Tim lawsonReflections on Illmatic
March 31st 2010 15:16
Putting on your headphones and pressing play on the 1994 debut album of American hip hop artist Nas is like stepping into a moving portrait of the New York Queensbridge housing projects in the mid 90’s. Illmatic is a mix of vivid imagery conjured through street narratives and an exploration of the artist’s own mentalities and mind-states.
From an early age Nas devoted his time and energy to rapping, his first arrival on the New York hip hop scene was with a verse on the track ‘Live at the Barbecue’ with the hip hop group Main Source, the track was part of the groups highly successful 1991 album Breaking Atoms and bought attention to the aspiring artist. In 1992 Nas released the single ‘Halftime’ which was featured on the soundtrack to the film Zebrahead, gaining him even more exposure. Illmatic was Nas’ debut album, the culmination of years of hard work perfecting his vocal and lyrical signature. The album showcased the talents of Large Professor, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Q-Tip and L.E.S, an unprecedented collaboration from some of the city’s finest producers.
Illmatic has been hailed as one of the best hip hop albums of all time and it is undoubtedly one of the most influential and prolific albums of the 90’s. It was listed as one of thirty-three hip hop/R&B albums in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90s" and ranked 400 in the 2003 Rolling Stone publication of the 500 greatest albums of all time, a list which only included seven other hip hop/rap albums.
Just what is it that makes Illmatic such an influential and defining hip hop album? This is actually a difficult question to answer. Many people I have talked to about the album cite it as one of the best albums ever produced or say that it is one of their favourite albums, yet seem at a loss to adequately explain exactly what it is about the album that makes it so respected. In this article I will attempt to piece together some of the elements that make Illmatic such a compelling listen.
The production on the album is flawless. A defining element of the album’s production is that it is a collaboration from many highly respected producers, a very unusual occurrence as most albums at the time featured the work of only one producer. Although multiple producers worked on Illmatic, they were still able to achieve a unified sound and feel to the album, whilst strengthening it with their own unique production methods and styles.
The content of Illmatic is perhaps one of its strongest features; the album is an exploration of life in the Queensbridge housing projects as Nas experienced it. Perhaps the best track to describe to bring about an overall flavour of the album would be the intro track; ‘The Genesis’ is an audio montage that begins with the sound of an elevated train and a recording of Nas’ debut verse on the track ‘Live at the Barbecue’, this is played underneath excerpts from the equally classic hip hop film Wild Style, in which two characters Hector and Zoro converse; this sample has Hector saying ‘And your sitting at home doing this shit? I should be earning a medal for this. Stop fucking around and be a man, there ain’t nothing out here for you.’ to which Zoro replies ‘Yes there is, this!’
This sample may allude to Nas’ mentality that even though he is from a very poor neighbourhood, where there is a lot of depression and little prospects for the residents, there is something out there for him, hip hop! Following this sample, Grand Wizard Theodore’s ‘Subway theme’ kicks in with Nas, his brother Jungle and fellow rapper AZ talking about the ‘bullshit on the radio’, counting money and smoking cannabis in order to set the stage for the album. Music writer Mickey Hess has stated that ‘Nas tells us everything he wants us to known about him. The train is shorthand for New York; the barely discernable rap is, in fact, his "Live at the Barbeque" verse; and the dialogue comes from Wild Style, one of the earliest movies to focus on hip hop culture. Each of these is a point of genesis. New York for Nas as a person, "Live at the Barbeque" for Nas the rapper, and Wild Style, symbolically at least, for hip hop itself. These are my roots, Nas was saying, and he proceeded to demonstrate exactly what those roots had yielded.’
The content of the album may cover topics that are quite common throughout hip hop such as gang violence, drug use and the general malaise of poverty stricken urban communities but Illmatic has a unique approach that blends intricate lyricism and complex metaphors to create a much deeper presentation of these themes. This verse from the track ‘New York State of Mind’ presents some very vivid images in just a few lines. The ‘black rats trapped’ is a very powerful metaphor that describes the overcrowding, violence and desperation of ghetto communities.
“In the P.J.'s, my blend tape plays, bullets are strays
Young bitches is grazed each block is like a maze
full of black rats trapped, plus the Island is packed
From what I hear in all the stories when my peoples come back”
Another of the reasons for Illmatic’s success and perhaps its admiration among hip hop fans is the high standard of lyrical proficiency displayed. As Marc Lamont Hill, a writer for the international webzine Popmatters, writes "Nas' complex rhyme patterns, clever word play, and impressive vocab took the art to previously unprecedented heights. Building on the pioneering work of Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, and Rakim, tracks like 'Halftime' and the laid back 'One Time 4 Your Mind' demonstrated a high level of technical precision and rhetorical dexterity". This verse from the song ‘It ain’t hard to tell’ is a perfect example of this.
“It ain't hard to tell, I excel, then prevail
The mic is contacted, I attract clientele
My mic check is life or death, breathin a sniper's breath
I exhale the yellow smoke of buddha through righteous steps
Deep like The Shinin', sparkle like a diamond
Sneak a uzi on the island in my army jacket linin
Hit the Earth like a comet, invasion
Nas is like the Afrocentric Asian, half-man, half-amazin
Cause in my physical, I can express throuh song
Delete stress like Motrin, then extend strong
I drank Moet with Medusa, give her shotguns in hell
From the spliff that I lift and inhale, it ain't hard to tell”
The line ‘I drank Moet with Medusa, give her shotguns in hell. From the spliff that I lift and inhale,’ May seem confusing and abstract but it has a deeper meaning if looked at carefully. In this line Nas is saying that he’s hanging out with Medusa and instead of being turned to stone by her (one is supposed to turn to stone at the sight of her) that he’s the one that is getting her stoned by giving her shotguns (the term for inhaling cannabis and then exhaling in another person’s mouth) from his spliff. Basically, she will be stoned instead of him. This is a great example of the intricacy of Nas’ lyrics.
A must listen for all fans of hip hop, an album that would interest most writers, poets and lyricists and an amazing contribution to music, Illmatic is one of the greatest musical achievements of the 90’s. As Nas himself states verbally he is iller than an aids patient.
From an early age Nas devoted his time and energy to rapping, his first arrival on the New York hip hop scene was with a verse on the track ‘Live at the Barbecue’ with the hip hop group Main Source, the track was part of the groups highly successful 1991 album Breaking Atoms and bought attention to the aspiring artist. In 1992 Nas released the single ‘Halftime’ which was featured on the soundtrack to the film Zebrahead, gaining him even more exposure. Illmatic was Nas’ debut album, the culmination of years of hard work perfecting his vocal and lyrical signature. The album showcased the talents of Large Professor, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Q-Tip and L.E.S, an unprecedented collaboration from some of the city’s finest producers.
Illmatic has been hailed as one of the best hip hop albums of all time and it is undoubtedly one of the most influential and prolific albums of the 90’s. It was listed as one of thirty-three hip hop/R&B albums in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90s" and ranked 400 in the 2003 Rolling Stone publication of the 500 greatest albums of all time, a list which only included seven other hip hop/rap albums.
Just what is it that makes Illmatic such an influential and defining hip hop album? This is actually a difficult question to answer. Many people I have talked to about the album cite it as one of the best albums ever produced or say that it is one of their favourite albums, yet seem at a loss to adequately explain exactly what it is about the album that makes it so respected. In this article I will attempt to piece together some of the elements that make Illmatic such a compelling listen.
The production on the album is flawless. A defining element of the album’s production is that it is a collaboration from many highly respected producers, a very unusual occurrence as most albums at the time featured the work of only one producer. Although multiple producers worked on Illmatic, they were still able to achieve a unified sound and feel to the album, whilst strengthening it with their own unique production methods and styles.
The content of Illmatic is perhaps one of its strongest features; the album is an exploration of life in the Queensbridge housing projects as Nas experienced it. Perhaps the best track to describe to bring about an overall flavour of the album would be the intro track; ‘The Genesis’ is an audio montage that begins with the sound of an elevated train and a recording of Nas’ debut verse on the track ‘Live at the Barbecue’, this is played underneath excerpts from the equally classic hip hop film Wild Style, in which two characters Hector and Zoro converse; this sample has Hector saying ‘And your sitting at home doing this shit? I should be earning a medal for this. Stop fucking around and be a man, there ain’t nothing out here for you.’ to which Zoro replies ‘Yes there is, this!’
This sample may allude to Nas’ mentality that even though he is from a very poor neighbourhood, where there is a lot of depression and little prospects for the residents, there is something out there for him, hip hop! Following this sample, Grand Wizard Theodore’s ‘Subway theme’ kicks in with Nas, his brother Jungle and fellow rapper AZ talking about the ‘bullshit on the radio’, counting money and smoking cannabis in order to set the stage for the album. Music writer Mickey Hess has stated that ‘Nas tells us everything he wants us to known about him. The train is shorthand for New York; the barely discernable rap is, in fact, his "Live at the Barbeque" verse; and the dialogue comes from Wild Style, one of the earliest movies to focus on hip hop culture. Each of these is a point of genesis. New York for Nas as a person, "Live at the Barbeque" for Nas the rapper, and Wild Style, symbolically at least, for hip hop itself. These are my roots, Nas was saying, and he proceeded to demonstrate exactly what those roots had yielded.’
The content of the album may cover topics that are quite common throughout hip hop such as gang violence, drug use and the general malaise of poverty stricken urban communities but Illmatic has a unique approach that blends intricate lyricism and complex metaphors to create a much deeper presentation of these themes. This verse from the track ‘New York State of Mind’ presents some very vivid images in just a few lines. The ‘black rats trapped’ is a very powerful metaphor that describes the overcrowding, violence and desperation of ghetto communities.
“In the P.J.'s, my blend tape plays, bullets are strays
Young bitches is grazed each block is like a maze
full of black rats trapped, plus the Island is packed
From what I hear in all the stories when my peoples come back”
Another of the reasons for Illmatic’s success and perhaps its admiration among hip hop fans is the high standard of lyrical proficiency displayed. As Marc Lamont Hill, a writer for the international webzine Popmatters, writes "Nas' complex rhyme patterns, clever word play, and impressive vocab took the art to previously unprecedented heights. Building on the pioneering work of Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, and Rakim, tracks like 'Halftime' and the laid back 'One Time 4 Your Mind' demonstrated a high level of technical precision and rhetorical dexterity". This verse from the song ‘It ain’t hard to tell’ is a perfect example of this.
“It ain't hard to tell, I excel, then prevail
The mic is contacted, I attract clientele
My mic check is life or death, breathin a sniper's breath
I exhale the yellow smoke of buddha through righteous steps
Deep like The Shinin', sparkle like a diamond
Sneak a uzi on the island in my army jacket linin
Hit the Earth like a comet, invasion
Nas is like the Afrocentric Asian, half-man, half-amazin
Cause in my physical, I can express throuh song
Delete stress like Motrin, then extend strong
I drank Moet with Medusa, give her shotguns in hell
From the spliff that I lift and inhale, it ain't hard to tell”
The line ‘I drank Moet with Medusa, give her shotguns in hell. From the spliff that I lift and inhale,’ May seem confusing and abstract but it has a deeper meaning if looked at carefully. In this line Nas is saying that he’s hanging out with Medusa and instead of being turned to stone by her (one is supposed to turn to stone at the sight of her) that he’s the one that is getting her stoned by giving her shotguns (the term for inhaling cannabis and then exhaling in another person’s mouth) from his spliff. Basically, she will be stoned instead of him. This is a great example of the intricacy of Nas’ lyrics.
A must listen for all fans of hip hop, an album that would interest most writers, poets and lyricists and an amazing contribution to music, Illmatic is one of the greatest musical achievements of the 90’s. As Nas himself states verbally he is iller than an aids patient.
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