Illmatic

Product Information

The enduring vision of Nas: a baby-faced Buddha monk in public housing, scribbling lotto dreams and grim reaper nightmares in dollar notebooks, words enjambed in the margins. The only light is the orange glow of a blunt, bodega liquor, and the adolescent rush of first creation. Sometimes his pen taps the paper and his brain blanks. In the next sentence, he remembers dark streets and the noose. Illmatic' is the debut studio album by American rapper Nas, originally released in April 1994. Often cited as one of the best hip-hop albums of the '90s, 'Illmatic' is the undisputed classic upon which Nas' reputation rests. It helped spearhead the artistic renaissance of New York hip-hop in the post-'Chronic' era, leading a return to street aesthetics. Hip-hop fans accustomed to 73-minute opuses sometimes complain about 'Illmatic''s brevity, but even if it leaves you wanting more, it's also one of the few '90s rap albums with absolutely no wasted space. 'Illmatic' reveals a great lyricist in top form meeting great production, and it remains a perennial favourite among serious hip-hop fans. Contains sample of "We're In Love" as performed by Reuben Wilson and written by R Wilson and P. Barsella. One Time For Your Mind" produced for Paul Sea Productions, Inc. Recorded and mixed at Chung King Studios, NYC. B3 - Large Professor Music Ltd. / EMI April Music Inc. / III Will Music, Inc. / Skematics Music (ASCAP)

B4 - Produced by DJ Premier for Works Of Mart Productions. Recorded and mixed at D&D Recording, NYC. I have now mastered the art of cutting them using a mixture of routers, craft knives and jewelry files. And no I do not use a laser cutter, this method would emit Chloride fumes and be very dangerous for both me and the environment One of the items I would find was vinyl records, I already had a collection in my house I would listen to on my 1960's Record Player (found kerbside one Sunday) and came up with the idea to turn them into artwork, to allow them another life, a good way to prevent them going into landfill I was the person every Sunday going through your inorganic rubbish on the kerbside looking for "gold"

A2 - Produced by DJ Premier for Works Of Mart Productions. Recorded and mixed at D&D Recording, NYC. Contains sample from "Mind Rain" as performed and written by J. Chambers.

Represent" produced for Works Of Mart Productions. Recorded and mixed at D&D Recording, NYC. Ill Will Music, Inc./Skematics Music/DJ Premier Publishing/Gifted Pearl (ASCAP). May as well have been recorded in a crappy sounding arena, because you would never believe it was done in an acoustically sound amphitheatre, as it was. A5 - Produced by The Large Professor for Paul Sea Productions, Inc.. Recorded and mixed at Chung King Studios, NYC. Contains samples from "Dead End,""Soul Travelin" and "School Boy Crush". The World is Yours" produced for Mecca And The Soul Brother Productions, Inc. Recorded and mixed at Battery Studios, NYC. B3 - Produced by The Large Professor for Paul Sea Productions, Inc.. Recorded and mixed at Chung King Studios, NYC. Contains sample from "Walter L" as written by G. Burton.This sounds insane in hindsight. When people start making greatest rapper lists you can't count to five before Nas' name is mentioned. The kid who went to hell for snuffing Jesus has become a sacred cow. Twenty years deep, he's nominated for a Grammy and is in Gap ads with his dad. There was the album with Damian Marley, the feud with Jay-Z, there was Belly. Nas is firmly entrenched in VH1 Special territory. He has crossed over enough without ever making radio hits, save for "Oochie Wally", in which he is out-rapped by his bodyguard-- all for oochie. Large Professor Music Ltd./EMI April Music, Inc./Ill Will Music, Inc./Skematics Music/Minder Music (USA) (ASCAP)

Halftime" produced for Paul Sea Productions, Inc. Recorded and mixed at Chung King Studios, NYC. Contains samples from "Dead End", "Soul Travelin'" and "School Boy Crush". Large Professor Music Ltd./EMI April Music Inc./Ill Will Music, Inc./Skematics Music/Minder Music (USA) (ASCAP) A3 - III Will Music, Inc. / Skematics Music / Minder Music (USA) (ASCAP) / Taking Care Of Business Music / Total Experience Music Publishing Co. (BMI) The phrases and images are so deeply rooted in rap consciousness to have become cliché. Over the last 19 years, a million secret handshakes and scratched hooks have been executed to lines from Illmatic: I woke up early on my born day; I sip the Dom P, watching Gandhi 'til I'm charged; you couldn't catch me in the streets without a ton of reefer, that's like Malcolm X catching jungle fever; I'm an addict for sneakers, twenties of Buddha, and bitches with beepers; vocabulary spills, I'm ill; life's a bitch and then you die.Contains a sample of "Yearning For Your Love" as performed by The Gap Band and written by R. Wilson and O. Scott. Used courtesy Polygram Special Products, Inc.

A3 - Recorded and mixed at Unique Sound Studios and Chung King Studios, NYC. Contains sample from "Yearning For Your Love" as performed by The Gap Band and written by R. Wilson and O. Scott used courtesy of Polygram Special Products, Inc.NY State Of Mind" produced for Works Of Mart Productions. Recorded and mixed at D&D Recording, NYC. Hip-hop was a teenager when Illmatic dropped*.* Old enough for biblical foundation, but young enough to be embroiled in an early identity crisis. The Columbia press sheet that accompanies it opens: "While it's sad that there's so much frontin' in the rap world today, this should only make us sit up and pay attention when a rapper comes along who's not about milking the latest trend and running off with the loot." Side B label has, additionally: Zomba Enterprises Inc./ Jazz Merchant Music (admin. by Zomba Enterprises Inc.)