What’s happening everybody?! We’re in for another real good day in Hip Hop history. And it’s centered around another one of my all time favorites. On this day in 1994 Nas blessed all of our ears with Illmatic. Illmatic was Nas’ debut album and is widely regarded as one of the best of all time. Known for his lyrical skills, Nas painted pictures of life in the projects and told stories will incredible detail while delivering dope flows over complex rhyme patterns. Illmatic is certified platinum and served as the launching point for Nas’ huge career. You can’t talk about east coast rap without mention Nasty Nas.
Besides Nas’ dope lyrics, the album will go down in history for another reason. It was one of the first commercially successful album that featured many different producers. Traditionally, an MC a a producer, or DJ, would come as a package deal. Jam Master Jay did all of Run DMC’s beats. Rakim only spit over Eric B.’s stuff. Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth did all of their stuff together. I could go on for days, but you get the point. Illmatic broke the mold and featured songs from multiple different producers including Q-Tip, DJ Premier, Larger Professor, and Pete Rock. The success of the album made it common place for rappers to get their beats from all over.
On a personal note, this is probably my number one album of all time (I go back and forth between this, Reasonable Doubt, and People’s Instinctive Travels and The Paths of Rhythm depending on my mood). Illmatic is one of the few albums that I actually own a hard copy of. I’ll never forget the day I bought it. A friend and I cut school to buy Watch The Throne the day it came out and I stumbled across Illmatic and couldn’t help myself. We headed straight home and bumped both albums back to back. I fell in love instantly and the CD hasn’t left the player in my car ever since. I could listen to Illmatic over and over again on a loop and never get sick of it. So if you haven’t listened to it yet, don’t talk to me until you do. It’s a must listen for anyone who calls themselves a hip hop fan. Now, I’m gonna go celebrate its 24th birthday by listening to it a couple times, I suggest you do the same.