Illmatic by Nas
Good evening.
I'm still going strong on being pretentious about music. It's been really fun so I want to keep this train going as long as possible.
I know these don't get seen that much, but for the people that do sit down and read my opinions on music, thank you.
I promised an East Coast Hip Hop classic and I shall deliver.
Album review:
In my last album review I said that Slipknot's self titled album is one of the best debut albums of all time. This time, I want to review an album I think is THE greatest debut album of all time.
The Illmatic by Nas is one of the greatest Hip Hop albums of all time. Illmatic itself can be described as a record that embodies everything East Coast. The beats go hard, they're gangster in their core, the rhymes are tough and the way Nas flows on this record should be studied in music schools everywhere. This. Album. Does. NOT. miss. a. beat. From the very first track you're thrown into the style of New York's 90's scene. The track that follows the intro "N.Y. State of Mind" is one of the best tracks ever to be produced in Hip Hop with rhymes that take you on a journey through New York's rouged and rough streets in which Nas is both an innocent bystander witnessing the insanity of the streets, but also the one who's doing the dirty work. The whole album is a glimpse into 90's New York and a introspective look at Nas' rap skill and career.
The whole album flows so well and it's filled with memorable tracks. This album really forms an image of who Nas is. He has skill, he's not afraid to show it and he's not afraid preach the street gospel. Nas' rhymes reflect this; he uses complex rhyming schemes which are just a joy to the ears. Listening to this album is like reading a fantasy novel. The music itself is joyous; however, the text is tense. Nas' skill really cannot be understated, it really is that insane and I'm not hyping it.
Even if the whole album really has only one or two themes, none of the songs feel repetitive, in fact, every song is something different. Maybe it's a different story from the street, a different way of looking at life in New York or a different perspective into Nas' rap career. The album is incredibly complex in it's story telling. I know my review so far comes off as glazing Nas, but he isn't a musician without critique. Rightfully so because his other releases could only be described as lackluster at best, at least compared to Illmatic (but that's a story for another review). This album is what every rap artist should try to release. I mean it when I say this is probably top 5 Hip Hop albums of all time.
This review might have been short, but there's nothing else to say, and admittedly I gave myself a pretty easy one this time around. 10/10, no questions asked. Very few albums will ever come close to what the Illmatic is and it's going to stay that way for the foreseeable future.
Best/weakest:
I'm going to cheat a bit here as I genuinely believe this album doesn't have a weak song. In turn I will do a short review of 2 of my favorite songs on the record.
"Represent":
This song embodies everything I love about Hip Hop music. The beat itself can be listened to on it's own (like many on this record), and flows incredibly smoothly. The beat works especially well with Nas' voice giving the song a real bed time gangsta story vibe. I won't spoil the lyrics themselves, I'll leave that to you as homework :D 10/10
"The World is Yours":
A chorus we all remember. This song embodies who Nas is which I already previously explained so I won't go on about that. Again, a beat which I'm jealous I didn't get to rap on first myself, but then again, I could never to it justice like Nas did. In general, this is a song he flows exceptionally good on, even better then some of the more popular tracks on this record. Again, 10/10.
Closing statement:
Another one off the list!
Again, I hope you enjoyed reading through my kinda hard to read writing style. I know these are not the best grammatically, but I'm not a native English speaker so it also helps with mastering that.
Unlike the last 2 reviews, I'm not going to reveal what's next so you're just gonna have to wait and see :DD
Good night!!
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v3rmi1li0n__
lov this album and nice review! lml
Tysm!! I should do more ST album reviews soon, but I'm busy with other stuff so I can't even finish my next review ://
by Munche; ; Report