1001 Albums Generator
Illmatic by Nas

Illmatic

Nas

1994
3.61
Rating
29462
Votes
1
6%
2
11%
3
25%
4
30%
5
27%
Distribution
Genres: Hip-Hop Styles: Conscious, Boom Bap, Hardcore Hip-Hop

Reviews (page 3 of 14)

Focused, great

Very good, i didn't listen much to the lyrics but i liked the beat and how the rap sounded

I’ve been aware of Nas since about around when this album came out because he was a pretty big deal among some of the kids in the middle-class, majority white suburb I grew up in. I was into punk, and musical tribalism was very much a thing then and that was the main factor in me not listening to this or really much other rap other than a handful of things the skater/graffiti kids were into because they kind of overlapped with the punks; if I could articulate more than that, I guess I’d say that it never sat very easily with me the way that the (white) kids in my (non-American) suburb seemed to really latch onto the world and life depicted in the rap music they listened to, the grit of dense urban environments, the violence, and so on. These were kids that were getting cars for their birthdays, you know? All of which is to say that while I was aware Nas’s reputation grew over the years, I’d never listened to him. I can’t speak of what drew kids in my high school to Nas, but this is genuinely great. The way that Nas raps, putting rhymes working internally within each line, is incredible. The production here is top notch too. I totally understand why this is pretty much undisputed as a classic, and I’m glad I outgrew my teenaged biases so I can appreciate it.

So so good, can’t believe this was his debut

Hardcore Rap not my genre, The world is yours and It ain't hard to tell pretty good

Un des plus grand classique du rap US. Le meilleur album de Nas sans hésitation. NY state of mind est juste beaucoup trop puissant comme morceau. L'énergie sur tout l'album est exceptionnelle. Mon top 2 et 3 fluctue souvent mais aujourd'hui je dirais: 1) NY State of mind 2) It ain't hard to tell 3) Represent

Très très bon

loved it!

Number: 149 Date: 06/01/2026 Artist: Nas Album: Illmatic Year: 1994 Style: Conscious Boom Bap Familiarity: None (1) Rating: 2 Before: ======= Never heard of this album or artist but the album cover looks familiar. I think I've seen it posted in many top album charts in various places on reddit. Anyways, this makes 5 in a row for me that I am completely unfamiliar with. If I had to guess, Gangsta rap? During: ======= Well, it's definately rap. Doesn't sound like anything special. Looks like N.Y. State Of Mind is the most popular with nearly 4 million streams on Spotify. I give it a 2 and that's being generous. After : ======= So, my personal rating is 2. I don't care for this brand of rap/hiphop at all. However, I can see that it's considered a great and important album by many people. 2 my personal rating 5 suitability for this list 5 impact ----------------------------------------------- 4 composite rating

There's not a bad song on here. This is solid straightforward EastCoast street rap. This record makes it easy to see why he blew up like he did. He's talented as hell and can spin a tale. One of the many to come out of that scene that rightfully hit it big. Fantastic early album by a rap legend.

ALREADY DONE

This blew my mind for the first time when I heard it in High School. It’s an easy 5/5 no skip masterpiece. I’m never upset to throw this on.

easy 5. next up, please

Why ambassador, with this Illmatic you are spoiling us. Undeniable beats and lyrics. All lean, no fat.

Super influential OG album, top 5 Hip Hop albums ever

Incredible lyricist and deserving of its respect

It was rap....not a fan. At least most of the songs were fairly short.

Annoying, rude, bombastic...

The hip-hop bible. Grimy beats, hard hitting lyrics, smooth flows. Everything here was on top form. Greatest rap album ever made.

I listened to itttttt

I haven't really listened to Nas before, but have seen so many artist reference and praise him before and yeah I get it this shit slaps. I'm not sure if it's the 90s or East Coast style but it's familiar in a comforting way even if it's the first time I've listened to it.

One of the first East Coast hip hop albums! So much groove and vibes. It still sounds pretty fresh, as if Kendrick made it before his GKMC era.

I understand why this is considered one of the greatest albums of all time. I am also campaigning for the ability to give half stars. 4.5/5

Good album with some great story telling! 6.8/10

Illmazing

Not sure I’d ever listened to this before, despite its classic status. It’s great, of course.

I never sleep cause sleep is the cousin of death. Absolute freaking legend.

es increible pero cuanto mas escucho illmatic mas me gusta. las primeras veces que lo escuchas pensas que esta bien y que la letras de nas a menudo son buenas pero a larga se hace repetitivo y que la produccion envejecio un poco. pero si sos alguien que recien esta empezando a escuchar hip hop (como me paso a mi) es normal, este album lo vas a apreciar mas cuando tengas un mayor conocimiento del genero. canciones como "the world is yours", "ny state of mind", "halftime", "life's bitch", "it aind hard to tell", todas autenticos clasicos del rap. dicho esto, illmatic no es solo uno de los mejores discos de la historia del hip hop (sino el mejor), sino unos de los mejores discos de la historia de la musica. 4.6

Great poetic lyrics and an enjoyable listen

OG Rap sound. Not my fave. Wildly misogynistic, antisemitic, and homophobic. Crazyyyy

Look, ok, this is a 5. But have some comments. I think it's showing its age - hip hop has definitely passed this by. It borders on cliche without ever becoming of it, which is a feat, but it's also something I spent time thinking about. Also, as someone who has spent most of my time living in cities that are culturally situated antagonistically to New York, the whole New-York-in-the-90s vibe that sweats out of this album at every possible instance riles up my lizard brain. But guess what it doesn't matter because this is a 5. No skips, no missed opportunities, no wasted time, no corniness. Ready for more when it's over but not feeling like you got short-changed. What else can you say?

even tho i've listened to it before the album is still a fun time.N.Y state of mind is one the most iconic tracks in hip hop history, and for good reason. that being said i am kinda dissapointed that this is the first album. i started this project to listen to new albums.

It's already the best debut in hip-hop history; the only question is whether it's the best hip-hop record ever. Nas is the top lyricist in terms of both creating rhymes, including internal rhymes, and painting a picture of street life in late 80s, crack-infected NYC slums. He shows the life, the punishment, and even some hope. Samples range from jazz, funk, and soul, and references all types of culture, hip-hop and otherwise. Just a masterpiece.

Quintessentially NY. Det er en straight banger, NAS er for vild på den her. Han har 90'ernes bedste flow? Nu er jeg jo ikke nået til Biggie og Tupac endnu, men jeg synes virkelig lyden på det her holder helt frem til 2026. Det er 5 stjerner

Det er et godt album, men jeg vil ikke påstå, at det har en helt særlig plads hos mig 4.0

Classic hip hop

It is some of the best hiphop you will ever listen to. The idea of getting some of the very best producers of the time on one LP with a lyricist who is able to hit you with bar after bar of memorable lines, something like this seems too good to be true. The only issue I would have with it personally is that some of the lines are outdated. fav tracks: all of them

Probably one of the best rap albums ever. For me it has a special meaning, as it was one of the best artist that I knew.

Nas is a great rapper, but I didn’t like the lack of dynamics with the production

One of the 90s east coast rap high water marks. I’m not too deep in this genre but I like this album a lot more than Jeru the Damaja from earlier in the list.

Earlier rap and hip hop continue to be a blind spot for me, but I’m learning a little more every time. This album sounded good from start to finish and felt like a foundation of more that came after it.

One of my favorite rap albums of all time. One Love and New York State of Mind in particular are person favorites

2/5 its not that bad but I just didn't have the motivation to listen to this album fully

Love his flow. I wasn't in New York in the 90s but this takes me there

nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga 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Some bars are definitely dated but for the most part the pure talent and creativity on this album just fantastic.

reeeeaaally enjoyed this - the beats are basically the foundation of lofi beats I swear every song I was like omggg

really nice flow

Without any context this comes across as joyless hardcore hip hop. The Wikipedia article suggests the lyrical style is material for graduate-level literature study, and that Nas is not cashing in on the authenticity of his adolescent urban squalor. That may be, but it's lost on me. The narration is seemingly an inaccessible inner monologue.

Знову реп?

Great stuff, not an album I was familiar with, but definitely one I'll come back to and should add to my vinyl library. 4.5/5

Outstanding.

The stranglehold NY State of Mind had on me in my tweens. A kid that lame had no business feeling that cool. This one is timeless. The lyricism, the storytelling, the sampling, the boom bap - it’s all top notch. No skits or filler or fluff just wall to wall east coast bangers. One of my favorite hip hop albums of all time. 5/5. Favorite tracks: ny state of mind, the world is yours, one love, memory lane.

Not bad

This is a classic for a reason. Best hip hop album of all time?

a classic

queensbridge!

I’ve never really listened to Nas before, but he’s incredibly talented. The beats are great, the flow is excellent, and the lyrics are powerful. This album is almost visceral in its portrayal of New York at the time. It deserves its place as a cornerstone of hip-hop.

Another hip-hop. This is low tempo with super repetitive jazz samples in each song. Good rapper but I really don't like this genre.

Wow he wasn’t lying, he does dominate those break loops. So I actually listened to this twice today, which I think are my 6th and 7th listens overall. This is definitely the closest I’ve gotten to seeing this as top album material. The run of Genesis and the first three tracks is actually flawless, I was prepared to slap five stars on this based just on that run, but the further it goes on some cracks do start to show. Halftime is the weakest link on the album, with a forgettable beat and lyrics that seem amateur compared to what precedes and follows it. Like Nas is just fucking saying anything in that song to try and be clever but it doesn’t mean anything. It sounds like he’s trying to fit the meter of a school poetry assignment while not caring about how the lines all relate to each other. Gotta mention this gem, “But not like a f***ot. Not bisexual, I’m an intellectual.” Like what are we doing here c’mon. One Time 4 Your Mind hasn’t left much of an impression on me after all these years, this time the beat AND lyrics are forgettable. But every other track? That is a fucking masterpiece of an album. Nas is on fire with all these bars mixing between different forms of meter and switching up the rhyme scheme often but in a way that feels totally natural and awesome to listen to. There is clearly a lot of thought put into how all these rhymes and the words inbetween them interact and bounce off each other. Production is phenomenal, the Premier tracks get spotlighted for good reason but the downbeat jazzy mood of Q-Tip’s One Love is one of the first things that pops into my head when I think about this album. Shoutout the instrumentals of Life’s a Bitch and Represent for sounding like proto-survival horror safe room themes.

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I may come back for it. It was super reminiscent to me of the Knuckled stages from sonic adventure 2 battle.

Rating:★★★★ Poetry

I’ve been meaning to listen to this for some time and it didn’t disappoint. Following on from 50 Cent, this is much more focused, it’s a different vibe but more up my street in terms of style. I will return to this very soon.

good vocals, great beats, all around good

The lyricism is insane on this album. Each track tells a story that is super fun to follow. The beats are top notch, and flow perfectly with the lyrics. This album is great all the way through.

NY State of Mind's beat is on some Goosebumps type beat in the best way possible. Sucks you into the world of the album. Halftime's beat hits like a truck. Up to this point it's been all bangers. Will have to relisten to dig in to Nas' lyrics, but I've been enjoying what I've caught on to. So many songs on this album feel like they were pieced from a walk through New York, in both the lyrics and beats.I love songs and albums that can paint a place so vividly. Love the piano that sounds like it's off the minecraft soundtrack in Represent. Bro really cleared an MJ sample. I was moving so I didn't have time to give this the listens it deserves. Tentative 9, but a possibility to go up. T3: NY State of Mind, Halftime, IAHTT

This album was all experience. The most impressive part of the album was the immediate realization it gave me; this was a long story waiting for an opportunity to express itself. The start of the album to Halftime were great and the lyric performance from Nas kept me constantly engaged into the story he was telling. This World Is Yours I felt most engaged with. Memory Lane was my favourite listen where I was most impressed with his lyrics performance. Ain't Hard to Tell was a Great exit/end for the album and is second behind Memory Lane. Missing the MJ sample made me feel fucking stupid."For me it is" LMAO T3: This World Is Yours, Memory Lane, Ain't Hard To Tell

Not really my thing, I like parts of this but doesn't really stick with me. Nas is clearly super talented and really has a clear sense of self. I want to like this more, but it purely comes down to personal preference and it just isn't for me. Fav Track: The World is Yours

So a sair albinos de prestigio e comhecidinhos Bom mas n me fascina Como ja ouvi tanto hip-hop vindo depois disto e nao conhecendo muito da era antes de illmatic nao consigo relativizar o suficiente para apreciar este album como deveria.

Sadly this felt pretty stale. Thought I would love it.

Liked it

Hadn't heard this til now, it largely lives up to the hype, the musical backdrops are interesting and warm, the rhymes are clever and cool (the usual casual homophobia aside, extra point docked for that). Might return to this one!

vähän tylsä mut ihan kiva ja lämmin tunnelma

This album ooooooooozes swag. The production and mixing are impeccable, with the samples/beats being the star of the show for me. In a way, the album felt intimate, a look into Nas's lived experience. The songs felt authentic, each one with an undeniable groove. This is a classic for a reason! Favorite Tracks: N.Y. State of Mind The World Is Yours Memory Lane It Aint Hard to Tell

I Don't Know How To Start This Shit 1001 Albums Generator 292 (5/15/2026) Illmatic is an all time classic hiphop album for a reason. The hard beats, turntablism, and great story telling in the lyrics all come together to make a nearly perfect album. So many classics on here, it's hard to choose favorites. There are a couple of songs in the middle that don't do it for me as much, but I'm grasping at straws a bit. 4.5/5, rounded up to 5. Favs: N.Y. State of Mind The World Is Yours It Ain't Hard To Tell Least Fav: One Love

LFG First 5 stars

For et forbilledlig kort rapalbum! Ikke dermed sagt at æ synes det e dårlig, men æ har rett og slett ikke tålmodighet til dem som vare i en drøy time, så tighte førti minutter uten skits e mer min stil. Og sjøl om mitt eneste forhold til Nas e at æ en gang i tida så dokumentaren om Illmatic på filmfestivalen, satte æ veldig pris på det her. Ingen åpenbare kjente hits, men likevel en lang rekke bangers, som ungdommen sier. Veldig positivt bekjentskap.

I think I've heard the name Nas but am not familiar with his music - at all. Wasn't there someone called "Lil Nas"? Is that the same person? I looked it up - its 2 different people and the other guy is "Lil Nas X". And Nas is 26 years older than Lil Nas X. Now I know. Some things I learned about Nas - he likes smoking weed, he likes mentioning consumer products and movies by name, he pronounces "heroin" as "heron", he likes to brag about his rapping abilities. He's good at getting a lot of words out quickly. I ended up liking 4 songs on this one - which is pretty good for a rap album for me - since I'm not very well versed in this genre. Liked songs are "Life's a Bitch", "The World Is Ours", "Memory Lane (Sittin' in da Park)", and "It Ain't Hard to Tell" Liked songs on Spotify: 4/10 Rating: 2/5

Classic hip-hop, what else is there to say. Convincing and to the point

I can see was this album is callled such a classic, it was really good

One of the best rap albums ever made. Nas’s rhymes should be locked in a cell. It ain’t hard to tell. Dude that human nature sample goes so hard.

A seminal work 🫡

going on the rotation

Felt really cool listening to this. Amazing album completely see how Nas was one of the greats and founders of what rap is today. This is way better than current tho imo.

Incisive lyrics and alright beats, I guess? I'm not a hip-hop expert but it sounded better than the average on this list.

랩을 잘 듣지 않았는데 이번 기회로 많이 들을 듯!! 굿-

Honestly there was not a bad song on this album.

hard and meaningful

Somehow Nas flew under my radar in the 90s. Not that I'm much of a hip hop fan. Decent I suppose.

(98/100)

Boring and repetitive, nothing to shock or catch attention. Not a fan of the lyrics, not my style of rapping

No no no. I will never be a hipp hopp fan.

If there were to be an objectively greatest rap album of all time, it would be Illmatic

Eu tenho muito problema de conseguir ouvir hip hop/rap...mas esse daqui me venceu. Adorei como o "cenário" é introduzido na letra, é uma coisa excepcional, não é atoa que as letras são a coisa mais forte desse gênero. Reouviria e até recomendaria esse álbum, que experiência legal.

Gostei

o álbum de hip hop mais influente de todos.

sure fine I guess, 2 stars

Mega nice! Chillig und cool zum nebenher hören. Hab Lust jetzt mehr Hip Hop zu hören!

I like the beats on this one. It has that classic New York hip hop sound—raw, sharp. You can tell why people hold this album in such high regard. Not every track fully grabs me, but I respect the impact and the vibe. A solid listen overall.

Holds up better than expected

Good album, catchy

Love the 90s NY feel to this one.

Strong.

I'm not a huge hip-hop person, but this album is iconic! Glad I finally listened through it

Jamais écouté avant. Je crois que je ne suis pas encore complètement équipé pour comprendre ou apprécier le hip-hop à sa juste valeur. D'autant plus quand, comme ici, la production minimaliste, essentiellement rythmique, sert surtout d'écrins aux textes, visiblement brillants, mais dont les subtilités langagières m'échappent très largement. Reste, pour le nul en rap que je suis, quelque chose de l'ambiance d'une ville en décomposition, qui tranpire à travers chaque mot, chaque note, et la diffuse impression que cet album, en 1994, a montré la voie à de nombreux autres artistes. Top : Life's a Bitch (feat. AZ & Olu Dara) Flop : The Genesis

4 days of hip hop in a row. One of the better entries.

3 1/2 stars

If you don't rate this album 5 stars we prob shouldn't be friends.

nas es un genio. posiblemente de los mejores rappers de la historia.

Absolute classic

Great hip-hop album from an artist I've never given the time of day. The lyrics flow so smoothly from one verse to the next, each song conjures up vivid images of growing up in New York, and the beats had me bopping my head from start to finish. Definitely one I'd listen to again, and will certainly be recommending to people going forward. Favourite track: One Love (ft. Q-Tip) Least favourite track: The Genesis, mainly due to it being more of an interlude than an actual song.

Amazing storytelling

Good rap

A fuerza de que esta app me haga escuchar tantos discos de rap y hip hop de a poco los estoy empezando a disfrutar. Sigue sin ser un género que escucharía en la diaria, pero por lo menos no la paso mal cuando toca uno.

real nig

16 años la criatura

Litt skuffa faktisk

An undeniably good album but not music I'd listen much to personally

Cooler gechillter hip hop der keine höhen hat aber dafür geilen flow 7/10

One of the all time greatest albums. “It Ain’t Hard to Tell” a definite standout.

given that I usually strongly dislike rap, this is quite enjoyable (for rap)

This is cool! Songs seemed to blur into each other a bit though, but I need to relisten when I'm more focused. On relisten bumped this up from a 4 to a 5, this slaps.

gefällt nicht.

-life's a bitch es como una super netota que te lanzan a la jeta pero luego como que la aceptas pues porque si, life is a bitch pero pues uno sigue viviendo -no escucho tanto hip hop pero no se me hizo pesado el album -me senti super walking NY con una hoodie en calles de dudosa procedencia -creo que me falta saber un poco del lore de Nas, pero ¿porque esta obsesionado con los Jackson 5?

Timeless

fav songs: n.y. state of mind life's a bitch the world is yours halftime memory lane (sittin' in da park) one love one time 4 your mind represent it ain't hard to tell immersive, storytelling, vivid, cohesive 90/100

A very essential listen in hip hop. The epitome of everything good about conscious rap. Hip hop wouldn't have been quite as great if Illmatic didn't exist.

love nas. i thought to rate it 4 bc it's more chilly than charismatic and i not very like a chilly hiphop music buuut the last one in this album made up my mind

Not bad - better than quite a few in this genre

Wasn't bad but nothing really grabbed my attention.

Hit after hit after hit this thing holds up so we'll i don't really like listening to albums but every song held my attention from start to finish 10/10.

I don't love the album, but I do appreciate and love the fact that Nas influenced a lot rappers today in a huge way. New york state of mind is an obvious hit and used to jam to it on repeat.

Love it! No skips. The only thing missing is a kind of round theme or a feeling of being caught or personally attached. One of the greatest tho for sure.

I'll be honest in saying that hip-hop is not my preferred genre, but this album is full of great loops and smart lyrics. I enjoyed it far more than I expected.

Not my typical genre, but his flow is insane. N.Y. State of Mind brings to light the struggles of growing up in Queens. This is not something I will ever be able to understand personally, the drugs, the danger, but he communicates the message perfectly. He is incredibly clever with his lyrics, he must've struggled for a long time... Damn he had beef with Tupac and Jay Z! They all made up though, which is good! But damn, Jay Z was WRONGGGGG for that.

honestly great raps , it feels like a typival rap songs

Absolute classic

Illmatic is one of the strongest debut albums in the history of hip-hop. Nas started writing it as a teenager, which makes it even more mind-blowing. I’ve listened to it several times, and what always stands out to me is how vividly it tells its stories and builds atmosphere. You can almost feel as if you’re roaming cold streets while navigating issues ranging from systemic oppression to nihilism and ambition. The beat selection is immaculate, and the verses are consistently thrilling. The songs that speak to me the most are "N.Y. State of Mind", "Life’s a Bitch", and "The World Is Yours".

His others are better

Rap américain des 90', j'avoue que le style me parait répétitif à la longue - pas un gros coup de cœur, mais l'album s'écoute. Les samples sont sympas, j'ai particulièrement apprécié It Ain't Hard To Tell (avec un sample de MJ sur Human Nature), et Represent.

It’s hip hop, it’s ok not really game changing for me but then I don’t know enough about the genre to be honest.

i loved every song on this album nas’ raps are so captivating i was hanging onto every word

Pretty good rap record, with some recognizable songs. Enjoyed.

Love it. Not only one of my favorite hip hop albums one of my favorite all time. No skips

Enjoyable.

This album came out right in my biggest hip hop blind spot. I was a bit too invested in indie in the early 90s, so I missed this album and pretty much every other rap album. I'm glad it was on the list and I got to hear it. Very, very solid.

I know what linguistic reappropriation is, but I can't get past my revulsion at the language in this and very many other hip-hop records. (And the misogynistic and homophobic stuff, also not great, isn't reappropriation.) Sets my ceiling low. And since I didn't like it musically either, the rating doesn't make it to the ceiling.

4/5 - This list is helping my previously (and still mostly) toddler-level understanding of hip-hop. I'm getting a better sense of what I like and don't like, and I now have a clue why this is so often cited as a pioneering album. I think it's not a surprise that I liked this given what an impression Kendrick Lamar's Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City made on me. I'll revisit here.

Hip hop isn't my thing but I appreciate the chance to give this a go. Sounds ok, wouldn't rush back to relisten

fav: the world is yours represent

this felt like a relief after all the modern rap albums bu artists that do nothing but glorify them like narcissists that keep infecting each other. This album is what rap/ hip-hop is like in my head. Adored the lyrics AND the melody. Nowadays all we hear is samples being used over and over with lyrics that have potential but are ruined by unnecessary degrading if ykwm. Nas really made the history of rap with this incredible album. Will be listening again

N.Y. State of Mind is an incredible song that I added to my favs playlist. There's a few other notable ones, but that's definitely my favorite. I understand why it's his most popular.

My most despised genre, but this was catchier than expected. Happy to not be able to understand the lyrics.

It was ok, I just don’t like it, I understand how other people love it thou.

Solid hip hip with nice lyrics

Old school rap not my music though

The pinnacle of hip-hop. The greatest rap album of all time in my opinion. Unreal that Nas was only 19 when he made this masterpiece. DJ Premier deserves more flowers in general and this album showcases how good pure, lyrical boom-bap rap can be

0.5/5 Ugh.

Amazing instrumental and poetry. Although I'm not interested in rap this album was excellent.

Why's life gotta be so hard? :( fire bars

Really enjoyed this one, must have listened to it all the way through like 10x. The tempo and beats are so flowy. This 90s hip-hop flow reminds me a lot of Nujabes. The first half of the record is especially strong, with my favorite track being Life's a Bitch. Gonna have to return in the future to read thru the lyrics.

Perfect album

I give it a 3/10. I dont really like rap.

Second rap album in a row here but a goodie, might be my favourite hip hop album ever. Timeless

маленький нигга

Apart from the stalwart “Life’s A Bitch”, oft-quoted by my fellow bourgeois classmates in a Cheshire village, I’d never listened to this. It’s low-key, understated, very much of its time in its clarity and upholstered minimalism, and pours easily - I’ve enjoyed it more than I expected, especially Nas’s straightforward delivery.

This album has been glazed forever to my general puzzlement as it never really stuck with me. Listening again, his flow is great but the backing isn't sumptuous or interesting enough for the plaudits, in my opinion. Maybe I'm not a good rap critic.

Illmatic is an all time album. It’s the Odell Beckham catch of albums. Incredible but not reproducible, so it’s almost a shame it comes so early in the career. Illmatic IS 90s rap. Simple, punchy beats and lyrically diverse across the whole album. Quintessential east coast and foundational to the 00s.

Rap is not my genre but this was really well done and heart felt

Historic album that transformed hip hop. Poetic, creatively produced, flows like a river, a snapshot in time in 90s NY

Sounds like New york

Just a genre that doesn't gel with me. Their music doesn't grab me - could be something in the background at the office and unless you are ready to diligently listen to the lyrics, they just get lost in the background.

awesome stuff

Not bad, nothing really was a stand out for me.

It's a solid, old-school hip-hop album.

The lyrics flow nicely, gotta give it that. And for a debut album it’s very impressive how highly regarded this is. That said I probably can’t fully appreciate it. This is a 3.5/5 rounded up.

Illmatic é um disco onde sua reputação o precede. Impossível ter qualquer tipo de discussão sobre Rap sem alguém mencionar este álbum. Já o ouvi antes, mas não lembrava de quase nada. Por algum motivo, eu não absorvi tão bem o seu conteúdo na primeira vez que eu o ouvi. Mente prematura, talvez. 39 minutos, 10 faixas, sendo uma delas a introdução. Um disco inegavelmente denso, rico em conteúdo lírico. Tipo de álbum que clama para ser ouvido enquanto você lê as letras. O álbum não perde tempo, nem sequer um segundo. Toda batida, todo verso, tudo é perfeitamente encaixado. O resultado não poderia ser outro, um disco queridinho pela crítica, e uma escuta infinitamente satisfatória e estranhamente reconfortante. Como assistir a cidade grande através da janela do metrô. A agitação e o burburinho da metrópole viva que respira e sangra. Toda canção é clássica. Raridade isso. A produção é estonteante. Os versos são implacáveis, genocídio lírico. Rap é o tipo de gênero onde o disco de estréia do artista costuma ser o melhor, justamente porque ele ficou anos escrevendo os versos, e é notável a dedicação e o amor em cada uma das faixas, em cada um dos versos. Algumas das canções Nas escreveu aos 16 anos de idade. Impressionante. Produção espetacular, versos impecáveis, flows invejáveis, disco clássico, um dos melhores de todos os tempos. Impossível dar outra nota, impossível apontar defeito algum. 5/5

Enjoyable. First brand new (to me) hip hop record I've listened to in awhile that I found engaging.

No es mi tipo de música

Not my typical genre but I liked this quite a bit. I picked up on many of the quick rhymes but need another serious listen and even still, I won’t get all the references

first listen to this album and I truly enjoyed. it

Some interesting jazz and blues-inspired background tracks. He's a great lyricist.

Was aware of Nas but had not really listened to him previously. Really enjoyed it - great beats - strong smooth lyrically delivery and no gimmicks.

Congrats on being the best hip hop album ever. Reinforces I don't like hip hop. I liked reading some of the stories in the lyrics, but can do that on mute. Better than the gangsta rap bravado at least. To be fair, a couple of the jazzy backing tracks are interesting, and the boy can rap, but gets a bit much after a while.

Boring.

Już przesłuchałem przedtem. 10/10 Ulubiona piosenka: Represent

It’s a good album but a little bit repetitive in my opinion

Not my thing. All the songs sound the same

Franchement très bon album. Honnêtement, je trouve que le projet est quand même très surcoté, même si il reste particulièrement marquant, surtout pour l'époque. En effet, je trouve que l'album est très bon sur pleins de tableaux, à la fois au niveau des paroles qui sont extrêmement bien travaillées et qui restent bien en tête (ce qui est particulièrement rare pour ma part quand il s'agit de rap) et très soignées au niveau des schémas de rimes qui donne un flow extrêmement stables et agressif qui marche magnifiquement bien pour des morceaux comme "N.Y state of mind" ou "Halftime". De plus, le niveau des prods est vraiment excellents, avec un travail sur la simplicité et l'ambiance pour laisser place au lyrics, tout en apportant une diversité intéressante, oscillant entre le piano de "N.Y State of Mind", le xylophone de "One Love" ou l'orgue de "Memory Lane". Néanmoins, je trouve qu'au global, même si l'album est très solide, il ne tente rien de particulier. L'ensemble des sons, même s'ils sont propres, restent tous assez similaires, en changeant à la fois un élément, mais restant souvent dans une certaine zone de confort en explorant moins que d'autres artistes de l'époque comme Dre ou Biggie par exemple.* En résumé, l'album est donc vraiment excellent, mais à mon sens manque malheureusement d'une petite étincelle qui le fait sortir du lot.

- favorites: halftime - rating: 3.5/5

OH MY GOD its the greatest hip hop album of all time highlights: ny state of mind, life's a bitch, the world is yours, represent, it ain't hard to tell easiest 5/5

just a classic

not my type

Cool samples cool flow

The rap album all other rap albums should be judged against

How can Nas be garbage?

No habia escuchado nunca a Nas, pero me ha sorprendido para bien y me da las vibras de los plenos 90s.

Surprisingly better than I thought it would be.

no soy quien para opinar de hip hop, se lo dejo a mi amigo hirai. me gustaron los beats

Not my cup of tea 🫖

5/5. Sometimes you remember Nas was only 20 when he released Illmatic and think “damn what have I been doing with my life?” all jokes aside, this is still one of the best rap albums of all time. And it doesn’t take long to see why with the first main song “NY State of Mind” which is an all-timer song. Absolutely love the piano part in the beat, the flow is great and the lyrics are also really good. And the rest of the album manages to stay at a similar level of quality with songs like “the world is yours” or “one love” featuring Q-tip from a tribe called quest. not much I can really say that hasn’t already been said by thousands of publications, an all time great album and essential hip-hop.

I've always struggled to resonate with rap... and while this album is clearly good, it's the same thing here. Enjoyable, but doesn't resonate.

THE MOST ICONIC HIP-HOP ALBUM EVER And for a good reason. Few records have ever been able to reach this level of lyrical density. The imagery of struggle portrayed is incredibly vivid and scary. Beat selection is out of this world. 5/5

Didn't do a lot for me obviously. I read some of the reviews on here and they're all like "This really captures the spirit of 90s New York", which is also what people said about the film Caught Stealing. I've come to the conclusion that I don't want to be anywhere near 90s New York, it seems a terrible place! I would rather spend my time in nicer surrounds.

necesito escucharlo otra vez

9 / 10

What if an album was just hit after hit after hit after hit after hit after hit after hit after hit after hit

CLASSIC !!!! it's one of my first Hip Hop LP i bought when i started my collection. It's just Timeless.

It's an insane run of pro-afroculture lyricism and shocking beats, it's amazing to listen to it in a modern context cause it embraces how though it was to be black at that time everywhere, not just only in the USA, I enjoyed it but that type of "HARD hip-hop/trap" it has its just not for me, amazing work tho.

Very very cool

pretty damn good.

Once you've heard hip-hop this clean, this well-written, this PERFECTLY aesthetically crafted… it’s hard to listen to anything else. I’m not a hip-hop historian, and I didn’t have much of a listening history with it before this project, but I 100% believe it when they say that Nas changed the game with this one.

Classic album.

giving me such a dense album for literally my first day on this site with me being a total beginner to rap is definitely a choice. while the beats stuck with me right away i had to go home and spend a couple hours looking over the lyrics for the album to really hit. i don't think anything in it will make my playlist but it's really easy to tell why people think it's one of the best hiphop albums ever. i admire it from afar like i'm looking at a famous painting behind some glass and red rope at a museum fave track: one love

This is the last of the Mount Rushmore hip hop albums I hadn’t heard and it might be my favorite of the genre after one listen. It just has everything I want out of a hip hop album while dodging all the common mistakes I have with them. The production is great, I enjoyed Gang Starr’s album on here so seeing their involvement with production was cool. It has just blown me away and will be one of the few albums I give a perfect score to after a single listen. You can hear its influence on countless albums since. 34th perfect album, 1016 albums in. Rating: 5.0

I feel you Nas. Life’s a real-ass bitch and then you just die. That’s why it’s imperative to get baked as a cake at least once in your life. ;) btw, it ain’t hard to tell’s a fuckin banger.

A freaking great record, as a debut it's phenomenal that something of this caliber just effortlessly gets dropped like that. A lot of it is probably due to the rough life he endured up to this point. Nasty Nas forever man.

I'm sure this is a great rap album but I don't like rap at all. I also can't listen to that many slurs (or any at all tbf)

No es lo mio, no lo pude ni terminar.

Quite enjoyed this. Good backing tracks too. Even had a second listen!

A debut that was so good, every subsequent follow-up failed to live up to it. Standout tracks: NY State of Mind The World is Yours Represent It Ain't Hard To Tell

I don't generally enjoy rap, so this album probably has a lower ceiling than other genres, but it wasn't bad. No weird skit interludes and no overtly and unnecessarily sexual-assault-like vibes.

Not the worst rap I heard. I didn't even have to skip through any songs!

yeshh another old rap

buen álbum, bacanito, me gustó que dura 50 minutos entonces estuvo re melo. Me lo escuché de una y me pareció que tenía un flow como bacano, lo único es que no es mi tipo de musica

Classic Nas album!

My head hearts from bopping it so much listened to at 11:24 pm on a Sunday night a day before returning from holidays im so finished for school so worth it tho w

this wasn’t even the album that introduced me to Hip Hop but it shows me all the reasons why I fell in love with this genre. I feel weirdly connected to it because 1994 is my birth year, but I have no idea how New York City was in that era, thanks to Nas I get a feeling for it combined with creative lyrics and amazing samples.

Didn't get me at all. Bit repetitive and flat

From Biggie to Nas I smell your game from here Random Album Generator. Got into this because of Ozark oddly enough but never really went further than that. Great stuff. Just such GREAT stuff

I love this album!!!!

Absolute perfection. Hits every time

i've heard the hits... but straight through is a hoot as well. listen to the background composition and realize how ahead of its time it was.

it was nostalgic but tested my music palate in a good way.

I love Life’s a Bitch, but the rest was meh

4.1 3x great album

just sososoooo good

Big nas, grand wizard, god, what is it!

I don’t listen to a lot of rap but I enjoyed this. There were a couple lines that flowed really nicely and the beats where comforting. From what I was able to interpret this is mostly about the life in New York. I always worry that the themes aren’t really ment for me but there was a lot of him talking about the impressive things that he has done/will do. I don’t think that I would actively seek this out but I do enjoy the fact that I have listened to a proper rap album because Bizkit can’t be it. It does lose points for being homophobic and Sexist.

Siiick

Repetitive; uninspiring.

Big fan of this album, great lyrics and good beats.

I like this classic old school hip hop rap album. Only rating it a 3 as it's not my favorite genre.

Feel like I'm in a gritty 8 part TV Series about Queens in New York. Captures that really well.

it's a vibe.

Really good. Nice flows No real stand outs (im notoriously bad at hooking myself into older school rap), but all quality. 8/10

Top much rap

I hate N-bombs but I understand it's point in rap music. It's part of the reason why I don't gravitate towards it. Talk of drugs, violence & sex, money whatever. GETS real old, real fast. Yet, it's my issue. This is ok. I didn't mind it. I don't hate it, but I don't love it. He's got a good flow & knows how to play with words. The samples were nice. Nas won't make me like rap but it's slightly closer. 3

Amazing obviously, amazing lyricism,flows and voice. BUT if i were to rate it on a scale of 1-10 i would say 9/10..simply cause it doesnt quite take me on a sonical journey if ukwim..Production is still great, but there not much groundbreaking or exciting for me. It lacks that X factor of something novel that elevates an album from a 9 to a 10. Maybe this is just because of me listening and being overstimulated by newer better techniques and production…or this album just being too influentual that it influenced EVERYTHING..but ye..imma leave it at 4..

Decent overproduced crap. Enjoyed it once. Won’t return

4/6 Gangsta rap trash

Nope not for me

One of the most iconic old-school hip-hop albums. "N.Y. State of Mind", "Life's a Bitch", and "The World Is Yours" run concurrently in the album and are the more popular tracks (the first one being my favorite), but every song is smooth, lyrically and instrumentally. An essential for boom bap enthusiasts.

Álbum tranquilo con flow para escuchar mientras uno trabaja, no es mi estilo, pero si es bueno para conocer su música y escucharla mientras uno hace otra cosa

Really enjoyed this album, the music was so well composed and fit the style of rapping so perfectly. Never listened to Nas before but this body of work has really makes me want to explore more.

Absolute BANGER of an album. Love it from start to finish.

Nas paints a pretty gritty picture of what life was like growing up in the New York suburbs with your guns, drugs and hustles to earn your next buck. That's the way it was and he doesn't sound too pissed with it - it made him who he is. We get chilled, hypnotic backing tracks and minimal production. Some of the rapping is improvised, which is clever and also shows how he had honed his skills before he got into the studio. I liked Life's A Bitch and The World Is Yours but, let's be honest, I'm a middle class teacher from suburban UK. I'm not his target market and undoubtedly not the best qualified to give a serious review to urban hip-hop. So 3 stars for documenting the struggle and the attitude without resorting to aggression.

Easily top five rap albums of all time. This is a great gateway for old rock guys. It helped me open the door.

nein nein nein

En la personal no me atrae mucho el rap, pero esta vez me puse a escuchar y ver las letras en profundidad y me gusto un poco mas

On of the best albums in history

ILLMATIC 3.97 The Genesis N/A NY State of Mind 4.8 Life's a Bitch 2.5 The World is Yours 3.3 Halftime 4.5 Memory Lane 3.9 One Love 4.2 One Time 4 Your Mind 4 Represent 4.4 It Ain't Hard to Tell 4.1 Seminal work that I respect greatly. With that said, for my personal taste, it rounds out to a 4 out of 5 I suppose. It doesn't quite "wow" me enough either to get a pure 5/5, but perhaps that's due to having to sit down and really digest the lyrics to truly appreciate it. It also fails the "Meteora Metric", wherein I can't give this a 5/5 like I would for that just for pure enjoyment, either. With that said, NY State of Mind remainds a killer song, probably top 5 ever or something.

I was really into hip-hop close to 10 years ago. I remember listening to this album then, but I couldn't remember a thing apart from NY State of Mind. Now, my tastes and preferences have changed - and the first (and to this record last) hip-hop album the generator gave me when I started this is Stankonia, which I did and still do consider to be a bit meh. There was something there, but it wasn't for me. It gave me a bit of anxiety in the sense that "did I outgrow rap entirely"? No, I didn't. I still enjoy rap. This is a seminal album worth the hype. The lyricism and storytelling on display is phenomenal, and the production is beautiful and yet still grounded in a way that ties the atmosphere together. The only reason I was debating giving this a max grade is that this would be my third 5/5 this week, but who cares. The generator gives what the generator gives. I'm sure I'll be served many more weeks of mediocre 90's Britpop and 60's psychedelic rock, but for now I'm taking leave to be generous with my ratings.

90s rap just hits different I wholeheartedly agree that Nas is one of if not the greatest lyricists in the history of the genre. It just feels a step above in terms of self awareness and effort. The way he raps feels so unlike other artists before him where it feels more free flowing and conversational. It makes it easy to get lost in the music. Was very familiar with NY State of Mind, got some great lines in there. I was a little disappointed with all the buzz this one gets, as this is one of those albums that universally gets that “greatest rap album of all time title”, and I just don’t agree. It’s a really good album, but I just don’t think the highs are as high as Ready to Die or 36 Chambers. I think some of the beats themselves just ain’t it. Can tell just by listening how influential this album is, but I don’t think it’s in the running for my personal best of the best when it comes to rap

Quite liked it, good beats that aren't too repetive or grating to let the lyrics take center stage.

Supposedly renewed focus on East Coast rap. Interesting use of backing music. Standard rap beats with off-key and syncopated piano and horns. His father was a jazz musician, so either a direct or an absorbed influence? Gritty. Urban. He has said he wasn't celebrating "thug life" but more or less shining a light on it. Good grooves and still academically interesting.

Same problem as every other hiphop album. Every song sounds the same and it gets very repetitive. However, I can't really say it sounded bad, but I still didn't enjoy it.

I know this is one of those albums people treat like sacred text, but honestly, it just didn’t land for me. I get that the production is supposed to be classic, and sure, there’s some solid beat work going on here, but it all started to blur together for me pretty fast. It’s very of its time, and maybe if I’d heard it back in the 90s I’d feel differently, but as a first-time listener now, it just felt more like a historical document than something that actually moved me. I think the main thing is that I came into this expecting something mindblowing and instead found something that felt like background music with an occasional moment of brilliance. I can respect its place in music history, but for me, Illmatic is more admired than enjoyed. It’s not bad, it’s just not one I’m ever going to reach for again.

Ideal para armar un puzzle

Genre defining piece. Timeless. Detractors can suck it.

I enjoyed this debut rap album from Nas! I don’t listen to a ton of rap or hip hop but I felt like this album had some catchy and fun tracks. It made for a great album to listen to while I was at the gym! Overall, I thought this was a great rap album that I would listen to again in the future!

Сара 4 Марко 4.5

amazing album

Album #112 Nas: Illmatic So much 90s rap just feels like straight posing, over-indulgent bars about stealing, killing, and gangster life to the point where you begin to think whether or not we live in Gotham. Now obviously there is an element of fantasy there, and the music isn’t meant to be taken literally, I’m not trying to sound like one of those “rap is crap” guys, but I just never connected much to the lyrics or themes. However, Nas, or at least Illmatic, is clearly a tier above all of that. Nas is just a kid from New York trying to make it out through music, and that is exactly what he presents in his songs, and exactly what you feel when listening to them. Rap at its purest is about storytelling, and more specifically, storytellers. The kind of rappers who can paint a picture and keep you engaged through their lyricism are no different than the singer-songwriters of the past who did the same. I have a friend whose favourite genres are hip-hop and folk, which at first I thought was weird, but upon further reflection, I realized how similar they are. A Nas and a Neil Young are doing the same thing, presenting the world how they see it through their specific personality and perspective, which allows for the music to come across in such a personal way. It allows you a glimpse into their psyche and creates a stronger bond with the music. The fact that I can even listen to an album like this and enjoy myself through the entire thing is surprising enough for me. However, I’m still not crazy about rap, so it’s far from my favourite album, albeit it is definitely one which I can respect and see the appeal of. Best Songs: N.Y. State of Mind, One Time For 4 Your Mind, One Love Worst Song: Represent Score out of 10: 7.5

Listened previously. Expectations: High - Verdict: Great - Another classic. N.Y. State Of Mind is a masterpiece, fantastic beat, even better flow. If you discount the intro track I think this might be the greatest opening trio of tracks in all of rap music. I do think the rest of the tracks are at a slightly lower level but that is an extremely high bar. Memory Lane for example is fantastic it just isn't quite Life's A Bitch. Brilliant album overall.

I feel like this album is nearly perfect, my only complaint is that I feel like Q-Tip’s feature was wasted.

Average 90’s rap

a classic by one of the legends of rap 3.5/5

classic. need to look up lyrics

Boom bap lives forever

N.Y State of mind - 🔥🔥 Rest solid background music

really enjoyed this one, slow 90s rap is very chill. favourites: -N.Y State of mind -Memory Lane Negatives - Slurs :(

album to chill out. Could be in the gym or trip in a car. just a goood album.

Fresh, East Coast rap. This is an album I’m surprised I missed. A lyricist leading the music ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Highlights: “Life’s a Bitch,” “NY State of Mind”