is a lot of talent in this album.
Best flowing and clear rapper I've heard. Uncensored so actually speaks truthfully about subjects. Enjoyed it despite my judgements
Nice
I dig some of these tunes, but some don’t hold up for me. And I am sick of hearing about NYC neighborhoods getting name checked
Instantly forgettable rap for me. Nothing really caught my ear apart from the odd decent line and a few nice bass riffs. I actually forgot this was on, just blended into the background.
Never heard Nas before, this was brilliant. His flow was amazing and lyrics were interesting and witty from the first listen. While it was hustler/gangster themed I'm okay with that when delivered like this, it was also more angry than arrogant which I prefer. Definitely listening again.
Very pleasant to have on in the background but I can't say I'd seek Nas out.
This is a very good hip-hop album, no stupid skits just the rap doing all the talking. It's aged better than some of his contemporaries and overall I enjoyed it. Nas has a great flow and there are some interesting beats but I don't think I'd revist it. Highlights: N.Y. State of Mind The World Is Yours It Ain't Hard to Tell
I've heard this album a fair bit in the past. Nas has incredible flow and is more complex lyrically than a lot of the big rap names from this era. Although there is some gangsta rap elements here, it's more hip hop. There are a couple of lyrics that haven't aged too well... It feels raw, not overproduced at all. Makes it seem so authentic Highlights: NY state of mind Halftime Memory lane One time 4 your mind It ain't hard to tell Easy 5
So low down to the streets I could almost taste the pavement.
Not something I would typically listen to. I enjoyed it over all.
Some have argued this is the hip hop’s greatest album, and they may be right.
STRAIGHT OUT THE FUCKIN' DUNGEONS OF RAP
Smoke weed to get high cause someday we’re gonna day— powerful line
3.7/5 Fave tracks - Life's a bitch, The World is Yours, It Ain't Hard to Tell
gangsta rapsy nawet dobre, represent dobry bicior reszta spoko do słuchania, wszysatkie piosenki raczej podobne
Old school hip hop.
ich han gern rap
Kopfnickeralarm
Good album. Rap is not really my genre. Overall I enjoyed it but probably won't listen again.
Classic NYC hip hop!
Good
Somehow I kind of liked this. I am shocked
Yeah I mean... This stuff is peak old school hip hop.
\"Memory Lane\", \"The World is Yours\", and \"N.Y. State of Mind\" are all very good. Rest of the album is alright. Instrumentals/beats are on point.
Niks voor mij. Geen variatie of bijzondere elementen.
Verrassend prima voor rap, want normaal vind ik t niks
One of my favorites so far
Absolute classic. One of my favorite artists and albums across genres! Where traveling in a country that removes cursing from Spotify when I listened for this review, and that just sounds so fucking stupid 😂 Nevertheless, 5/5!
Classic.
Catchy, strong beats, but feels like it doesn't change tempo at any point (too repetitive)
Actually, thought I’d recognize more songs. Bangers.
beats are hard, storytelling is fantastic, great flow. what more can you ask for out of a rap album??
It was alright. I liked the style of rapping, I found some of the beats a bit repetitive
Solid
Legendarisk, bare bangers
So... damn... good.
Solid. Lots of piano. I hadn't expected that. I think the way we use represent! Comes from the song represent. Also catch me in queensbridge
Classic
Another timeless classic
Classic of the genre. It seamlessly mixes braggadocio with more conscious themes, doing both amazingly. Nas is such a great rapper; just listen to his flow on ‘It Ain’t Hard To Tell’. One of the best parts of this album is its brevity. Where most hip-hop albums of the 90’s overstay their welcome, this is a concise 10 tracks in 40 minutes. In conclusion, just one of the best rap albums in creation.
What stands out (to me) about this album is how minimalistic it is. Just mostly Nas rapping with few actual big hooks intended to get radio play. And yet, it's still a classic. Nas has spent most of his career trying to do this type of album again with varied success, but this is the first and the best.
Anyone who rates this below a four doesn't have actual taste. Grow up.
Decent. Not a fan of rap so didn't care too much for it. (50%)
Nice to listen to to transport yourself to a different time and place, not doing much for me musically though
Fine, chill vibes, but not a hip-hop guy personally. Interesting start to this journey though 2/5
Good but very explicit
One of my favorite albums of the 90s
To be upfront, I dont really listen to hip hop or operate near that world to appreciate the lyrics. However the backing music is great, an instrumental of this album would be really soothing. Little piano blips, glockenspiels bops, the music is banging. Also he doesnt really believe in a chorus. I wasn't prepared for that.
I really want to like rap but I think a lot of the subject matters in this album just don’t speak to me. Perhaps reading the lyrics ahead of time and musing over them will help…
Love this album.
Top 3 songs The world is yours One love Represent
itärannikon musiikkia... ei idässä mitään rannikkoa ole VENÄJÄ siellä... raja jota puolustaa täytyy...vettä nähnykkään ellei laatokasta puhu... N-sana tämä ja N-sana tuo, gnomesayin, aseet, huumeet, tavallista, mutta itse räppaaminen oli pelkkää blamaa. Jälleen kerran albumi, jota ei ole tarkoitettu minulle... kuunnellun ymmärtäminen herrasmiehellä (c)rap heh- JUMALAUTA tää on hyvä albumi ny state of mind
Really cool to listen to this and hear the influence it had on not only east coast rap but def west coast rap too. Ahead of its time for sure. Will relisten
Not really a fan of hip hop, but I found this album pretty interesting. I liked the kalimba in the song One Love, because that's not something you hear often. I think I enjoyed the second half a bit more than the first half.
Solid 5/5
Another grat hip hop/Rap album from the 90s... catchy and a classic
ganz gut, old school rap, würde nicht öfter hören
Good
it is illmatic
Who taught nas to flow like that?
Das Album ist definitiv ein Vibe, gut als Vinyl
Good
This is probably the best example of what this is. I don't love everything on this album but almost every song works beautifully.
Yeah, we're cooking with gas here. Never heard a lick of this before now. Glad it's fallen into my lap. Downbeat, intricate, tough and clever - right in my rap sweet spot.
Pretty much every song where the beat uses a jazz sample is a good time in hip hop town. Can't say I loved the entire album, or even part of it, but I can say I appreciated that this is different in a noticeably good way from a lot of the stuff we've heard in this genre from the list. I'll go with the four to copy you cats.
Wasn't this a really big deal when it came out? I remember seeing this album cover everywhere. It's really boring! I didn't like anything about it. N-word this and N-word that, gnomesayin, guns, drugs, the usual, but the rapping itself was just blah. Once again, an album not meant for me.
Half/Half
lyrics were really impressive and I liked some of the beats. Hip-hop is just not my genre. Top Tracks: 1) Represent 2) Memory Lane
I really enjoyed The World is Yours, One Love, and It Ain't Hard to Tell. The rest kind of blended together for me, but I enjoyed my listen.
5 eaaaasy 5 faves: ny state of mind, life's a bitch, memory lane, represent
GREAT!!!!
Eh.
Good
essential ny rap, it’s nas, who the fuck else
The whole album flows really well together, in large part because it maintains the same vibe throughout: a very chill, hazy, hangout album. This does make a lot of the songs blend together for me on a first listen though, and not always in a positive way. Found my mind wandering about 3/4ths of the way through the album, though when I checked back in I liked what I was hearing. Not enough 90s hip-hop knowledge to know how it stacks up against it's peers, but thought it was pretty great. Great use of samples throughout, though there were some prolonged periods were nothing musically was changing behind the vocals for what felt like a minute at a time. Would have preferred some more stuff going on in those instances, even if it was just subtle layers being added. Starts incredibly strong, but I feel like the ending is also a bit anti-climactic. I have difficulty focusing on the content of the lyrics on first lessons of hip hop albums so it may grow on me on repeated listens. Fav Songs: N.Y. State of Mind Halftime Represent
Pretty good, good flow, not very complicated. I liked it enough.
A undisputed classic. Phenomenal flow and lyricism. Production game changer.
Album 185 of 1001 Nas - illmatic Rating : 3 / 5 Admittedly, I'm a novice when it comes to rap and/or hip-hop. I've heard what I've heard and that's about all I know. I've never searched for it or waiting for a new release to drop. I'm a sodium overdose when it comes to salty language, but some of the things covered in some of the releases just aren't for me. I pretty much listen to music for enjoyment and relaxation and find that some of the lyricism is a bit too aggressive for that. I have found that I'm partial to east coast and this falls into that category. It certainly has its moments. It is praised by some as the greatest hip hop release ever. I can't vouch for that. Out of all I've listened to so far, this is one that I can recommend. There is something behind it.
Really good, classic
Quintessential New York Hip Hop Album. Nas flows and annunciates his words with style in a clear precise way. The beats are all orchestrated to almost replicate the natural sounds of an urban environment. His words are chosen so carefully in the sense that every syllable flows in rhythm with the production. Verbiage from this album is still relevant in cultural vernacular to this day, specifically the line " life's a bitch and then you die".Nas seems hungry here. Passionate about his craft. I don't think he aspired to create an album that would be considered a timeless adding to the authenticity. He simply had an urgency to get these songs out into the world. The production is so brilliantly simple. Percussion heavy with piano or other subtle instrumentals to compliment. Hip hop has evolved so much since Illmatic and in part because of Illnatic. Makes it even more impressive how well this holds up. This album is a triumph with infinite replay-ability.
The quintessential Nas album. As far as classic hip hop albums go, I don't come back to this nearly as much as something like Ready To Die or The Blueprint. N.Y. State of Mind is an ageless jam. Such a sinister beat with Nas painting pictures of the grim backdrop to his everyday life. The World Is Yours is another hip hop staple. Halftime is one of the more "fun" tracks on here. More boom-bap, but still sinister. Makes me think of Big L's flip on this 98' Halftime. Memory Lane features a soulful beat; really don't have much ability to focus on lyrics now... Love the slippery bass line on One Time 4 Your Mind. Head nodding beat for sure. Same for Represent -- maybe my favorite song on here; flow is so clean and the beat is so pretty for how minimal its construction is. All around, classic hip-hop album. While its not my favorite of the era, it is a beautifully crusty entry into the cannon. Nas has impeccable flow and the beats are varied yet mostly dusty and sinister. 4.5 / 5 -- I'll lean 5.