Nas (1973–)

Product Details

* Audio CD (April 19, 1994)
* Original Release Date: April 19, 1994
* Number of Discs: 1
* Format: Explicit Lyrics
* Label: Sony
* Catalog Number: 57684
* ASIN: B0000029GA
* In-Print Editions: Audio Cassette
* Average Customer Review: based on 493 reviews. (Write a review.)
* Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,353 in Music (See Top Sellers in Music)
Yesterday: #2,353 in Music

Listen to Samples
To hear a song sample, click on "Listen" by that sample. Visit our audio help page for more information.

1. The Genesis Listen Listen
2. N.Y. State Of Mind Listen Listen
3. Life's A Bitch Listen Listen
4. The World Is Yours Listen Listen
5. Halftime Listen Listen
6. Memory Lane (Sittin' In Da Park) Listen
7. One Love Listen
8. One Time 4 Your Mind Listen
9. Represent Listen
10. It Ain't Hard To Tell Listen
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Nasir Jones made this debut album at the age of 20, already armed with the calm perceptiveness and been-there-done-that attitude of a much older ghetto vet, though sometimes his inner callow youth shows itself. Illmatic is a look back at a life spent in the culture of the projects, acknowledging joy as much as pain and taking note of violence as a fact of his environment rather than a focus of his life. It's enlivened by Nas's kicky, deep-threaded multiple rhymes--you can tell he grew up listening to Mr. Magic's rap show and internalizing the secrets of everybody's flow--and by tracks from a bunch of all-stars, including the Large Professor, DJ Premier, and, most memorably, Q-Tip ("One Love"). --Douglas Wolk
Tag this product (What's this?)

Your tags: Add your first tag
Customers tagged this item with
First tag: Classic (Sylvester "johnnyday" on Nov 18, 2005)
Last tag: Perfect Album

Perfect Album (1), orgasmic 90s stuff (1), 060 (1), hiphop (1), Classic (1), IETA ONE (1), lyricist (1), queensbridge (1), East Coast (1)
Customers who tagged this item

* Dustin Mangold
* D. Leybman "Dima"



* Ice Cream Man "Neighborhood Dope Dealer"
* Sylvester "johnnyday"




add See all 7 customers
Spotlight Reviews
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Search Customer Reviews


60 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
These rhymes will absolutely blow your mind..., December 19, 2001
Reviewer: Danny "Alan Smithee" (South Philly) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)
I'll keep this as short as possible. True, Nas DID fall off a bit after releasing Illmatic, and his albums began to head towards a downward spiral of commercialized bling-bling rap (especially the dreadful Nastradamus), but come on. Give respect where it's due. This is one of the most outstanding rap albums ever made. Nine songs of pure New York hip-hop. No one, not even Nas, could have expected to surpass the greatness of this album with future releases. I mean, the production is great, but it's the rhyming skills Nas displays which will keep you focused.

I don't mean to be judgemental, but if you feel compelled to skip a track, then just forget about liking the rest of the album. Each song is equally as great as the last one. This is hip-hop in it's finest form, and since it's being sold at an extremely reasonable price, plunk down the dough and just buy the friggin' thing. Trust me. Your rap collection isn't complete without it.

If your favorite rappers are Nelly, the Cash Money Millionaires, Lil' Romeo and Master P, then you might want to look elsewhere.… (meer)