Reviews (page 8 of 14)
Yup, it's rap from the 90's.
An impressive album, beginning to end. Spellbinding flow and a vivid lyricism that evokes a space in time in a way few albums do. Fave Songs: Memory Lane (Sittin' in da Park), N.Y. State of Mind, It Ain't Hard to Tell, The World Is Yours, The Genesis, Halftime
first listen fire production
One of the best.
Listening to this reminded me of an article I read years ago talking about the roles of both technical skill and charisma in rap music. The writer of the article used Nas as an example of a rapper who was technically great, but struggled with charima. I think that's a fair assessment. There's a lot to like about this album, but it's missing that final, unquantifiable something that would push it to 5 stars.
Really solid album with excellent beats and flow, but lost a good amount of my love when I heard the F slur.
Fantastic beats. 'N.Y. State of Mind' is an amazing track. Completely random, but whenever anyone says something is 'ill' my first thoughts are always with the Beastie Boys.
Very lyric/bar-forward. The flows speak for themselves, the musicality that is sprinkled in is beautiful in its simplicity and really underscores that the verse is what’s doing the work.
N.Y. State of Mind Life's a Bitch The World Is Yours Halftime One Love It Ain't Hard to Tell
Aw man I already listened to this lol. But it is good, so I shall revisit!
Only good 90s rap
Always liked Nas but have never listed to the full album, loved it He’s funny
Sure
I loved Nas when I was younger and haven’t really listened to him much in the past few years. This album is great overall, and Represent is a standout for me. I think this is his best album and one of the best rap albums.
East Coast 90s at its finest
I enjoyed it, always have loved Nas' rapping and this didn't disappoint
If you told me this guy invented being cool, I would believe you
One of the most classic hip-hop records of all time, and while it may be a tad overrated, it’s undeniable this thing is a beast
4.0 Im not the biggest Hip Hop head so I wont be the best one to judge this album. I know that it belongs in many a top 5 lists, and I could see that.
Here’s another one from my deep-ish dive into hip hop from like, almost 20 years ago now. I hadn’t thought of this one since then but I remember really liking it. It definitely holds up! Weirdly I think what made an impact on me was more the sampling than the content of the rapping, and I’m glad to say this holds up on both counts.
This was great, except for the typical 90s rap problematic lyrics.
Classic
4.5 Boom Bap, NY Gritty
STANDOUTS: N.Y. State of Mind Life's a Bitch The World is Yours Halftime (kinda homophobic but I was into it) One Time 4 Your Mind OVERALL: 3.5/5; for a genre I don't enjoy and with themes i do NOT relate with, the lyrics were great!
Was very good! Just not the type of music I usually listen to 8/10
He’s the goat, or at least, one of them. Don’t listen on the regular but I always enjoy when we get an album like this. 8.5/10
Really good, a few got a little repetitive though
already listened to it, very good
Awesome friday vibes.
Some classic hip-hop track son here from the mid-90s.
Really like the vibe of the album as a whole, it draws you in to a particular mood. The rhymes are impressively dense in the lyrics too. Not enough bangers to reach 5 stars, but quite an enjoyable listen
This hits hard. The flow is insane, even as a non-native speaker I can hear how well the lyrics are crafted, the background music is really good, with jazzy bits and is less annoying that the "blips" and "wheeez" of his older brothers from NYC.
4 yas
40 minutes of probably some of the best rhyming you will ever hear. The fact has wrote this all before he was even 21 is extraordinary. It breathes, sounds and smells like New York. And paints pictures with clever lyrics and gives you an intense one on one guide through his life at the time. My only criticism is sometimes there’s so much going on in each verse it can all feel rushed and as a result looses some of its impact, also makes the songs feel somewhat blended into one. Still it’s an all time rap classic, arguably the best rap album ever made (or at least that I’ve listened too). Had there been any change of pacing it gets a straight 5 star.
Undeniably a classic hip hop album, although it came out just as was losing interest in hip hop so I only got into it years later . Production and samples are excellent, the vocals really iconic. Wouldn't choose to listen to often these days, but wouldn't complain if it came up on random !
This is what hip hop should sound like. Hard beat, hard rhymes, stories of life on the Streets of New York. Killer.
Solid album from front to back. Wasn’t the greatest but was not bad at all. 7/10
Super talented artist: I liked the way he says a lot in a creative way and the songs are catchy.
Giving me major 90's nostalgia, reminds me of teenage days working at an indoor skatepark.
I am not a huge hip hop fan but this is a brilliant example of the times when hiphop really resonates with me: Politically charged and interesting lyrics, as well as intricate beats with creative use of samples. This is brilliant!
Illmatic is an absolute classic. I was able to give this a really good listen while mowing the lawn today. I am very familiar with this album, but it's one that never really gets old.
ok i screwed up on the profiles but also if i give this a 4 here it perfectly translates into a 7 sooooo
Super fucking chill. Very nearly a 5 for me
Writing a review for an album like this is hard for someone like me. Because, sure, I enjoyed the beats and the samples that made them up, and I really dug the flows. Me tending so naturally towards melody, of course I do. But ILLMATIC is an album that's all about its lyrics; complexly-formed street poetry about inner-city life in Queens, New York. And it's just, unless I force myself to spend a whole day listening to nothing but this album and focusing on the lyrics, I can't grasp them. Sure, I can appreciate how the lines their constructed and all their internal rhymes, but I don't think I've absorbed enough of the actual meanings to really be able to comment on them. And with albums like this, I feel like if I'm not able to comment on the meanings, then why bother? Not that they'd mean much to me personally—me, a Canadian living in 2024. At the very least, do I think the lyrics expressed his stories well? With how well each line is made, it's hard to say they don't. I mean, I'unno. If I can appreciate MF DOOM's technicality without really understanding a lot of what he means, I can like this album, too. Besides, my favorite Nas song is "Hip Hop Is Dead", so how much is my opinion worth, really?
This was pretty good. I don't think I've ever listened to Nas before. Sadly my background in rap is pretty limited so I'm glad to be broadening this aspect with this listening project. I really liked the energy of the album.
4,2
I forgot that I ended up with a copy of this at work back in about '95 and would play it a decent amount. I in turn passed it onto a workmate when I left that job to go travelling. Such a solid album. Under the surface it is so angry with as much rage as any Public Enemy album but it gets delivered with a groove akin to a Tribe Called Quest. The best thing about hearing it after so long is that it has dated. The sounds are still sharp and the lyrics powerful with little cringe worthy bragging and rampant sexism other albums of that era a tied down by - not a prude just hearing that stuff ad nauseum is tired. Anyway glad to have this record back in my life
such a good album - didn't relisten
Love this album
good
Pretty good yeah
One of the all time greats. 2nd favorite rap album of the 90s, behind only Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).
Grandioser Rap.
Some lyrics didn't age well, but this really got me nostalgic for New York.
First time listener to Naz I think, aware of him largely through his ‘feud’ with Jay Z. Good stuff, will listen to more. Simpsons: No
Damn just saw Nas in concert not long ago. He monkey flipped me with the rhythm
This was an album I had wanted to listen to for some time. Easy to see why this is one of the most influential and beloved rap albums of all time. Nas has some of the best word play and lyricism of any rapper I’ve heard. The instrumentals in the background range from pleasant to emphatic. The album does a great job at putting you in its stories. Only song I thought was okay was Life’s a Bitch, granted I’ve heard it many times sampled elsewhere. The only issues I have with the album are that I can’t relate to it, but man does it put on a groove. What an amazing few closing tracks. Standouts: N.Y. State of Mind, Halftime, One Time 4 Your Mind, Represent, It Ain’t Hard to Tell.
Thought I'd already reviewed this. Regardless, I think I remember it was pretty decent. Unknown to me before now.
This was great
👍🏻
Hard lyrics over chill beats. 4 stars
Ну я поймал вайбика, но в целом монотонненько так. Хотя исторический прикол понятен. 94 год, что тут сказать.
It's an East Coast thing. Total classic.
Classic east coast style. Reminded me heavily of WUTANG and Tribe. Great lyrical content for the times too.
- Echt cooles Album - NAS und sein Debütalbum Illmatic werden im Hip-Hop immer sehr hochgehalten - ich denke ich verstehe warum und auch inwiefern das Album sicherlich viel verändert hat: Der Flow, die komplizierten Reimschemata, eine stimmliche Variabilität, die sich sehr vom Oldschool und dem immer selben Duktus unterscheidet. - Dazu ehrliche Texte aus seinem Leben - Die Beats sind nicht vollkommen neu, aber super chillig und definitv auch abwechslungsreich. - War doch erstaunt wie viel ich doch von dem Album schonmal gehört hatte, und seien es auch nur kurze Versatzstücke, Hooks oder Samples Rating: 3,75/5
Absolutely fantastic lyricism and the beats were really well put together. This certainly feels like a debut album at it's finest. We see Nas putting the pieces together for a good career and from the moment the album starts we know NYC is as much a character as Nas himself is. I am not a huge listener of rap but out of the small amount I do know this is one of the best.
Nas easily is one of the best lyrically and flo. His beats reflect a lot of what he is rapping about so you won’t really find the club bangers like you would from other artists. This album still slams though.
Good hip hop classic
Good album
Not heard it before. Very good. I need to listen to more.
I enjoyed this. Very 90s era rap. I missed this when it came out since I was busy listening to grunge. Overall, this was a really good album. Great sound!
90’s east coast hip-hop
Story telling
It’s a great album. The blueprint to so much of what came after too. Love the beats, the lyrics, Nas’s voice. Brilliant.
Impressive as hell for 1994 - the birth of modern hip-hop, I guess! For its place in music history it's probably worth a 5, but as I'm scoring these albums on pure subjective enjoyment I'm afraid it's only a 4. Fave tracks - "N.Y. State of Mind" and "It Ain't Hard To Tell" are both baller. "I never sleep, 'cause sleep is the cousin of death" is an absolutely cherry lyric! 😘
I liked it. You can hear the start of a lot today’s rap music here. Exciting for me because although Nas was a little before my time, a lot of the rap I grew up on he was either featured on, referred to, or a part of in some form or fashion. Good album too.
I see now what all the fuss was about
Good Beata and rhymes
Automatic classic. Simply Iconic
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..
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 :)
müsste ich kennen, aber nochmal hören
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.
Good rap, like it
💪 guter alter hip-hop!
Classic but not an album I often come back to
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.
I'm not normally a big rap fan, but I really like this. The wordplay is pretty sophisticated.
Enjoyed. Decent listen
fun to go on a walk with v flowy
Excellent! One of my favorites.
Fantastic hiphop album with a lot of recognizable tracks. Not what I usually listen to at the moment but a classic for sure!
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.
90s east-coast rap at its best. dope grooves and perfect sampling infused with old-school hip-hop and blues influences.
Classic
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.
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.
Almost perfect hip hop album. Consistent sound. Too short. 4/5
Overall a really solid album that put Nas on the map
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.
really good
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.
Absolute Samplefest. Classic 90s HipHop, more Jazzmatazz than Public Enemy.
so good
It's classy, chill. Veo que influye a mucha banda actual.
Pretty good stuff.
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.
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.
This might become one of my favorite Rap albums.
👍🏻
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.
It was good! I enjoyed all of it!
Imi place. Rap străin clasic chiar nu prea am ascultat. E nice
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
Nice
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.
cool chill album to study/work to
I like this one a lot more than i thought I would
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
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)
Not my usual style of music but I enjoyed it.
“Memory Lane”
cheese omelette
Best flowing and clear rapper I've heard. Uncensored so actually speaks truthfully about subjects. Enjoyed it despite my judgements
Nice
Not something I would typically listen to. I enjoyed it over all.
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
ich han gern rap
One of my favorites so far
Catchy, strong beats, but feels like it doesn't change tempo at any point (too repetitive)
Actually, thought I’d recognize more songs. Bangers.
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.
Love this album.
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
Another grat hip hop/Rap album from the 90s... catchy and a classic
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.
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.
essential ny rap, it’s nas, who the fuck else
Really good, classic
Listened to this one a couple times as well. The beats and flow on this album are unmatched. Definitely had me head bopping all the way through. I didn't know "The World is Yours" was Nas, but that song rocks. Rap still isn't really my cup of tea, but I appreciate this one more than most other 90's rap.
Really good Nas!!
Great hip hop album. One of the best from it's best days.
Classic album, the style of hip-hop I really like, mostly drum and bass and constant rhymes. Not my favorite style -- less jazzy than A Tribe Called Quest. The intro puts you right into a setting, then NY State of Mind - Life's A Bitch - The World Is Yours is a 3 track combo that is hard to top. Halftime not so memorable. Sittin' in da Park is smooth and fun. I wanted an actual Q-tip verse on One Love but he just did the hook. One Time 4 Your Mind, seemed like an interlude that was longer. Represent is one of those classic sounds I like. I like the keys and the bounce. Same good feel on the closer.
I listen to this top album of all time
Yeah this was a good album
“I never sleep, because sleep is the cousin of death” loved this album.
Ihan parhaita ysärin rap-levyjä. Kaikki osa-alueet mintissä ja lyriikatkin kiinnostavia verrattuna länsirannan gangstailun naisvihaan. Btw, eksyin viime kesänä keskellä yötä yksin Queensbridgen laidalle, kun hyppäsin kännykän simahdettua väärään metroon. En tajunnut, mistä alueesta on kyse, mutta jostain syystä silti vähän kuumotti. Eipä siellä tosin taida enää nykyään olla tän levyn mukainen meno.
Ikoninen rap-järkäle!
A notable hip hop album from my limited experience, not the top spot but a solid top ten for sure, I love how dense the lyrics are and the beats are quite good.
Stand out tracks: - Halftime - It Ain't Hard to tell
I liked the beats and the flow. As usually with hip-hop I was not listening to lyrics very much.
Has every rapper complained about the "shit" music that's playing now a days? This truly plays like a conversation. One Love has a xylophone? Its not out of place but why is it there? Represent is the bests so far and was placed second to last.
An absolute classic of hip hop music. Nas nails this one and continues to do so even to this day. Im getting older so it’s beginning to feel more and more like I shouldn’t be listening to this kind of stuff, but when it’s this good? Hell fuckin’ yeah boy!
90s East-Side Hip-Hop, although I probably know these songs more as samples in new hip-hop. But there are classics like 'It Ain't Hard to Tell' and 'The World is Yours'. Such smooth tracks, exactly what I like best in the genre.
Very strong beats, combined with good flows and rhymes. Classic for a reason. Also, the Ahmad Jamal sample
The produciton was great, the flow was nice. The message did not strike awe.
Highlights: "Life's a Bitch," "The World is Yours," "One Love," "It Ain't Hard to Tell" Carrying the torch of ATCQ's hypnotic jazz loops with one of the most influential flows ever before Biggie hit. You can absolutely hear the influence of this album after the fact; you can hear his rivals, you can hear the rhymes cribbed by Doom, the turns of phrase plucked by Kendrick, and it's kind of hard to tell who shaped whose narrative flow between him and Wu Tang -- more of a dialogue. And it makes the right choice for such a verbally dense album by keeping itself concise at a blistering 40 minutes. Not totally timeless, but holds up even after so much imitation. Hip-hop has never gone back to the stiff rhyme on the two and four after this.
Good beats, good energy, some good bars and overall an enjoyable listen. Not something I'd personally listen to often but definitely one of the best rap records I've heard so far
I really liked this album! It took me a couple songs to get into it by I was really enjoying it by "The World Is Yours." He's got a really nice flow that compliments the instrumentals a lot so it's really easy to listen to.
8.5/10 solide album. nice samples. a retourner plus souvent
Really good old school NY rap. Lacks variety, but a classic.
Solid hiphop album. Consistent quality throughout, with nice flows, beats, and samples.
I like the flow and rapping style.
A personal favorite
Pretty classic. Not an album I love, but one I appreciate.
Recently listened to this for a different list. I liked it, but nothing stood out too much for me. 3.5/5
Somewhat already heard pretty 👍
A glimpse into the streets of NY in the 90s and a portrait of a hardened rapper who has grown up in conditions that I cannot imagine. One of the primary reasons I enjoy rap is the storytelling aspect. No other genre is more-equipped to convey so much raw truth, so quickly, and so vividly as rap/hip-hop. The truly special rap can make you feel like you are a part of that life, if just for a moment, and Illmatic falls in that camp. Nas has a great flow, I can see the bridge from old school to new school, I can see the birth of a more intimate style which speaks to the struggles of life in the rougher areas, and I can see the passion flow through the words making up these stories. A genre defining album, a time capsule, a solid hip-hop album.
Enjoyed
While I’m not a huge fan of gangster rap this album has great beats and features Qtip who I’ve always liked. I’m not sure that other albums by Nas live up to this one.
I don’t think people give this album enough credit for how much it changed the rap scene, which, at the time, was in a sort of lull. Most artists started sounding the same and blending together. Nas cam on the scene with this album which was so innovative while also feeling incredibly familiar that his style took over the community so quickly in a way most people underestimate. This is such a thought provoking, beautiful, and very enjoyable album. 4/5
I really enjoyed this one! I had never heard anything by Nas, and this was probably a good introduction.
Pretty good 👍
Well crafted all in all, and there were some really great hooks in there, but overall the album didn't capture me as much as I was expecting (though I had expected exceptionally great things from it from ratings I've seen out there). Trying to discount my expectations for this album I think this is deserving of a 4, but it wasn't quite as transcendental as I was lead to believe it to be
It smells like a NY cigar
I'm gonna be real I have no idea what he's saying but solid rap record 👍
Brilliant
I am not a hip hop expert, but this feels like a classic hip hop masterpiece. Hardcore east coast at it's finest. Flawless combo of rhythm and lyrics. Nas is one of the best.
I enjoyed it. It definitely has that East Coast rap feel to it. I had not heard this album before and I was not overly familiar with the songs, but I knew a few. I did not find the beats that memorable but the rapping is good.
Didnt expect to enjoy it this much
I would definitely listen to this again. Short but full of great music.
3.5
One of the best hip hop albums.
Slaps tip to toe
Enjambments!
Illmatic is like THE 90s hip hop record. I'm glad I listened to it, it's good. I mean, it's not the best rap record I've heard or anything, and I imagine it would have hit harder if I was like there at the time. But it is good.
I recognize this is a landmark album. But I did not really even register this album. Don’t know enough about Nas or rap at the time.
The clever rhymes come so thick and fast you have to rewind
Actually found myself grooving! Did I detect a sample from Michael Jackson's "Human Nature" in "It Ain't Hard to Tell"? Nice!
The debut album from one of the best to ever do it. Nas has to be top 3 lyricists on pretty much everyone’s list. Totally forgot about how awesome that Human Nature sample was on It Ain’t Hard to Tell. 4. TBz 1. It Ain’t Hard to Tell 2. N.Y. State of Mind 3. Represent 4. One Time 4 Your Mind
I can't really add anything that hasn't been written. Firmly grounded in East coast hip hop while also raising the bar. You can't really call yourself a hip-hop head and at least appreciate Illmatic. Unless of course you are just in to ring tone rap or mumble.
When I saw the album was rap I was like “oh no” but it was actually decent to be fair. I liked the instrumentation and stuff and it wasn’t mumbly so Pog
- Incredible production quality and beats - Great classic hip hop sound - Nas has great flow - Didn't realize how many of these songs I've heard before - Favorite songs: Memory Lane, Life's a Bitch
Classic rap album
Great debut album, solid rap classic.
really fucking good
I like the beats and Nas has a great flow.
This is the sacred cow of hip hop, but I think I need to be American to get the full experience. I get what the guy's saying, but the only thing I know about New York is that they speak with funny accents and there's a billion dead rats everywhere. But despite that, the beats go hard, the rhyming schemes make my amoeba brain hurt and the album length is perfect. 4/5, I'll definitely return to this one, and I'm sure it will grow on me a lot and then I'll regret not giving this a 5.
Very cool
I once heard it said that “there are two types of people: those who like hip-hop, and those who haven’t heard Illmatic.” I was 18 when I heard that, so I bought the CD from McKay’s. And nine years later, I think they were right
I'm not huge into rap, even then it's got a few good entries
pretty good
Great beats, strong lyrics. Seems like I have to explore 90s rap.
Nas is one of the most revered rappers of all time, and yet to me I think he is still somehow a little underrated. Production, and beats are of course incredible, but the star is Nas' flow and lyrics. How killer is that slow piano riff on "NY State of Mind" and how killer is it how he dances around it with his vocals? Don't even get me started on his annunciation; every word is audible and precise and yet his innate coolness still remains. I love this line in "NY State of Mind": "I know this crackhead who said she gotta smoke nice rock And if it's good, she'll bring you customers and measuring pots But yo, you gotta slide on a vacation Inside information keeps large niggas erasin' and their wives basin' It drops deep as it does in my breath I never sleep, 'cause sleep is the cousin of death Beyond the walls of intelligence, life is defined I think of crime when I'm in a New York State of Mind" There's so much to unpack there- touching on how to navigate interactions with crack dealers and narcs inside of gangs, and then this legendary rap phrase: "I never sleep cause sleep is the cousin of death". It also just does so much to make you feel like you are a New Yorker and you are there with him experiencing all of these thoughts. The intro track to this album gives you those car horns and NY soundscapes and then blasts you with all of these lyrics that really teleport you there- to a setting that is foreign to me but one that I've attempted to vicariously experience through film and TV. That line "sleep is the cousin of death" can be heard again in rap, like 11 years later on The Game's track "Dreams": "Daydreamin' yesterday, dozin' off backstage I thought I saw Eazy talking to Jam Master Jay So I walked over, heard Jam Master say "It's a hard knock life, then you pass away" They say sleep is the cousin of death, so my eyes wide open 'Cause a dream is kin to your last breath". In reading more about this one particular line, I came across an actual quote from Nas as he was talking about The Game being influenced by this line and he said: "Game also plays on the word “so” which also sounds like “sew”. If he were to sew his eyes wide open he would be able to avoid sleep, and not die." That's really cool. I appreciate this facet of rap so much. When i start to do dives into rap lyrics and these little interconnected ideas that are so easily skimmed over- I get jealous that other genres of popular music don't often have them or when they do it's not nearly as complex or interesting enough of a web to investigate! It truly blows me away. I think that's one of the best things that Nas has brought to rap and to music. Of course it's good songs, but it's also the influence and inspiration to other artists. This is a high 4/5 for me. I'm noticing my strict standards for a clean 5/5 and while I do love this album I think it's just a bit more 4.8 or 4.9 instead of the "perfect" 5. Still an amazing record. One of the best rap albums of all time.
This record feels like trying to get rid of stubborn anal warts. Painful, but in such a way that it sexually awakens you. There's no turning back now, Bobby.
Pre-listen: considered one of the greatest rap records of all time. I listened to it many times around 10yrs ago but it’s never quite been GOAT material for me… let’s see if that’s changed. Post-listen: okay… there are more bangers on here than I remember. Nas’ flow is smooth, continuous and unpredictable, which overlays clever internal rhyme schemes that creates a collective delight to the eardrum. Insane that he was 19-20yo when recording this album. The instrumentals have that gritty East Coast sound, but they’re intertwined with soul and jazz samples throughout that make it more varied and palatable. I’m giving this a 4.49, as I want to savour the 5 rating for the God-tier albums. It just doesn’t quite reach the heady heights of my hippity hop favourites, but it’s almost there.
Beats rhymes attitude. Can’t be beaten. Too big to fail. Has a certain tone to it which I feel is pretty representative of the time and the place where it comes from. Do believe it’s a bit shallow in places but is that an unnecessary Michael Jackson sample to save the day? Sot NY State of Mind One Love Represent It Ain’t Hard to Tell 4/5
Repeat- 4
4.0
One of those albums that just feels foundational, a dense dark brick at the base of so much to come.
Good album but doesn’t sound as fresh as other old school hip hop albums. 8/10.
This album is amazing. I find myself naturally lost in the beats and lyrics.
classic
Rapzao tri massa
It sounds like a lot of the New York rap I wasn't allowed to listen to growing up. That made it seem briefly un-notable, until I realized that this is the album a lot of that pulled from. One of the first to produce and rap in this style. Shoutout NYC
required listening.
3,5 eigenlijk, ik snap dat dit in 1994 echt heeel sick was maar voor mijzelf doet het niet zo mega veel, heb ‘m eerlijk gezegd een beetje uitgezeten pls haat me niet
This is my second time listening to this album, and it's incredibly good. I'm not very well versed with a lot of hip hop, but before I listened to this album, I knew it had a reputation as one of the best hip hop albums of all time. I absolutely love the beats, and Nas raps with an incredible amount of force. His rhymes are outstanding too, and this album really shows just how great Nas is at his craft.
Classic album. Captures that old school sound verry well. Nas has a great flow
4 I don’t know if my tolerance for rap is improving or if I’m finding more rap that I enjoy. Nevertheless, I’m here for it. I really quite liked this album though I went in expecting to tbh. The beats are interesting and catchy but not too repetitive. The lyrics a poignant without becoming gratuitous. I wish I had more specific reasons but all I know is this is a recipe for an album that I would like. The back half is a little hit or miss where it becomes easy to ignore but I don’t think it’s a major detractor. Favorites: NY State of Mind, Life’s A Bitch, The World is Yours, Memory Lane (Sittin’ in da Park)
4 Great rhymes, great beats, great lyrics, great flow - I see why this is considered a crown jewel of the genre. Similar to NWA’s debut, Nas chooses to shine a light on his home city and way of life, not afraid of showcasing the ugliness for the sake of capturing the reality, but whereas NWA took a deliberately aggressive approach to reiterate the hardened Compton culture, Nas opts instead to chronicle Queens with poetically smooth delivery, making it easy to forgot how many themes of violence and crime there are underneath. Even as someone who had a pretty atypical upbringing in small town America, there’s still a lot of relatability on this record, especially on tracks like Life’s a Bitch. Life's a bitch and then you die, that's why we get high? I’ll drink to that. The World is Yours is a song I’ve known for years thanks to Tony Hawk’s Underground, but I’ve never realized it was off this album. A little bit of a contrast to the previous track, but still a good tune nonetheless - makes me want to bust out my skateboard and cruise the streets of Hollywood. Every song here is good though and has a unique sound to it, likely due to the fact there were like 5 or so producers across the album, but I still find it impressive there’s a clear direction despite that. I see why everyone hypes this up. While not the most amazing thing I’ve heard, it’s very good. Favorite songs: The World is Yours, NY State of Mind, Life’s a Bitch, Represent, It Ain’t Hard to Tell
Fora
Banger, absolute classic rap album
This has been pretty good! The album has got a really good flow to it, and I can appreciate it.
NY state of mind- well thats certainly a take on that👍 Lifes a bitch- think i’m gonna have that chorus stuck in my head👍 The world is yours- Chorus a bit overproduced for me, but otherwise v solid Halftime- this is a fun track with a lot of energy and great flow👍 Memory- again not sure i like the skipping vocals One Love- love chorus, story in verses👍 One time 4 your mind- this is fine, didn’t really stick out to me Represent- Another weaker chorus It ain’t hard to tell- I like this brag track, really flows well👍 Not really my type of music, but v accomplished for what it is 4/5
Great album. Had a lot of friends that were into Nas in college and hip hop wasn't my thing then. I'm still by no means a hip hop connoisseur, but I've warmed to it a ton. That said, I love the beats and flow of this album. Not a song I want to skip when I listen through it. I'm not much of a lyrics guy for any kind of music, so I think in hip hop especially there is a lot I miss that I wish I didn't. The only thing I really want more of that's not here in this album are heavier hooks with more melody. I like this a lot overall and I'll be coming back.
As a hip hop head, I’ve a confession to make: Illmatic doesn’t really do it for me. I get that it appears regularly on best of lists and gets five mics in The Source. Nas’ flow is nice, The beats are smooth. NY State of Mind and Represent are absolute classics (those samples - nice). But there’s not much else I return to regularly. Why is this? I don’t vibe over the other tracks - Nas can’t quite decide on the mood he’s after- a little jazz sample like ATCQ here, a little MJ sample like something more mainstream there - leading to an unevenness overall. Also surprisingly short. A 3,5 respectfully rounded up to a 4.
I've always tried to find a way in with this album, and never had before. Today it made a lot more sense. like a bridge between old and new hip hop, and with some of the tightest flow and rhythm. Still not without its problems, but very good.
Het was oké. Normaal niet zo’n fan van hip hop maar dit was wel prima
Needs another listen, excellent hip hop of the era
Pinnacle 90s rap album, extremely well NY State of mind top tier song.
I liked it. Pretty chill. Old school
This album let me be someone else for a while. I'm sure that wasn't the intent.
Goated
Clean
I wish I had more to say about this album but for some reason I really just didn’t connect with it. I think it was probably really influential in shaping the post-2000 rap sound. The lyrics are good, a mix of vulnerability and wit. The production is okay, but I won’t hold that against Nas too much. Maybe on a different day this is rated higher, but it’s a 4 if I’m true to myself
- классик блэк реп, нот бэд/нот со импрессив - просто симпатично - классная обложка - It was released on April 19, 1994, by Columbia Records.
Such a different sound from other contemporary rap...but I loved it. Was a big G-Funk sound fan growing up and now feel I missed out on this. 4/5
Cult by one of the best lyricists of all time.
In my memory, this album was a near-perfect representation of East Coast rap, a standard by which all others should be judged. On a fresh listen, it's still really, really good. It just doesn't hold up to the legend I built up in my head over the years. Smart, with incredible rhyme schemes and flow. Best track: Represent
Whenever someone's discussing the all-time greatest MCs, Nas is invariably in the mix, and it ain't hard to tell why. He's not my #1, but his wordplay is solid and his delivery is quick and nimble. There's some overlap here with West Coast gangsta rap, but much of it is superficial. It's not so much gang-related braggadocio as it is an honest representation of the stark realities of living in the rougher areas of NYC in the '90s—which happens to include drugs and violence. It's classic East Coast hip-hop, and as far as the West Coast is concerned, much closer in spirit to Tupac's more introspective work than, say, Snoop's "Doggystyle."
I enjoyed this album more than I expected
incredible, great beats, great lyracism and fantastic vocal style, as a debut album just fantastic. Fav song: NY state of mind least fav song: represent
Absolutely here for it
it's a solid early-90s, NY hiphop album. IDK if it deserves the classic of the genre status it holds but it's pretty great.
Un clásico, parece. Tiene buenas canciones, pero estoy seguro que se me escapan muchas cosas que para un gringo están más claras. En cualquier caso, los hits son hitazos que todavía escucho.
Classic
3.6/5 pretty good hiphop
It took me way too long to finally listen to this full album
Really good. Especially liked last song it aint hard to tell and lifes a bitch and also one time for your mind. NY state of mind also great Would recommend/re-listen.
Great hip hop record. Not the best one I've ever heard, I don't think anything quite lived up to "Ny State of Mind" but that's fine
Pretty much as definitive as an album can be for it's era and genre. But it's not a totally perfect album the beats while good can get old with the repetitiveness on some of the tracks. And the storytelling on the album isn't always the most engrossing and can be kind of repetitive. Other than that the albums pretty much perfect, especially in regards to Nas' rhymes which are pretty unmatched.
Pretty enjoyable, I recognized a few of the songs but never knew where they were from. Sounds like the 90’s
It's Illmatic. NY State of Mind. 'nuf said.
Listened as background music, so I didn't fully absorb/appreciate the lyrics. The beats & production are good.
Альбом понравился эффектом прокручивающейся назад плёнки (пластинки). Классно звучит в целом.
Enjoyed this. Hesitant to start it as it's not my type of music, but thought it was quite relaxing and easy to listen to
Classic album. A lot of kinds come from this album that I didn’t even realize
I had to go back and listen to this. 20 plus years on I am astonished by how assured it is for a debut and how impressive the lyrics are. More observational than first person it provides a overview of life in a manner that should really should be taught in school. The production is great as well. While not my favorite genre, this one is a keeper.
4.5/5. It's Illmatic.
Understand why Nas is known as such a legend, life's a bitch and then you die.
Real solid, great working music.
This was very 90s. I enjoyed it.
Så nära att vara en femma
A classic but not my favorite type of hip hop
Slusljiv hip hop '90
Another classic. In my collection
so far its a pretty solid record all around, theres some forgettable verses/choruses although tracks like the world is yours is absolutely amazing but i guess we already know that. a lot of this record is just me thinking “yeah this sounds great” but just nothing stands out as just mindblowing like everyone hypes it up to be. a lot of other hip hop artists from ny in the 90’s give his messages with much better flow lyics and delivery but not to knock down this record, it does deserve the hype it gets and i can see why people say its amazing, it just doesnt stand out to me personally like something like enter the wu tang, the low end theory, or midnight marauders for example did. as i said early though solid record
My standard rap disclaimer is that I'm not a rap person so I always listen with an ear from someone who doesn't listen to this genre regularly. I loved this. The beats felt fresh and the lyrics were great and Nas' flow was fantastic.
Why does every one have to be a "b***h a$$ mother-f***er?" on this record? Even with Nas' flow going, it still just seemed a LOT to call out everyone like that ALL the TIME. Still, he really had it going. I liked his word play and the groove was really nice. Short album, not skits. Pretty good.
So this might be the greatest hip hop album of all time, but it's not my favourite. I was pretty ignorant of it though, wasn't into much besides the Beasties and old school 80s rap at this time. My tastes developed but I didn't go back to this. Hearing it now, I can see why it's loved and admired, and Nas has great delivery, but it's not really my thing. Definitely decent. ... That's what I was originally writing anyway, then, song by song, this just got it's hooks in me. What a great album. Are those sleigh-bells in Half-time? Is this Nas' Xmas song about smoking weed and staying alive on the streets? Anyway, I'm bumping up to 4 stars because of that incredibly strong run of tracks through the middle. Tracks - NY State of Mind, The World is Yours, Half-time, Memory Lane, Represent.
Great!
Good hip-hop. Powerful lyrics. Maybe not my favourite type of music, but it's a good album nonetheless.
The Genesis: I suppose this is more of an intro to the album, as it's relatively short. I like the music in the background a lot and I would've preferred it had there been no talking over it but I can see the creative intention behind it. (⭐⭐) N.Y. State of Mind: Some of the lyrics really caught my attention. Clever commentary of the life the singer lived in New York. The chorus helps break up the song and make it more digestible, regardless of it just repeating, "New York state of mind." The lyricism is great and I believe that is the strong point of this song. The music is good but I wish it had more rather than just repeating the same melody. (⭐⭐⭐) Life's a Bitch (feat. AZ & Olu Dara): I like the music, it has more to it. The message is clear and the rhyming is great. Overall, not much to say but a good track nonetheless. Wish the chorus wasn't as repetitive, even though only sang twice, it was very jarring and borderline boring. (⭐⭐⭐) The World Is Yours: A lot of the music in this album sounds extremely similar which makes it boring. That could be argued as a choice made to create a cohesive album, but it can also be argued that the same can be done even with different music. Could be much better with different production. The chorus is an upgrade from the chorus in the previous song. Although still repetitive, it has a different melody, which contrasts it from the rest of the song, paired with the interruptions of record scratches and Nas speaking, it makes it a more enjoyable experience. (⭐⭐⭐) Halftime: Off the bat, the music in this one is much more different from the rest which helps make it a standout, even very early in the album. (⭐⭐⭐⭐) Memory Lane (Sittin' in da Park): The rhyming in this one is great and the music is interesting, the background vocals helping add to the feeling. (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) One Love (feat. Q-Tip): Not much to say but the song was enjoyable. (⭐⭐⭐⭐) One Time 4 Your Mind: I like the break in the song for the short moment of talking. The music is great and, overall, this song is fantastic. (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) Represent: Super catchy and probably the best off this album. The music has a good amount of variation and the chorus is different enough from the rest of the song to offer a good change in pace. (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) It Ain't Hard to Tell: Off the bat, a good ending to the album. Has reative music and the lyrics are strong. My only complaint is that it feels a lot shorter than it actually is. (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This album is extremely backloaded, a majority of its most creative and lyrically sound songs are found at the end. The album is cohesive, keeping similar themes throughout the songs to help tie them together. A classic early 90s album for fans of hip hop. The album cover is creative and helps convey the mood of the album off the bat, the cityscape in the background shows New York City, a prominent theme in the album. 3.9/5
Amazing old school real hip hop 4/5
Great East Coast vibes, with Nas's flow and bars top notch. It isn't to my taste as much as some other hip hop may be, but the quality here is undeniable.
Lyrically cannot be beat. Still, I’ve had other Nas songs and lyrics stick with me more. It’s still iconic.
Some lovely production here. Not listened to this album through before beyond the singles so it was a good day.
Highlights: Halftime, One Time 4 your Mind. Just a great sounding album. Even if you think you don't like the genre, give it a shot.
Liked this very much. Well done Mr Nas
A brilliant hip hop album, nearly 5/5. The beats a little repetitive though. 9/10
Hip hop sweet spot and you don't stop
One of the best hip hop records ever Fav tracks: - N.Y. State of Mind - Life's a Bitch - The World Is Yours - Memory Lane Least fav: - One Time 4 Your Mind
Great flow, massively influential
it has the definitive nas song interesting that it goes for quality over quantity
Yeah I’m gonna have to listen to this more
The rap music