The ILLMATIC One: Happy Birthday Nas
Yo, who would’ve guessed that back in 1991, the same guy who said that he was going to hell for snuffin’ Jesus, three years later would have created one of the most illest and most influential hip hop albums of all time? The same album that was awarded best album of the year in 1994 by The Source. That album happens to be “Illmatic.” That same guy was a then 21 year old Nasir Jones from Queensbridge. With 3rd Bass’ MC Serch as his manager and production from Large Professor, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, L.E.S., and DJ Premier on the album, Nas had the right person to manage him to get the right team to create the right album at the right time. There’s no rapper on the face of the planet that’s not influenced by Nas. Your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper is Nas. With a crazy collection of hits for days, Nas is definitely the quintessential New York MC. My personal all time favorite Nas joint is “The World Is Yours.” No words to describe how crazy that beat is and it’s a great motivational song that makes me feel like Muhammad Ali at the start and end of my day. A lot of hip hop fans says “Illmatic” is their favorite Nas album but I personally liked his sophomore 1996 album “It Was Written” a little more. That album had way better production and better songs to me, at least that’s how I felt when I first sat down and listened to it all the way through. “If I Ruled the World” featuring Lauryn Hill, is one of the first joints that pop into my head when I think about the year 1996 and “Street Dreams” is another all time favorite of mine, the remix featuring R. Kelly the most. This is the part of Nas’ career where things started to feel a little different compared to his first two albums and the music was a little boring. “I Am” had “Nas Is Like” and “Hate Me Now” featuring Diddy, that song was so annoying to me honestly, and the album after that was “Nastradamus.” That album is my least favorite Nas album but the single with the same album title and “You Owe Me” featuring Ginuwine are my joints though. “You Owe Me” wouldn’t be the same with Ginuwine to be honest. Sometimes having singers on your hooks can make the song because without them, it’s not the same. 2001’s “Stillmatic” to me was a strong comeback for Nas when he came back with “Ether” dissing Jay-Z. It’s the classic hip hop beef that both Nas and Jay-Z fans still talk about til this day. It’s almost annoying to randomly hear “Yo, Jay-Z or Nas?” SMH! Other joints like “Rule” featuring Amerie is another favorite of mine and “One Mic” were the perfect singles. “One Mic” to me is one of Nas’ most memorable joints. Who doesn’t know that joint? Even your grandma and grandpa knows that joint. “God’s Son” is my third favorite Nas album. So far my top 3 Nas albums are “It Was Written”, “Illmatic”, and “God’s Son”, in that exact order too. Just like “Stillmatic”, this album was another strong one for Nas. Every joint from beginning to end was banger except “Thugz Mansion”, I didn’t care for that one like that but my favorite on the album is “Last Real Nigga Alive.” “Street’s Disciple” I didn’t like as well but “Bridging the Gap” and “Just a Moment” are also my favorites. “Hip Hop Is Dead” is what stated the whole “hip hop is dead” conversations that still happen today in hip hop discussions. Album was okay to me, “Can’t Forget About You” featuring Chrisette Michele is a banger though. “Untitled” originally named “N***er”, was cool too. “Make the World Go Round” featuring The Game and Chris Brown was crazy though. Definitely a top 5 Nas joint to me. Breezy on the hook, you could never go wrong with that. The Game, my favorite West Coast is a beast on them bars, the beat was crazy, the whole joint was crazy. Crazy, crazy, crazy dope. “Life Is Good” is my fourth favorite. It’s a very relaxed and mellow Nas but he was always that way. The album title speaks for itself and that’s the entire vibe of the album. Another great one from Nas and “Bye Baby” featuring Aaron Hall is my favorite on the album along with “Reach Out” featuring my boo Mary J. Blige. She rode that beat like no other and who better to sing on hip hop tracks than the Queen of hip hop soul? Nobody! She took it back to “You Remind Me”, her first joint on this one but y’all should know their first collab joint together for her 1997 album “Share My World” called “Love Is All We Need.” Classic right there. Nasir Jones aka Nasty Nas aka Nas Escobar, one of hip hop’s greatest MC’s, one of the most influential MC’s and definitely in my top 5 list. Yo, happy birthday to you sir! Salute the Queensbridge legend.