Illmatic (album)

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Illmatic
Studio album by Nas

Publication
(s)

GermanyGermanyApril 15, 1994 April 19, 1994
United StatesUnited States
Label (s) Columbia Records ( Sony Music )

Format (s)

CD , LP , download

Genre (s)

East coast hip hop

Title (number)

10

running time

39 min 43 s

production

Studio (s)

  • D&D recording
  • Chung King Studios
  • Battery Studios
  • Unique Studios (all in New York )
chronology
- Illmatic It Was Written
(1996)

Illmatic is the debut album by New York rapper Nas . It was released in April 1994 by Columbia Records and is stylistically assigned to East Coast hip-hop . When recording the ten pieces, Nas was supported by his father Olu Dara and the rapper AZ .

Despite its rather limited commercial success, Illmatic is one of the most important works in the history of hip-hop and established Nas as one of the most influential rappers in the genre. In addition to the music production by DJ Premier and Large Professor , among others, Nas' unusually complex lyrical technique was mostly highlighted at the reception of the album. His subsequent albums were repeatedly measured against Illmatic .

background

Nas, 2007

“When I made Illmatic , I was a little kid in Queensbridge trapped in the ghetto. My soul was trapped in the Queensbridge projects. "

“When I was working on Illmatic I was a little kid in Queensbridge , trapped in the ghetto . My soul was trapped in the Queensbridge area. "

- Nas : Article on MTV.com, 2001

Nas grew up in the council estate on Queensbridge, mostly from out of the lower class coming African Americans inhabited. Hip-hop jams were often held there , attended by well-known rappers from his district, including MC Shan and Tragedy Khadafi . In addition to their appearances, he immediately experienced the now legendary battles between the Juice Crew from Queensbridge and Boogie Down Productions from the Bronx ; his origins gave him direct access to hip-hop.

From the mid-1980s onwards, the effects of Ronald Reagan's economic policy and the tightening of criminal sanctions as a result of the so-called “ crack epidemic” determined the social and economic climate in the inner cities of the USA. These living conditions had a strong influence on Nas' personality. In order to earn money, he occasionally dealt in drugs; He had dropped out of school after the ninth grade. In May 1992, Nas' brother was shot and his DJ and best friend Willy "Ill Will" Graham murdered. These experiences influenced the work on Illmatic and Nas' further careers.

In 1989, Nas met the music producer Large Professor. This enabled him to make the first recordings in the studio in which Eric B. & Rakim also produced, and made contact with Q-Tip and Pete Rock . Live at the Barbeque , a piece by Large Professors group Main Source with a guest appearance by Nas, was released in July 1991. Nas then accompanied Main Source on their tour . In the same year he recorded a demo tape with ten tracks under the alias "Nasty Nas" . One of them is the song Nas Will Prevail , a previous version of his later single It Ain't Hard to Tell . The rappers MC Serch and Kool G Rap, also from Queens , appeared as guest rappers on the tape . MC Serch became his manager shortly thereafter and helped him to a record deal with Columbia Records after Def-Jam founder Russell Simmons had previously turned down an offer. He also introduced Nas DJ Premier. For Illmatic Serch acted - alongside Faith Newman, the A&R director of Sony Music Entertainment - as executive producer .

In August 1992 Nas appeared on Serch's solo debut album Return of the Product . Already in October Halftime was released as the rapper's first own single, at that time still as a release from the soundtrack for the film Zebrahead , for which Serch served as supervisor . As a result, an internal hype built up, Nas was considered a “child prodigy”, comparisons with lyrically innovative rappers like Rakim , Big Daddy Kane or Kool G Rap were drawn even before Illmatic was released .

The first pieces produced for the album, namely Halftime , One Time 4 Your Mind and It Ain't Hard to Tell , were all produced by Large Professor; Life's a Bitch with a verse from rapper AZ was last recorded. Illmatic was mixed by Diego Garrido. The decision to use only ten tracks on the album, which is rather untypical in hip-hop, was made consciously by Nas.

Instead of Side A and Side B, Illmatic's vinyl release was split into 40th Side North and 41st Side South . These are the names of the two complexes Queensbridge is divided into.

The title Illmatic has different meanings for Nas. He explains the word as a synonym for expressions like “ beyond ill ” (meaning “sicker than sick”, sick in this case has a positive connotation ) or “ the ultimate ” (German: “ the ultimate ”), which reflect the sound of the album should. In addition, the title is based on a friend named Illmatic Ice, who was in prison at the time. The expression was first used in 1988 by the rapper Tragedy Khadafi: “ Forget ill, I get illmatical ” .

Track list

  1. The Genesis - 1:45
  2. NY State of Mind - 4:54
  3. Life's a Bitch (feat. AZ ) - 3:30
    • Produced by LES
    • Coproduced by Nas
  4. The World Is Yours - 4:50
  5. Halftime - 4:20
  6. Memory Lane (Sittin 'in da Park) - 4:08
    • Produced by DJ Premier
  7. One Love - 5:25
  8. One Time 4 Your Mind - 3:18
    • Produced by Large Professor
  9. Represent - 4:12
    • Produced by DJ Premier
  10. It Ain't Hard to Tell - 3:22
    • Produced by Large Professor

Poetry

Nas' childhood in Queensbridge was a major influence on Illmatic .

Texts

In Illmatic's lyrics , the lyrical self is to be equated with the person Nas. Shaped by his life in Queensbridge, the rapper often takes on the role of an observer in them. In doing so, he makes himself the mouthpiece of his neighborhood in particular and of the under-represented social hot spots in the United States in general. Accordingly, the texts often deal with violence and crime - the gangster film Scarface and model names of firearms are mentioned a few times - presented as everyday occurrences in Nas' environment and mostly with a negative attitude that is common in gangsta rap . In his striving to survive in this “jungle”, the hope of a life under better conditions can be seen here and there. This becomes particularly clear in The World Is Yours , partly also in Life's a Bitch :

"I switched my motto
instead of sayin '' Fuck tomorrow '
That buck that bought a bottle
Could have struck the lotto"

"I changed my motto
instead of saying 'fuck tomorrow' that
dollar that bought a bottle could have
hit the lottery jackpot"

- Nas : Life's a bitch

Here it becomes clear that Nas - like AZ - equates a better life with material prosperity. Instead of trusting in God, he makes the achievement of his goals solely dependent on himself and also takes criminal routes into consideration for this; he dreams of a life as a gangster comparable to Al Capone . The title of the piece The World Is Yours , a quote from Scarface , also points to this wishful thinking . Nas is always aware that crime can lead to wealth as well as to imprisonment. Drugs play a central role on Illmatic as a motive to cope with the hopeless frustration in the face of the real lack of prospects as well as the dream of money and prosperity - with the help of illegal trade .

Stylistically, Nas mixes elements of battle rap , storytelling and the representation of himself and his environment in the texts , which he provides with philosophical approaches. In addition, there are occasional cultural-historical and political references, mostly in an Afro-American context. In Halftime, for example, the film Jungle Fever , the Atlanta Braves baseball team , the music group The Jackson Five , the TV series CHiPs and the radio host Mr. Magic are mentioned on the one hand, and references to the militant separatists Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X and the earlier use of slave ships are used on the other . In It Ain't Hard to Tell , Nas combines his self-adulation with allusions to ancient mythology ( Medusa , Leviathan ) and the poet Aesop .

The only piece that has a clear conception in terms of content is One Love . Its first two stanzas are written in the form of a letter to an undetermined friend who is in prison. Nas tells him about incidents that have occurred since his arrest, for example that he had become a father, that his girlfriend cheated on him and that an acquaintance of Nas and himself was shot. He also asks him about Cormega's whereabouts; he was actually in prison at the time. The conversation with an illusory, criminal twelve-year-old, about which Nas raps in the third verse of One Love , served the video director Hype Williams as a template for a scene in his film debut Belly (1998), in which Nas plays.

In addition to the conditions in his immediate environment, Nas' content inspiration came from studying books about the history of the African American and the Five Percent Nation , whose ideology is widespread in hip-hop. He also studied the Bible , the Koran and African proverbs .

The authenticity of Illmatic's texts was occasionally questioned critically . In the song Takeover , the New York rapper Jay-Z Nas accused of merely building his lyrics on the experiences of his friends and acquaintances. Specifically, he claimed to have shown Nas his first TEC-9 while he was rapping Illmatic to keep such a model in his dresser.

articulation

Nas uses a variety of rhetorical stylistic devices in Illmatic's texts . The complex rhyme schemes are particularly noticeable : In addition to many internal rhymes , the rapper almost consistently uses polysyllabic assonant- sounding rhymes, which was rather rare in hip-hop until then. Here is an example from the song Halftime :

"It's like that, you know it's like that
I got it hemmed, now you never get the mic back
When I attack , there ain't an army that could strike back
So I react never calmly on a hype track "

- Nas : Halftime

Through the frequent use of metaphors and comparisons , Nas visually transfers his own experiences to the listener. The text of NY State of Mind , for example, contains "a representation of ghetto life as clearly as a Gordon Park photograph or a Langston-Hughes poem". In order to be able to express the experience better, Nas uses an unusually large vocabulary in rap , which includes many foreign words , but also various slang expressions - some of them neologisms - whose understanding requires an inside knowledge. Examples are the terms “ Rotten Apple ” for New York , “ tres-deuce ” for a beer container , “ oowop ” for a type of blunt and “ 5-0 ” for the police .

In the presentation of his texts he differs greatly from the rappers of the old school era in that his voice is mostly calm and reserved, which reminded critics of Rakim. On Double Time -Passagen waived Nas, but his voice recorded a consistent rhythm , by the regular use of alliteration supported and due to savvy breathing technique is rarely interrupted. He does not use a doubling of his voice.

Production and music

DJ Premier produced three tracks on Illmatic and also worked on Nas' following albums.

Illmatic was largely Premier of Large Professor and DJ produced . In addition, Pete Rock, Q-Tip and LES each contributed an instrumental . With that, some of New York's most respected hip-hop producers worked on the album. In developing new songs, they pushed each other to work harder; DJ Premier described Illmatic's musical genesis as a competition.

“I can still clearly remember when Q-Tip One Love showed me and I just thought damn ['damn', in the sense of 'wow'], I have to rework my beat again. I then changed my represent beat to measure myself against them. Pete then played The World Is Yours for me , and before the beat was over, I figured I'd have to do another banger and that was New York State Of Mind . "

- DJ Premier : Interview with Goods Magazine , 2009

For the two tracks Memory Lane (Sittin 'in Da Park) and Represent , DJ Premier produced two different instrumentals each. While dissatisfied with the first version of Memory Lane , which could be heard on Illmatic , he persuaded Nas to use the reworked instrumental for Represent . Also, It Is not Hard to Tell and The World Is Yours (by Q-Tip) were later by the producers remixed .

The mixes on Illmatic are deliberately kept "raw". The bass line and the beat shape the sound, which is very groove-oriented .

The melodies consist of short loops about three to five seconds long. The producers obtained these mainly from excerpts from older pieces by other musicians, mainly from the genre of jazz , but also soul . On Illmatic you can hear compositions by, among others, Gary Burton , Ahmad Jamal , the Gap Band , Reuben Wilson and the Average White Band as samples . Instead of drums , older recordings serve as a musical base in the form of breakbeats in many pieces . Vocal samples from well-known hip-hop musicians were also occasionally used. NY State of Mind , for example based on a piano riff of the piece Mind Rain by Joe Chambers , the occasionally by a loop of the electric guitar from Donald Byrd's song Flight Time is interrupted. The voice of Rakim from the song Mahogany is scratched in in the chorus . One Love, on the other hand, combines a drum break from Clyde McPhatter's A Mixed Up Cup with the melody of Smilin 'Billy Suite Part 2 by the Heath Brothers, based on a kalimba and a double bass .

The samples used for the intro The Genesis show the deep roots of Nas and Illmatic in (old-school) hip-hop. It consists of the beginning of Nas' verse in Live at the Barbeque and excerpts from the hip-hop film Wild Style! as well as the Subway Theme by Grand Wizard Theodore and Chris Stein published on its soundtrack .

The most famous sample can be heard in It Ain't Hard to Tell . Large Professor used the song Human Nature from Michael Jackson's album Thriller as the melody of the piece .

The only new instrument recorded during Illmatic's production was a cornet played by Nas' father Olu Dara . Nas asked him "to play whatever comes to mind when he thinks of me as a child". The solo can be heard in the outro of Life's a Bitch . Nas worked again with his father on Dara's debut solo album In the World: From Natchez to New York and his own works God's Son and Street's Disciple .

layout

Art director Jo DiDonato was responsible for the design of the album ; the pictures are by photographer Danny Clinch and the cover design by graphic artist Aimée Macauley. While graphically emphasized urban booklet held black and white and sepia was designed, which is cover from Illmatic held in Orange brown tones. In the upper right corner you can see Nas' name in large reddish-brown characters. Its angular design is very different from the logo he has been using since It Was Written . The name of the album is written in the lower left corner - "ill" is highlighted in terms of color and size - while the Parental Advisory symbol, which identifies albums with content that is harmful to minors, is placed in the lower right corner .

Much of the cover is a photograph of Nas as a seven-year-old boy. At this age he began to be more aware of his environment and to think about his future, both motifs that can also be found on the content level of Illmatic . The cover includes a three-quarter profile of his head, which is semi-transparent incorporated into the background showing Queensbridge. This visualizes Nas' close connection to his homeland at the time. The rapper used very similar transparent portraits of himself on the following three solo albums.

The portrayal of a child is said to have influenced The Notorious BIG for the cover of his album Ready to Die , which was released shortly after Illmatic . Also Common (One Day It'll All Make Sense) , The Game and Lil Wayne ( Tha Carter III ) released albums with a similar design. A homage to the cover can be seen in Erykah Badu's video for the 2008 song Honey .

reception

Commercial win

Illmatic singles
1992: Halftime
1994: It Ain't Hard to Tell
1994: The World Is Yours
1994: One Love

Illmatic was not as commercially successful as Nas' subsequent albums. It only reached the charts in the United States , where it remained on the Billboard 200 for a total of 19 weeks with a top spot at number 12 . Of the singles, only It Ain't Hard to Tell was ranked 91st on the Billboard Hot 100 , and the song was also ranked 57th among R&B / Hip-Hop songs. In this ranking, the third single The World Is Yours reached number 67. After the album had reached gold status in the USA in early 1996 , it was awarded a platinum record in late 2001 for the 1 million albums sold. The following year, Illmatic received a gold record in Canada for 50,000 CDs sold.

Reviews

Professional reviews
Reviews
source rating
AllMusic
Rolling Stone
The Source
Music Express
RapReviews.com
Laut.de

When it was released, Illmatic was often compared to recently released albums that are now generally regarded as " classics ", especially Doggystyle by Snoop Dogg , and generally received positive results. Mostly the outstanding combination of Nas' lyrics and musical accompaniment was emphasized.

As a critic of the music magazine Rolling Stone, the writer and journalist Touré gave the album four out of five possible points and indicated that Nas with Illmatic had the supremacy of Death Row Records and Dr. Dre could break. Touré particularly praised Nas' performance by highlighting his texts as well as the pitch and articulation with which he performs them.

Illmatic received the highest rating with five points from the hip-hop magazine The Source , which was very renowned at the time . This was denied to other classics such as The Chronic , Doggystyle , Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and shortly afterwards Ready to Die . For the reviewer Minya Oh, Doggystyle was not the most anticipated debut album by a rapper, but Nas' first album. Illmatic is "one of the best hip-hop albums" she has ever heard. In addition to the production and Nas' lyrical performance, she emphasized the rapper's ability to establish direct contact with the listener that goes "beyond the entertainment aspect" . Everyone could feel addressed by a different song on the album.

In 2002, the writer and music critic Matthew Gasteier, who later wrote a volume about Illmatic for the music book series 33 ⅓ , took on the album and described it as the "pinnacle of the greatest era of hip-hop":

Illmatic is the best hip-hop record ever made. Not because it has ten great tracks with perfect beats and flawless rhymes, but because it encompasses everything great about hip-hop that makes the genre worthy of its place in music history. Stylistically, if every other hip-hop record were destroyed, the entire genre could be reconstructed from this one album. But in spirit, Illmatic can just as easily be compared to Ready to Die , It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back , and Enter the Wu-Tang as it can to Rites of Spring , A Hard Day's Night , Innervisions , and Never Mind the bollocks . In Illmatic , you find the meaning not just of hip-hop, but of music itself: the struggle of youth to retain its freedom, which is ultimately the struggle of man to retain his own essence.

“ Illmatic is the best hip hop record ever made. Not because it has ten great pieces with perfect beats and impeccable rhymes, but because it encompasses everything that makes the genre so great and justifies its place in music history. Stylistically - if every other hip-hop record had been destroyed - the whole genre could be reconstructed from this album. But in spirit Illmatic can be compared just as easily to Ready to Die , It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back , and Enter the Wu-Tang as it is to Rites of Spring , A Hard Day's Night , Innervisions , and Never Mind the Bollocks . In Illmatic you not only find the meaning of hip-hop, but of music itself: the fight of youth to preserve their freedom, which is ultimately the fight of people to preserve their own being. "

- Matthew Gasteier : Nas: A look at a hip-hop masterpiece, ten years removed , 2002

Ten years after the original publication discussed the e-zine laut.de the 10 Year Anniversary Illmatic Platinum Series , which was rated five out of five points. This re-release by Illmatic represents a “re-release of the best hip-hop album of all time”. Reviewer Stefan Johannesberg also commented on the original album. On Illmatic , "each of the ten songs is a hip-hop classic". One Love , NY State Of Mind , It Ain't Hard To Tell and Life's a Bitch were "still among the best and most important hip-hop tracks of the nineties today". Furthermore, the music of the producers defined the term “nodding sounds”, while Nas became the “uncrowned king of street poetry” through his raps.

In addition to The Source and laut.de, the database AllMusic and the hip-hop portal RapReviews.com gave the album top marks in retrospect.

Leaderboards

Illmatic is regularly featured in leaderboards of both the most important hip-hop albums and across all genres. For example, the album reached ninth place in the year-end list for 1994 of the German music magazine Spex . The British hip-hop magazine Ego Trip awarded the top position in the list of the best hip-hop albums of 1994 in 1999. The German hip-hop magazine Juice saw the work in 2002 among the most influential hip-hop albums of all time Number 4. The following year, Illmatic was ranked 400th on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 best albums of all time . In 2005, the MTV editorial team voted the album as the second best hip-hop album of all time. It ranked first on a similar list from About.com.

In addition, the single The World Is Yours reached the seventh position in a list of the best rap songs of all time, also published by About.com.

According to a rating scale from acclaimedmusic.net based on 45 international leaderboards and reviews, Illmatic is the tenth best album of 1994. In terms of the 1990s, the album ranks 55th while it is ranked 296th of the best albums of all time.

influence

Illmatic has had a huge impact on hip hop artists to this day. This is mainly based on the lyrical level of the album, which many - according to Q-Tip, all rappers - have adapted in different ways. The American rapper Common said, for example, that he regularly draws inspiration from Illmatic . In the play Hustlers by Nas' album Hip Hop Is Dead rapper The Game tells how he Illmatic along with Dr. Dres bought The Chronic in 1995 and how much he appreciates the complexity of the album. In his own song Dreams , the line “ They say sleep is the cousin of death ” refers to an aphorism from the NY State of Mind . The Wu Tang Clan member Raekwon sees Illmatic as "a strong album" and the track One Love was "a huge influence" for him.

Nas' first album was also of particular importance for European hip-hop. The German rapper Olli Banjo used it as a qualitative benchmark for his album Lifeshow . The rappers Curse from Germany and Promoe from Sweden called Illmatic their favorite album. Curse rated the album and the influence Nas had on him in an interview:

“For me, the first Nas album is the best album in hip-hop history. [...] Nas influenced me extremely in my way of rapping and flowing . "

- Curse : Interview with WildStyleMag.com, 2008

Illmatic has also had an impact on the reception of hip-hop in general. The publication date 1994 is seen today as a decisive year - a kind of tipping point - for hip-hop music with regard to rap technical and musical innovation , but also a beginning turn to the mainstream . Illmatic's role is assessed by Matthew Gasteier as the end of the "original hip-hop" and at the same time as the beginning of a lyrically and technically more modern era in hip-hop. Nas was also one of the first MCs to put themselves in the foreground. He paved the way for rappers like The Notorious BIG and Jay-Z. Similarly compact albums - that is, with a reduction to a few songs, a short playing time and few or no guest contributions - that were released after Nas' debut are often compared by critics with Illmatic .

For AZ, his verse on Illmatic meant the breakthrough as a rapper. He got a contract with EMI and released his debut album the following year. His contribution to Life's a Bitch (exemplary: “ My mentality is money oriented ” ) is considered a blueprint for today's capitalist hip-hop and is often cited as the best guest contribution on a rap album.

Last but not least, Illmatic had a strong influence on Nas' own career. Despite the rather low sales figures, the album made him one of the most famous and influential hip-hop artists in New York at the age of 20. As early as 1995, guest appearances on well-respected albums by Mobb Deep , Raekwon, Kool G Rap and AZ followed. On his following albums, Nas integrated sounds that were partly more mainstream; his lyrics were less influenced by his socially low background than by his recently luxurious lifestyle. This made possible the top placements of his albums It Was Written and I Am ... in the USA and the international success of his works after Illmatic . At the latest when Nastradamus was published at the end of 1999, however, the decreasing quality and increasing commercialization of poetry and music was criticized. From Stillmatic , according to Nas a rebirth of Illmatic , his albums got more positive reviews, but to this day, every time Nas is released, comparisons with Illmatic are made , where his other works mostly do poorly. The hip-hop musician and journalist Falk Schacht described this fact in a column for the Juice as follows:

“All music fans, and I don't mean just hip-hop fans, know the problem. You discover an album full of wonderful music for yourself, and you virtually merge with this album. [...] The rude awakening usually follows on the follow-up album. There is probably hardly anyone who has been confronted with this problem in his career as much as Nas. Even today, each of his albums is measured against his classic "Illmatic". "

- Falk Schacht : Column in the Juice , 2010

Re-use

Some of Illmatic's tracks were later sampled by other artists. The best known is the reuse by Jay-Z on Reasonable Doubt : For the track Dead Presidents , producer Ski sampled an excerpt from Nas' voice from the remix of The World Is Yours , in which the latter raps “ I'm out for dead presidents to represent me ” . A year later he used Nas' voice again for his piece Rap Game / Crack Game , this time the verse “ Somehow the rap game reminds me of the crack game ” from Represent . In the early 2000s, Nas and Jay-Z engaged in a verbal contest, also known as beef in hip-hop jargon . In 2001 Jay-Z discredited the quality of Nas' albums in the piece Takeover , but at the same time admitted that Illmatic was a "hot album" . In addition to Jay-Z, Alicia Keys sampled the music of Nas: In 2003 she used excerpts from NY State of Mind for her piece Streets of New York , which she recorded with Nas and Rakim. On her Unplugged album, released in 2005, she played the piece live with the riff that can be heard in NY State of Mind .

Rapper Fashawn , only five years old when Illmatic was released, released a mixtape called Ode to Illmatic in 2010 . On this he used the original instrumentals and song titles - only he changed NY State of Mind to CA State of Mind - and an artwork based on Illmatic . In his raps he also frequently quotes the texts of Nas. Talib Kweli took over the part from AZ in Life's a Bitch . The rapper Elzhi pursued a similar concept on his 2011 mixtape Elmatic . However, he had the original instrumentals re-recorded by the band Will Sessions. As with Fashawn, the song title Detroit State of Mind is transferred to its own origin. Life's a Bitch, on the other hand, was created together with Royce da 5'9 ″ . The rapper J. Cole also planned to publish a mixtape called Villematic in 2010 , the cover of which clearly refers to Illmatic . In the end, only one song of the same name was released.

Nas himself also used elements of his debut in later pieces: in the chorus of the singles The Message from 1996 and Nas Is Like from 1999, vocals samples from NY State of Mind and It Ain't Hard to Tell can be heard. Also in 1999, the rapper released NY State of Mind Pt. II , which is based musically and in terms of content on the first part. In addition, the chorus of the 2004 song Thief's Theme refers to a line from The World Is Yours .

The World Is Yours was also used in other areas of the mass media . The piece is in the video game Tony Hawk's Underground and on the soundtrack of the film The Wackness can be heard relatively . Denzel Washington used the song in 2002 for his directorial debut Antwone Fisher .

Republication

In 2004 Illmatic was re-released under the title 10 Year Anniversary Illmatic Platinum Series . In addition to the digitally remastered tracks by Illmatic , the album contains a second CD that includes four remixes and two new songs. The piece On the Real was already included on the 1991 demo tape by Nas; Nas recorded his two old stanzas again and added a new one. The cover by Illmatic , originally kept in shades of brown, has been redesigned in silver.

The track list on the second CD is as follows:

  1. Life's a Bitch (feat. AZ) - 3:00
  2. The World Is Yours - 3:56
    • Produced by Vibesmen
  3. One Love - 5:10
    • Produced by Nick "Fury"
  4. It Ain't Hard to Tell - 3:27
    • Produced by Nick "Fury"
  5. On the Real - 3:26
  6. Star Wars - 4:08
    • Produced by Large Professor

literature

  • Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York / London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 (English).
  • Michael Eric Dyson, Sohail Daulatzai (Eds.): Born to Use Mics . Basic Books, New York 2009, ISBN 0-465-00211-0 (English).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Illmatic at Allmusic (English)
  2. ↑ Shaheem Reid, Sway Calloway: nas: stillmatters. In: Internet pages from MTV . Retrieved January 7, 2010 .
  3. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 23 (English).
  4. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 22 (English).
  5. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 28 f . (English).
  6. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 34-38 (English).
  7. ^ A b Del F. Cowie: Nas: Battle Ready. (No longer available online.) In: exclaim.ca. December 2004, archived from the original on November 1, 2009 ; accessed on February 5, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.exclaim.ca
  8. ^ J. Edward Keyes: Single Minded: Nas Demo Tape, Weezer's MGMT / Gaga Cover, More. In: Internet pages of the Rolling Stone . July 19, 2009, accessed January 7, 2010 .
  9. ↑ Nasty Nas' 91 demo tape. (No longer available online.) July 13, 2009, formerly in the original ; accessed on January 7, 2010 (English).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.blindiforthekids.com  
  10. ↑ Nelson George : XXX - Three decades of hip hop . orange-press, Freiburg 2002, ISBN 3-936086-03-6 , p. 101 . In the Illmatic booklet , Faith Newman is listed as Faith N.
  11. ↑ MC Serch Interview. In: MichiganHipHop.com. June 12, 2008, accessed January 18, 2010 .
  12. ↑ a b c d e f g Marc L. Hill: Illmatic [Anniversary Edition]. In: PopMatters. May 25, 2004, accessed February 4, 2010 (Review of the 10 Year Anniversary Illmatic Platinum Series ).
  13. ↑ Nas - Rare Interview (1st Ever?). In: YouTube . Retrieved January 18, 2013 .
  14. ↑ a b Kim Wheatley: NAS - Illmatic (Columbia). In: salient.org. May 11, 2009, accessed February 5, 2010 .
  15. ↑ a b c Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 15 (English).
  16. ↑ Ivan Rott: Born To Use Mics: Reading Nas's Illmatic - Book Review. (No longer available online.) January 10, 2010, archived from the original on January 17, 2010 ; accessed on January 21, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / oghiphop.com
  17. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 89 (English).
  18. ↑ a b Booklet from Illmatic
  19. ↑ a b Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 93 (English).
  20. ↑ Sohail Daulatzi: Illmatic: It was written . In: Michael Eric Dyson, Sohail Daulatzai (Ed.): Born to Use Mics . Basic Books, New York 2009, ISBN 0-465-00211-0 , pp. 6 .
  21. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 51 (English).
  22. ↑ a b Nas: The Genesis. In: Internet pages from MTV . Retrieved January 7, 2010 .
  23. ^ Text by The Rebel . Retrieved January 7, 2010 .
  24. ↑ a b Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 16 (English).
  25. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 17 (English).
  26. ↑ “ Any day could be your last in the jungle ” - see text by Represent . Retrieved January 7, 2010 .
  27. ^ “ Life is parallel to Hell but I must maintain ” - see text from NY State of Mind . Retrieved January 7, 2010 .
  28. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 70 (English).
  29. ^ Text from Life's a Bitch . Retrieved January 26, 2010 .
  30. ↑ “ Now it's all about cash in abundance ” - see text by Life's a Bitch . Retrieved January 26, 2010 .
  31. ^ " I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death " - see text from NY State of Mind . Retrieved January 7, 2010 .
  32. ↑ “ Be havin dreams that I'm a gangster - drinkin Moets, holdin Tecs ” and “ […] I dream I can sit back / and lamp like Capone ” - see text by NY State of Mind . Retrieved January 7, 2010 .
  33. ↑ “ […] niggaz I used to run with / is rich or doin years in the hundreds ” - see text by Life's a Bitch . Retrieved February 4, 2010 .
  34. ↑ a b Steve “Flash” Juon: Nas: Illmatic. In: RapReviews.com. December 18, 2001, accessed February 10, 2010 .
  35. ↑ Nelson George: XXX - Three decades of hip hop . orange-press, Freiburg 2002, ISBN 3-936086-03-6 , p. 74 .
  36. ↑ a b text from Halftime . Retrieved January 7, 2010 .
  37. ^ Text from It Ain't Hard to Tell . Retrieved January 7, 2010 .
  38. ↑ a b FEATURE: Nas, The Genesis. (No longer available online.) In: Internet pages from XXL . March 6, 2009, archived from the original on March 12, 2009 ; accessed on February 8, 2010 (English, interview with Nas). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.xxlmag.com
  39. ↑ “ Whattup with Cormega, did you see 'em, are y'all together? ” - see text by One Love . Retrieved February 4, 2010 .
  40. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 61 f . (English).
  41. ^ Ted Swedenburg: Islam in the Mix: Lessons of the Five Percent. (No longer available online.) November 1996, archived from the original on August 14, 2011 ; accessed on February 8, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / comp.uark.edu
  42. ↑ a b Nas ... lyrical mastermind. (No longer available online.) March 6, 2009, archived from the original on January 24, 2009 ; accessed on February 8, 2010 (English, interview with Nas). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / uk.askmen.com
  43. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 63 (English).
  44. ↑ “ I showed you your first tec on tour with Large Professor […] Then I heard your album bout your tec on the dresser ” - see text by Jay-Z's Takeover . Retrieved February 4, 2010 .
  45. ↑ “ Pullin a Tec out the dresser ” - see text by Represent . Retrieved February 4, 2010 .
  46. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 14 f . (English).
  47. ↑ a b The Greatest Hip Hop Albums Of All Time. In: Internet pages from MTV. Retrieved February 8, 2010 .
  48. ↑ DJ Premier at Allmusic (English)
  49. ↑ Biography: Pete Rock. In: laut.de . Retrieved February 8, 2010 .
  50. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 87 (English).
  51. ↑ Jana Hartung: DJ Premier wants to go back to the studio with Nas. In: hiphop.de. January 7, 2009, accessed January 7, 2010 .
  52. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 104 (English).
  53. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 86 (English).
  54. ↑ Rap Samples FAQ. Retrieved February 10, 2010 (list of samples used by Nas). The pieces are only partially specified in the booklet.
  55. ↑ " I told him to play whatever comes to mind when he thinks of me as a kid. ”- see Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 88 (English).
  56. ↑ a b Nas: Illmatic. (No longer available online.) In: Sleevage.com. July 6, 2009, archived from the original on March 12, 2010 ; accessed on February 11, 2010 (English, information on the cover of the album). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / sleevage.com
  57. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 31 (English).
  58. ↑ 'Honey' Video: The Original Album Covers. (No longer available online.) In: Soulbounce.com. February 4, 2009; archived from the original on January 13, 2010 ; accessed on February 10, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.soulbounce.com
  59. ^ Illmatic - Nas. In: Internet pages of Billboard Magazine . Retrieved on February 11, 2010 (English, chart placement by Illmatic).
  60. ↑ It Ain't Hard to Tell - Nas. In: Internet pages of Billboard Magazine. Retrieved on February 11, 2010 (chart placement by It Ain't Hard to Tell).
  61. ↑ The World Is Yours - Nas. In: Internet pages of Billboard Magazine. Accessed February 11, 2010 (chart placement by The World Is Yours).
  62. ^ RIAA - Gold and Platinum. In: Internet pages of the RIAA . Retrieved February 11, 2010 .
  63. ↑ Gold & Platinum Certification. In: Internet pages of the CRIA. Retrieved February 11, 2010 .
  64. ↑ Rating: rollingstone.com Rolling Stone
  65. ↑ Rating: ifihavent.wordpress.com The Source
  66. ↑ Rating: musikexpress.de Musikexpress
  67. ↑ Review: rapreviews.com RapReviews.com
  68. ↑ Rating: laut.de Laut.de
  69. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 54 (English).
  70. ^ Toure: Illmatic: Nas. In: Internet pages of the Rolling Stone. August 25, 1994, accessed February 10, 2010 (review of the album).
  71. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 53 (English).
  72. ↑ April 1994 - The issue in The Source where Nas got his 5 Mics for Illmatic. July 27, 2008, accessed February 10, 2010 .
  73. ^ Reginald C. Dennis: Jon Shecter, Miss Info, and Illmatic's 5 Mic Rating. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 6, 2009 ; accessed on February 10, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hiphop-blogs.com
  74. ^ Matthew Gasteier: Nas: A look at a hip-hop masterpiece, ten years removed. In: Internet pages of Prefix Magazine. January 1, 2002, accessed January 7, 2010 .
  75. ^ Nas: discography. In: laut.de . Retrieved February 10, 2010 .
  76. ^ Stefan Johannesberg: Nas: 10 Year Anniversary Illmatic Platinum Series. In: laut.de. Retrieved February 10, 2010 .
  77. ↑ a b Nas. (No longer available online.) In: acclaimedmusic.net. Archived from the original on March 2, 2010 ; accessed on February 11, 2010 (English, rankings of Nas' albums and songs). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.acclaimedmusic.net
  78. ↑ Popular Music Best-Of-Lists List. In: Internet pages from www.poplist.de . Retrieved February 11, 2010 .
  79. ↑ ego trip's 25 Greatest Hip Hop Albums 1994. Retrieved February 11, 2010 .
  80. ↑ Juice . April 2002.
  81. ↑ 400) Illmatic. In: Internet pages of the Rolling Stone. November 1, 2003, archived from the original on January 15, 2007 ; accessed on February 11, 2010 (English).
  82. ↑ Henry Adaso: 10 Essential Hip-Hop Albums. In: About.com. Retrieved February 11, 2010 .
  83. ↑ Henry Adaso: 100 Greatest Rap Songs. In: About.com. Retrieved February 11, 2010 .
  84. ↑ a b Quentin B. Huff: It Ain't Hard to Tell: The Legacy of 'Illmatic'. In: Popmatters. July 20, 2009, accessed February 10, 2010 .
  85. ↑ Shaheem Reid, Joseph Patel, Rahman Dukes: Mixtape Monday: Junior MAFIA Share Rare Biggie Footage, Juelz Santana Grooms A New Ja. In: Internet pages from MTV. Retrieved February 11, 2010 .
  86. ^ Text by Hustlers . Retrieved January 18, 2010 .
  87. ^ Text from Dreams . Retrieved January 18, 2010 .
  88. ↑ splash! -Mag VINYLCHECK with RAEKWON. (No longer available online.) December 20, 2009, archived from the original on December 12, 2009 ; Retrieved January 20, 2010 (video interview with Raekwon). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / blogs.splash-mag.de
  89. ↑ Juice, October 2009 edition . S. 67 .
  90. ↑ "This is Lifeshow , this album is boiling hot / In the same breath with Illmatic , Chronic and Doggystyle " - see text by Am Riden . (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 30, 2015 ; Retrieved February 7, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.magistrix.de
  91. ^ Juice, September 2008 edition . S. 122 .
  92. ^ Juice, August 2007 edition . S. 122 .
  93. ↑ Curse - Thoughts and Expectations. In: WildStyleMag.com. September 2, 2008, accessed January 18, 2010 .
  94. ↑ Sohail Daulatzi: Illmatic: It was written . In: Michael Eric Dyson, Sohail Daulatzai (Ed.): Born to Use Mics . Basic Books, New York 2009, ISBN 0-465-00211-0 , pp. 5 .
  95. ↑ Shaheem Reid, Rahman Dukes: The Year Hip-Hop Was Re-Born: A Look Back At 1994. In: MTV.com. April 1, 2008, accessed February 7, 2010 .
  96. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 11-14 (English).
  97. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 26 (English).
  98. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 12 (English).
  99. ↑ a b Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 90 (English).
  100. ↑ Nas at Allmusic (English)
  101. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 112 (English).
  102. ↑ Matthew Gasteier: [[33 ⅓ ]]: Illmatic . Continuum, New York, London 2009, ISBN 0-8264-2907-6 , pp. 110 (English).
  103. ↑ [rock the dub interview]: MC Serch. July 17, 2009, accessed February 10, 2010 .
  104. ↑ Falk Schacht : Danger Seeker . In: Juice , September / October 2010 issue, page 122.
  105. ^ Text from Takeover. Retrieved February 4, 2010 .
  106. ↑ Jesse Gissen: Fashawn Talks Ode to Illmatic Mixtape. (No longer available online.) In: Website of XXL . March 26, 2010, archived from the original on April 2, 2010 ; accessed on September 3, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.xxlmag.com
  107. ^ Paul Okraj: Elzhi - From Illmatic to Elmatic. In: hhv.de. May 12, 2011, accessed June 12, 2011 .
  108. ↑ J. Cole - “Villematic”. (No longer available online.) September 6, 2010, archived from the original on August 12, 2011 ; accessed on June 12, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / smokingsection.uproxx.com
This article was added to the list of excellent articles on February 19, 2010 in this version .