Still Ill

On this day in 1994, 20-year-old Nasir Jones dropped Illmatic.

In other words:

On this day in 1994, 20-year old Nasir Jones dropped the greatest hip-hop album of all time.

Obviously this is not a statement of fact. There are a number of contenders for this title, and many would argue that Illmatic can't even be called the best hip-hop album of 1994, a year which also saw the release of Biggie's Ready to Die and Outkast's Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. But in my mind, Illmatic takes the top spot. Why?

Mostly, it's about Nas's flow. It's not just about great lyrics, though Illmatic has its share. It's about his delivery. The rhymes are rhythmically complex, but Nas navigates them with such ease that you'd be forgiven for not noticing. Indeed, the delivery seems just about as natural as normal speech--only the most thrilling and charismatic speech you've ever heard. Next to Nas, every other rapper (except for maybe Biggie) sounds like he's trying. The best make it look easy, like Nas does on Illmatic.

Nas's singular flow puts this album into the pantheon, but the beats musn't be overlooked. Illmatic's producers, from Large Professor to Q-Tip to Pete Rock to DJ Premier, really bring it. Premier's lean, bass-heavy production on "N.Y. State of Mind" creates an ominous paranoia which fits the lyrics, and also drives forward with a subtle momentum that nicely augment Nas's flow. The result is one of my favorite tracks of all time, a perfect pairing of beat, lyrics, and flow. Pete Rock's radio-friendly production on "The World is Yours," deserves kudos as well, and...

I started to continue listing standout tracks, but then realized that I would have touched on pretty much the whole album. This incredible consistency is what pushes Illmatic over the top into the top spot on the list of great hip-hop albums. There simply isn't a bad track here. There aren't any skits (a real pet peeve of mine) that break up the musical flow, and while I could skip the opener "Genesis," the rest of the album hits hard from start to finish.

Find it and give it a listen on this, the day of Illmatic's anniversary.

Inhale deep like the words of my breath
I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death
I lay puzzle as I backtrack to earlier times
Nothing's equivalent to the New York state of mind

Nas - N.Y. State of Mind (YSI) (filesavr)

Nas - The World is Yours (YSI) (filesavr)

Nas - Halftime (YSI) (filesavr)