Album Review: Illmatic

It is time for another album review. I must admit that I am a bit nervous about this album review, because of its significance as it relates to the genre we call rap/hip-hop. I want to begin this week by reviewing Nas’s ‘Illmatic’! I had to consider many emotions and thoughts while writing this review, because this album is considered by many as the benchmark by which many albums released after it are judged. The emotions are a factor, because as corny as it may sound, this time period marked the time where I fell in love with hip/hip. To be exact Common’s ‘I Used to Love H.e.r (both albums were released in ’94) is when I actually fell in love with hip-hop, but that’s another story for another time! I was a huge fan of the genre, but I can remember when I first heard the album I didn’t know what to think, because Nas (in those days he was known as Nasty Nas) incorporated everything that I liked about hip-hop. He had a flow that was laid back. His lyrics left nothing to the imagination. And for the time period his production wasn’t lacking. That’s how I felt then, so fast forward eighteen years later. Now this is the vantage point I will use to review this album.

Many years have passed since the release of ‘Illmatic’, and you could still make the argument that it is one of, if not the most lyrically sound hip-hop albums of all time. I would co-sign either argument. While writing to this review I have listened to the album twice, and I’m considering a third time. On this album, Nas has a flow that is laid back, yet gritty at the same time. Even on songs were you would think he should be yelling, I get the feeling he is lounging sipping coughee (reference 420 ya dig!). Me personally, I can listen to song #3 “Life’s a Bitch” ft. Az quite literally all day, and believe me I have! First Az gives you the analytic side of why times are hard, and the affect they have had. But the reason this is my favorite song on the album is all due to Nas! He begins with a timeless flow that is nothing less than spectacular!  His rhyme on this song is complemented by the sample from the Gap Band’s “Yearning for Your Love” perfectly! I’m not sure Kanye or 9^th Wonder could have done a better sample. The very next song “The World is Yours” uses what I believe the montra that Tony Montana lived and died by. There is even a scene in the video where Nas is sitting in a similar tub as Tony Montana while smoking a stogy. The picture that he paints on this track is one of an ex d-boi looking back on the street life, translating that into a rap. There isn’t a lack of classic material to be found on the album, and I’m sure I could do this review on every song on here and it would all be positive. I won’t spoil you though, because I want you to listen for yourself. What I will do is tell you what songs that you can’t ignore. My second favorite song on the album is “One Love”. The concept is quite simple; Nas is debriefing one of his homeboys that’s locked up on all the dirt that has happened on the streets since he has been locked down. If you listen to the third verse you will notice that a scene from the movie “Belly” is taken from the song almost word for word! (holla at me if you figure it out) To round out the album Nas leaves you with “It Ain’t Hard to Tell”. And actually the premiere of the video for this song was the first time I heard of this rapper called Nasty Nas. “It Ain’t Hard to Tell” is Nas’s thesis on why he is such a great emcee. Ironically enough by the time you get to that song, you don’t really need any proof that he is an elite emcee, but it is the

If you reference my previous post ‘Myth of the Top 5’ I mentioned that some rappers excel in a particular area. Well after this review I’m left conflicted. The reason is that many consider Nas to be a lyricist, and he is. The problem with that observation is that he uses his lyrics to paint poignant pictures that tell stories that are vivid!  This leads me to believe that Nas is often typecast as a lyricist when in actuality he is a storyteller as well, and not just your run of the mill storyteller, but someone in your top 5 storytellers has to move down, and possible out of the top 5. I in good conscience couldn’t place him lower than 3 on the storyteller list, and once you listen to ‘Illmatic’ you will see why. It ain’t hard to tell!

The Myth of the 'Top 5'

This particular post has been a long time in the making. I want to discuss the myth of the ‘top 5’ emcees/rappers of all time. The way I see it, and think you will agree is that rap has many sub-categories. Under each sub-categories there are artist who epitomize that particular category. So in actuality it would be more efficient to break rap down into sub-categories. I say all of this, because I have become extremely frustrated when my peers try to compare for example Scarface and Jay-Z. This is impractical since Scarface excels in the area of painting a picture of the ills that plague the ghetto thru story. Jay-Z on the other hand excels at bragging about what he has achieved through clever word play and innuendo. This example should illustrate that the two artists don’t belong in the same list, but at the same time both could be at the top of a particular list. I hear people all the time say that my ‘top 5’ consists of so and so. But when I listen to their argument it makes no sense. You can’t compare a car to an airplane. Now if you’re thinking “Keith, how should I break it down?” I would say that the categories would be as follows: lyricist, storyteller, game-changer, gangster, entertaining. My list serves as a loose guide, and I will go as far as to give examples for each category just to make my point! Under lyricist I would go with Big Daddy Kane/Rakim/Krs-1/Nas, for storyteller I would go Slick Rick/Scarface/Biggie, for game changer I would go Andre 3000/Method Man, for gangster I would go Ice Cube/Bun B, and for entertaining I would go Doug E. Fresh/Biz Markie/Devin tha Dude. This example also should demonstrate something else that I want to prove, and that is if you make an all time list and you don’t have one of the pioneers of that category then you list is invalid. I say that with conviction, because I hear people make these comparisons without acknowledging the people who may have discovered that particular style. The second tier to this post is the concept of the hottest emcee in the game. I have a problem with a particular network presenting the ‘hottest’ emcees in the game, because ‘hot’ doesn’t necessarily equate to quality! I feel that this list is driven by listeners who have no real appreciation for the genre known as ‘rap’. I often see the idea of the ‘hottest’ to be driven by who has the most drama, or who has claim to have sold the most drugs, or who has the biggest crew, or even who has the most jewelry. Hey douche bags you’re making us all look bad, so kick rocks! This is the part of the show where I drop the microphone and walk of the stage! Peace!