The Infinite Legacy of Illmatic: 25 Years Later

On April 19^th, 1994, history was made in the landscape of hip-hop and music in general. It was the day that Nas released his debut album, Illmatic, to the world, a 10-track, 40-minute album laced with street stories that influenced generations, and an album that many consider the best hip-hop album ever made. 25 years later, rap has definitely changed, and some may wonder, “does it still hold up as a crowning achievement in rap?” to which I would say yes, without a doubt it deserves its status as the bible of modern hip-hop.

It’s hard to fathom that Nas was only a teenager when he put out the album’s first single “Halftime,” and barely old enough to drink when the album was released but the childhood perspective is part of what makes it special. Not only does Nas portray what street life is like as a teenager growing up in the Queensbridge projects of New York, there’s an innocence and reflection embedded in it, that is reminiscent of the writings of Richard Wright and the poetry of Langston Hughes. Adding to this motif of lost innocence is the iconic album art, which is a photo of Nas as a child superimposed onto the streets of Queens, where he grew up, alluding to the perspective and street themes on the album. This cover would be recreated numerous times in the years to come, on albums like Notorious B.I.G’s, Ready to Die, all the way to the last three Carter albums (3–5) from Lil Wayne.

The album is completely told from Nas’ perspective, save for a feature on the album from fellow New York rap artist AZ, who steals the show on “Life’s a Bitch” (prod. by LES), a nihilistic depiction of the reckless abandon and lifestyle of hustlers that are trying to cope with the fickle and dangerous environment they are in. Not only are his opening bars some of the best to start a song ever, (“visualizing the realism of life in actuality, f*** who’s the baddest, a person’s status depends on salary”) but his verse is also considered by many as one of the best features of all time and it helped kickstart AZ’s career.

The song samples the Gap Band’s “Yearning for Your Love,” and Nas’ own father, Olu Dara (a horn player), provides the blues instrumentation in the closing part of the song, making it a full circle musical journey of father and son that Nas would later repeat on the song, “Bridging the Gap,” years later. The song is simultaneously solemn and hopeful as AZ bellows on the chorus, “Life’s a bitch and then you die, that’s why we get high, ‘cuz you never know when you’re gonna go”, but at another point in the song raps, “I’m destined to live my dreams for all my peeps who never made it” and it’s this dichotomy that Q-Tip says, showed that “there was a glimmer of hope in that darkness.”  These themes of light and dark are present throughout the whole album.

Another thing that was unique about the production of the album was the buffet of top-level producers that embody the track list. Industry legends like DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, Large Professor and LES coming together was equivalent to first Avengers movie, where your favorite superheroes appeared on screen together for the first time. In regard to music, this “dream team” concept is now commonplace, but at the time the popular route was to get a single producer to procure the whole thing. Producers like Dr. Dre, RZA or Prince Paul that would shape the sound and direction of the album, but this was considered the first time an all-star lineup of five was brought in to lend their talents to one project.

Nas’ young age didn’t stop him from making a buzz in the hip hop industry, even with no album out at the time. His spotlight verse on Main Source’s, “Live at the BBQ” (1991), and a year later with MC Serch’s, “Back to the Grill” (1992), let the industry know that Nas was a lyrical force to be reckoned with, even as just a feature on someone else’s song. 1992, is also when he dropped his first single, “Halftime,” a jazzy boom bap track produced by Large Professor and a perfect first single. It’s easy to tell this song was early in his career because he was still going by the artist name Nasty Nas and is credited as such on the song. This was the “big break he needed” and led to his signing at Columbia Records at the behest of MC Serch and A&R Faith Newman. A year later he dropped his next single and music video for the song “It Ain’t Hard to Tell,” another Large Professor production that is a triumphant close to the album and solidified that the buzz was at an all-time high for his album to drop.

The album went on to drop in April of 1994 and, despite it being the victim of rampant bootlegging, it went gold and was critically well-received from his peers and from critics alike. Rap magazine The Source gave it the coveted five mics (perfect score) that was only reserved for “classic” albums and only a select few albums retain that title to this day. Artist Busta Rhymes said it, “lyrically shifted the climate” and even non hip-hop artists like Alicia Keys said, “It will never not be one of the best albums of all time.” Illmatic received a reissue for the 20^th anniversary in 2014 with 10 bonus tracks, and a live album at the Kennedy Center in 2018 with the National Symphony Orchestra, so it is safe to say the album has withstood the test of time but for the purposes of this column I will be talking about the original, which is still the best version for my money.

The opening skit “The Genesis” features the breakthrough bars he had on “Live at the BBQ” and a sample of Wild Style, considered the first hip hop movie and as the title suggests is the first introduction of Nas to the world. Then the booming piano sample of “N.Y. State of Mind” (prod. by DJ Premier) sets in with the braggadocious and complex bars, “rappers; I monkey flip ‘em with the funky rhythm I be kickin’/Musician, inflictin’, composition/of pain.” His internal rhyme schemes and confidence recalled other New York legends like Rakim and Kool G Rap, an unheard-of concept considering this was his first album.

Other standout tracks include, “The World is Yours” (prod. by Pete Rock), Nas’ ode to Scarface’s Tony Montana and his glamorized mantra of the American dream in the film, “Memory Lane (Sittin’ In Da Park)” (prod. by DJ Premier), shows a nostalgic Nas reminiscing about his childhood when times were simpler, “Represent” (prod. by DJ Premier), is a bombastic Queens anthem shouting out his home neighborhood, and “One Love” (prod. by Q-Tip), is a letter to his friends in prison letting them know they are not forgotten on the outside.

Twenty-five years later and Nas’ gifted storytelling has not aged a day. The sorrow behind the loss of his friend Ill Will (shot and killed in front of his home) is felt, the pain he feels about his friends in prison that can’t enjoy his success with him is told earnestly, and the crack epidemic, which flooded his neighborhood in the 80s, is told from someone who has been through and seen his community torn apart from an early age. All of this trauma has led to what we would now call PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), which causes anxiety and fear. The dark feelings are apparent with confessions like, “I never sleep ‘cuz sleep is the cousin of death”, from “N.Y. State of Mind”. Nas soaked in all of this pain and “just stood back watching,” and it is this observant nature which is a known trait of great writers. He goes into greater detail in a comprehensive documentary about the album and his life entitled Nas: Time is Illmatic, which is currently streaming for free (with ads) on Vudu.

Every April on the anniversary of the album the weather is almost always sunny and warm, even for Wisconsin, and I pop the CD into my car with the sunroof and windows down and let it play on repeat throughout my day (keep in mind it’s only 40 minutes), and the short length means there is no song that I skip and the replay value is endless. Add that to the fact it is a perfect spring album and has many conflicting themes I can relate to and empathize with. The production is at times raw and at other times lavish, the lyricism is complex but memorable and the feeling is filled with pain, but also nostalgic. Certain albums bring you to a place and time and Illmatic is a time capsule into Queensbridge circa 1994, but the feeling it leaves with me is still here 25 years later and will still remain 25 years from now.