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[MrOogieBoogie]

One of the few perfect hip hop albums. Just a nonstop barrage of dope beats and buttery smooth rhymes from beginning to end. Every track is absolutely killer, and there are no lame skits or filler to disrupt the experience.

Nothing like traveling the streets of NYC with this album blasting in your ears. Shit is mesmerizing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCnqDvvZrcM

Just listen to that. That beat right in the beginning just grabs you by the balls and doesn't let go. AZ comes out of nowhere with one of the greatest guest verses of all time, and Nas follows with one of his smoothest verses on the entire album. And let's not forget that awesome trumpet (played by Nas's father).

SO GOOD

I'd be curious to hear impressions from people who heard the album when it first released. Like, what went through your mind at the time?

 

[~Devil Trigger~]

The World is Yours is probably my favorite rap song of all time

NY State of Mind is awesome forever.


but Sometimes i think "It Was Written" was a better Album....

 

[Good Job Bob]

AZ has the best verse.

 

[entremet]

Didn't really enjoy it that much.

I did like the last track a lot, but that more because of the Human Nature sample than anything else.

*shrugs

 

[K.Sabot]

The World is Yours is the greatest rap song of all time.

The fuckin' soundtrack to my high school years.

 

[Paches]

Nasty Nas in your area, about to cause mass hysteria

One of the nastiest albums made. So many critical tracks.

 

[eternaLightness]

I was around 5 I think when this album released but didn't hear it until I was around age 10 or 11. Nas pretty much became my favorite rapper after I heard it. This and Stillmatic are one of those albums I can just listen to from beginning to end.

 

[tapedeck]

Yep, amazing album. In my top 5 Hip Hop albums for sure.

 

[la flama blanca]

Fuck Jay-Z

 

[-Stranger-]

When i first listened to it back in 2005 or so, i feel in love with it.
Simply a classic album and it helped me discover other amazing hip hop albums.

 

[enzo_gt]

NY State of Mind has some irreplicable kind of grimeyness to it. That beat and the flow on top of it is just disgusting.

As someone who listened to it for the first time only a few years ago, it definitely stands the test of time.

 

[MrOogieBoogie]

Nasty Nas in your area, about to cause mass hysteria

One of the nastiest albums made. So many critical tracks.

My favorite lines from the album:

Right, right, what up n****z, how ya'll, it's Nasty the Villain
I'm still writin' rhymes, but besides that I'm chillin'

Delivery is so spot-on and chill I can't help but smile every time he raps it.

 

[Grinchy]

NY State of Mind is awesome forever.

Yeah this one has always stuck out to me. One of my favorites from the album.

Every track is absolutely killer, and there are no lame skits or filler to disrupt the experience.

Seriously why does everyone ruin their albums with that shit? Tech n9ne might be more widely known if half his albums weren't skits.

 

[Perfect Blue]

Definitely in the top 5 for me. I've heard some people say they like It Was Written better but eh.

 

[Bboy AJ]

10/10

I could listen to it daily and still be good. I basically did that throughout high school, anyway.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Perfect album

I drink Moet with Medusa, give her shotguns in hell
From the spliff that I lift and inhale, it ain't hard to tell


To “shotgun” is to inhale from a pipe or other smoking device, followed shortly by an exhalation into someone else’s mouth. This term was developed by troops in Vietnam, who actually would put a marijuana cigarette into the open chamber of an unloaded shotgun and blow it into each others' faces (an example of this can be seen in the movie Platoon)

In Greek myth, Medusa had hair made of snakes, and her gaze would turn men to stone. But Nas is so bad, he can look Medusa straight in her eyes, and instead of him turning to stone, he gets her “stoned” by blowing weed smoke into her mouth, shotgun-style!

 

[Dude Abides]

Whose world is dis?

 

[dafinezt]

When I was younger I wouldn't listen to anything except backpack rap. Then I heard Illmatic and was like god damn and started listening to a bunch of better known acts. Really opened my eyes.

One Time 4 Your Mind > all

 

[Zekes!]

Illmatic is probably a top 3 album for me, regardless of genre.

 

[Guevara]

Still the best rap album of all time. It's thematically cohesive but not repetitive. It's hasn't got a wasted minute. It uses a few clever audio samples to set the mood, but doesn't indulge in skits. No famous guest appearances, and Nas as his best as a lyricist (ok AZ is sort of famous and Q-Tip lent a hand too).

I recommend the weird collection of Nas' demos and other early stuff too.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=402017

 

[YoungHav]

Nas is the GOAT. I was bumpin' this album heavy this past month.

 

[Lionheart1337]

nas is the goat

illmatic is great and all but I feel like people ignore a lot of his other stuff because of it.

 

[MrOogieBoogie]

Anyone who says rapping isn't an art needs to stop for a fucking second and actually read lyrics like these:

I sip the Dom P, watchin Gandhi til I'm charged
Then writin in my book of rhymes, all the words pass the margin
To hold the mic I'm throbbin, mechanical movement
Understandable smooth shit that murderers move wit
The thief's theme, play me at night, they won't act right
The fiend of hip-hop has got me stuck like a crack pipe
The mind activation, react like I'm facin time like
'Pappy' Mason with pens I'm embracin
Wipe the sweat off my dome, spit the phlegm on the streets
Suede Timb's on my feets, makes my cypher, complete
Whether crusin in a six-cab, or Montero Jeep
I can't call it, the beats make me fallin asleep
I keep fallin, but never fallin six feet deep
I'm out for presidents to represent me (Say what?)
I'm out for presidents to represent me (Say what?)
I'm out for dead presidents to represent me

I mean, fuck. Absolute poetry.

 

[Pinko Marx]

(ok AZ is sort of famous and Q-Type lent a hand too).]

Lol.
Its Q-Tip, bro.

 

[Stat Flow]

It is my 3rd favorite album of all time.

When I saw all of Illmatic performed live from beginning to end with AZ and Premo there last September. Holy fuck. One of the best experiences ever.

 

[Pinko Marx]

It is my 3rd favorite Hip Hop album of all time.

When I saw all of Illmatic performed live from beginning to end with AZ and Premo there last September. Holy fuck. One of the best experiences ever.

Damn son. When and where did you get to do that? I would have stabbed 10 babies for that chance.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

Nas is definitely best rapper of all time and he is still doing it. Hasn't lost an inch of skill, just needs better production on his solo shit.

 

[smoothj]

Illmatic is the GOAT I thought it was agreed by most hip hop heads.

Halftime and Represent are my favorites off that.

Putting this album back on rotation in the whip, thanks GAF.

 

[nns3d]

I was listening to this album the other day, it's definitely among the best rap albums.

 

[abuC]

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

 

[Pinko Marx]

Nas is definitely best rapper of all time and he is still doing it. Hasn't lost an inch of skill

IDK if I can agree with that one.

 

[aznpxdd]

My GOAT hip hop album for sure, every track has such sick beats, lyrics and delivery. Unbelievable Nas released this album at the age of 18 (or was it 20?).

 

[Paches]

Old Nas stuff and shit like Quiet Storm and Survival of the Fittest by Mobb Deep was the golden era.

 

[MrOogieBoogie]

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

This is pretty much what I look like every time I'm listening to the album on the subway. I probably look like such a doofus, but fuck it, I can't help it.

 

[Lionheart1337]

My GOAT hip hop album for sure, every track has such sick beats, lyrics and delivery. Unbelievable Nas released this album at the age of 18 (or was it 20?).

A lot of it was written in his teens I think. He was 21 when it was released.

 

[tapedeck]

Old Nas stuff and shit like Quiet Storm and Survival of the Fittest by Mobb Deep was the golden era.

Fuck yes, Survival of the Fittest is also incredible, I put right there with Illmatic.

 

[CoffeeJanitor]

You know I really used to love the album until I stepped back and listened to the lyrics. That shit is fucked up. The music I am fine with, but the lyrics really represent a ton of things I am very against. I'm sure he's just trying to get the feeling of living in the ghetto or w/e through, but when the n-word gets thrown around like nothing and images of people getting shot like crazy are being thrown around, I can't help but look down on the album a little bit.

At the same time NY State of Mind is my favorite song easily, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

 

[crimzonflame]

Halftime
It Aint Hard To Tell

 

[Ex:2]

My favorite album. I wore the tapes out, my box used to eat em. Plus the world is yours Q-Tip remix is great. Timeless music.

 

[TheKaeptain]

It would be real cool if we had a Hip-Hop thread for stuff like this.

 

[Stat Flow]

Damn son. When and where did you get to do that? I would have stabbed 10 babies for that chance.

Rock The Bells 2011 in NY. He was the last show of the night. I had to sit through Lauryn Hill with my cousin (which wasn't terrible, but wasn't great either) instead of seeing Mobb Deep to secure a front spot for Nas. When he came out it was unbelievable. Right before it there was a battle of the DJ's between Pete Rock and Premo. Those last 2 hours of the festival were almost ethereal.

It would be real cool if we had a Hip-Hop thread for stuff like this.

Illmatic deserves its own thread, tbqh.

 

[crimzonflame]

It would be real cool if we had a Hip-Hop thread for stuff like this.

Album transcends Hip-Hop and it needs its own thread.

 

[InertiaXr]

Just finished listening to it for today about 30 minutes ago, simply tremendous. Blows my mind he wrote most of it as a 15-16-17 year old kid, then release as guy above said, like 21? Still think it's his best album.

 

[JackEtc]

I personally don't praise it as much as most people do. Probably because I just started getting into hip-hop a few years back.

Still a great album, though.

 

[SystemShock2]

life's a bitch and then you die, that's why we get high, cuz ya never know when you're gonna goooo

 

[smoothj]

It really doesn't get any more hip hop than Illmatic.

 

[KidA Seven]

It Aint Hard To Tell

GOAT hip hop song on the GOAT hip hop album.

 

[Arment]

Lifes a bitch and then you die, that's why we get high, cus you never know when you're gonna gooo.

Good stuff.

 

[Revolutionary]

One of the best hip-hop albums of all time. But yes, AZ did steal the spotlight on Life's a Bitch.

 

[Hootie]

Album of the Year All Years

Perfection.