Illmatic

Following his show-stealing debut in 1991 on Main Source’s track “Live at the Barbeque,” Nas delivered his debut album Illmatic to high praise in 1994. The title was derived from a Queensbridge individual named Illmatic Ice, with “illmatic” being an adjective used to describe something extraordinary. Illmatic had an all-star lineup of East Coast producers—Large Professor, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, and L.E.S.—to provide the boom bap backdrop for Nas to display his “N.Y. State of Mind.” At 20 years old, Nas was praised for his storytelling and flow as he talked about life growing up in the Queensbridge projects.

DJ Premier gave his thoughts on Illmatic’s legacy during an interview in 2019:

The songs and the emotions of those songs are so pure and never, never diminishing in your passion for how they made you feel [and] how much you love them to this day.

Pictured (L to R): DJ Premier, Large Professor, Columbia Records A&R and Illmatic co-executive producer Faith Newman, Nas, Q-Tip, L.E.S.

Despite the praise, Illmatic took several years to reach platinum status. It peaked at #12 on the Billboard 200 and debuted at #2 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart behind the Above the Rim soundtrack. The album was supported by the singles “It Ain’t Hard To Tell,” “The World is Yours,” and “One Love.” “Halftime” was previously released in 1992 on the Zebrahead soundtrack and “Life’s a Bitch” with AZ was released as a promo single. Nas also shot a video for the Q-Tip remix of “The World is Yours,” which was sampled for the chorus of JAY-Z’s 1996 single “Dead Presidents.”

The album has received numerous accolades and has been featured on numerous “best of” lists, including a perfect 5 Mic rating in The Source magazine, as well as a rank of #44 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time, induction into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry, and Complex named Illmatic as the Best Rap Album of the 90s. “It Ain’t Hard To Tell” is also part of a poetry curriculum at Harvard University.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Illmatic’s release, Apple Music released a short documentary featuring recollections from some of the album’s main contributors: