Nas - Illmatic
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Free Music Notes for Illmatic
Free Music Review: Illmatic...Still Ill
Hit: 5 Stars
This is possibly the greatest cd of all time. And to all those that say it is the greatest, you are correct. The delivery and beats from some top named producer really ends a massive hadn to NaS' story telling and extremely tight flow. Definitely a must have for all Hip Hop fans.Free Music Review: Beyond ill
Hit: 5 Stars
This is the best hip hop album of all time IMHO. Flawless from beginning to end. The only problem I have had with it in my dozens of listens is that I have started to take Nas' verses for granted, when just about each and every one is some of the sickest rapping that's ever been put on wax.
This is an album where I can totally feel any song as somebody's favorite, but for me it's either Life's a ***** or One Love.
Buy this album or your collection won't be complete, even if you're not into hip hop at all.
Free Music Review: Pinnacle of Hip Hop
Hit: 5 Stars
This is arguably the greatest hip hop album in history, and my personal favorite. This is before Nas' mafioso persona and other mishaps (though he's still one of the greatest). I think the review by Amazon is pretty spot on. All nine tracks are very lyrical and Nas actually takes the listener's mind on a journey through his surroundings. The production is tight, ranging from simplistic beats like "One Love" to very melodic tracks like "Memory Lane". I mean, if you're reading this review and you're not convinced or you're still indecisive, just look at the other 500 reviews with five stars, it's not a coincidence. I highly recommend this to any hip hop fan.Free Music Review: Golden child of the golden era
Hit: 5 Stars
To understand how good this album, just consider some of the CLASSIC releases between 1993 and 1995.
1993: Doggystyle, Midnight Marauders, and Enter The 36 Chambers.
1994: Hard To Earn, Dare Iz A Darkside, and Ready To Die.
1995: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, The Infamous, and Dah Shinin.
I've just listed some very good pieces of work, yet none of them come close, and although Ready To Die is seen as it's main contemporary, Illmatic does separate itself from that album as well.
Let's jump into the album minus the intro, but if you want to hear a real intro, try the one on Stillmatic. God like flow at it's best...
The first time I heard "NY State of Mind", I did not want to hear the rest of the album b/c the song was so good I didn't think that it could get any better. The beat provided by DJ Premier has to be in the top five of his ENTIRE catalogue. Just a chilling, haunting beat with the lyrics to match (Heard a few chicks scream/ my arms shook, couldn't look/ gave another squeeze,heard it click, yo my s#&t is stuck). The scratches at the end are the song are on point, too. From there we have "Life's a B!%&h". I think it was the only song where I heard Nas outshined by another emcee. AZ's career never took off, but from this verse alone it's obvious that he has more talent than most guys can fathom.
Next up is "The World is Yours". I never really appreciated this song when it was released. I mean, the lyrics were standard Nas, and the beat by Pete Rock is of a master class, but it didn't catch. To put it short, something was wrong with me, b/c the piano loop is hypnotic, and lyrics are second to none. Just as a cherry on top, check out the video to the remix on YouTube. The second verse is magical.
Halftime is the next song, and even though it's good, you can tell that it was not recorded for this album (Zebrahead Sdtk.). Memory Lane is another song with superior lyrics (Sentence begins indented, with formality/my duration's infinite, money-wise or physiology). The next three songs are good, especially " One Love", and then the album ends with " It Ain't Hard to Tell".
For me, this is my favorite song in his catalogue. It doesn't have the thematic direction of "NY State of Mind" , but it's lyrical wizardry at it's finest. I think everyone went mad like I did when Nas announced that he was half breed (Hit the earth like a comet, invasion/ Nas is like the afrocentric-azin/half man, half amazin'). Also, Large Professor should give a lesson on sampling to fake producers after his "amazin" use of "Human Nature" by QJ and MJ.
Folks, no other hip-hop album can be judged against this seminal piece of work, save for " It Takes A Million" by PE or "Straight Outta Compton" by NWA. It's that good...
Free Music Review: 3 1/2 The genesis of Nasir
Hit: 3 Stars
I recently read a book called "It's No Secret" by Carmen Bryan, the mother of Nas's daughter named Destiny. In the book she said that Nas was uninspired at the time and didn't want to go to the studio. She said that she encouraged him to go to the studio daily until he finished "Illmatic." After reading that and hearing the countless good reviews from people's mouths, I knew I had to listen for myself. I feel like a fish out of water because I did enjoy some of the album, but the beats and hooks weren't impressive at all. What really gives this album points is the profound and unforgettable lyrics. Nas impressed me with most of his versus. Further, I have most of the albums that followed "Illmatic", and I must say, I have never heard this much energy from Nas, but it was a virtue.
"Illmatic" is very short for an album, clocking in at thirty-nine point six minutes. I don't usually care for long albums, but this is one of the shortest albums I have come across in a long while and it was a bit of a turn-off. This album has a few guest appearances, and all of the men do well. Dark, haunting production is found from track one to ten. I never was a big fan of the beats on Nas's albums, but this album has some really bad beats. What gave it a bit of saving grace is the fact that one of my favorite songs of all time is sampled: Michael Jackson's "Human Nature." "Human Nature" was sampled on the last song called "It Ain't Hard to Tell." Lyrically, this is an amazing song and I listen to it all the time. The horns should have been left off of this song, but they don't take too much away from its quality. "It Ain't Hard to Tell" and "Life's a B****" are easily this album's best moments. ("Life's a B**** samples "Yearning for Your Love.") This album was released in 1994. The only song I can remember receiving any airtime is "The World is Yours." Music listeners loved that song.
I recommend this album to rap lovers, but, in all honesty, if you love rap, you should already have "Illmatic."
Mikeisha's Top 5
1. "It Ain't Hard to Tell"
2. "Life's a Bitch"
3. "NY State of Mind"
4. "Memory Lane"
5. "The World is Yours"