It drops deep as it does in my breath I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death Beyond the walls of intelligence, life is defined I think of crime when I'm in a New York state of mind
These lines end the first verse of Nas's brilliant debut record, 1994's Illmatic. That verse, which packs 394 words into 40 bars, was recorded in a single take by a 19 year-year-old high school dropout from the city's Queensbridge housing projects. It's boastful, brash, and brutally violent; people are murdered, crack gets bought and used, and Nas steps forward as a narrator of the New York night who has blood on his own hands. The verse culminates in the shrewd self-awareness that knowledge alone can't encapsulate reality—a perfect end to the perfect beginning of one of hip-hop's perfect albums.
When Illmatic was released on April 19th, 1994, it was one of the most-anticipated and powerful debuts that rap had ever seen. Nas's profound talent, even at such a young age, had been creeping into the music mainstream since at least 1991 with the release of Main Source's "Live at the Barbeque" and MC Serch's 1992 single "Back to the Grill". Lines like "When I was twelve, I went to hell for snuffing Jesus" and "I'm waving automatic guns at nuns" not only won him respect from aghast listeners but got him signed to Columbia Records before he was old enough to buy a beer.
Right away it's critical to point out the proper way to read these lines. The young Nasir Jones never actually threatened a nun with a deadly weapon, or for that matter punched Jesus (who he would later go on to play). To hear the lines "Could use a gun son, but fuck being the wanted man / But if I hit rock bottom then I'mma be the Son of Sam" as gangster braggadocio would be to miss Nas's rhetorical genius completely. The hyper-aggressive lines of Nas's beginnings are metaphors, discrete imaginary distillations of the forceful danger and defiance that echoed off the cinder blocks of home.
Those who were alive and aware of New York City hip-hop in the late '80s will remember The Bridge Wars. From 1985-87, a lyrical battle raged between the MCs of Queensbridge and the South Bronx. Beginning with M.C. Shan's "The Bridge" and Boogie Down Productions' reply "South Bronx," the hip-hop radio waves played host to an inter-borough diss war that was relatively tame by today's standards but incensed the emerging artist in a teenage Nas. In the excellent new documentary Time is Illmatic, which premiered earlier this week at the Tribeca Film Festival, Nas remembers the Bridge Wars and how inspiring it was to see his neighborhood idols locked in lyrical combat. "I already knew that I had to prepare to block that hate out or to tear it down," he says in the film. "And my choice was to tear it down."
All this, plus the domestic turmoil of his father's exit from the family household and the murder of his closest friend on the Queensbridge sidewalk made it impossible for Nas to seek anything other than music. Having left the school system before 9th grade, he spent countless hours in his room pouring over books in search of new rhymes and practicing tirelessly to perfect his technique. When opportunity knocked in 1991 in the form of an invitation to record with producer and beatmaker heavyweight Large Professor, Nas, then 18, was ready with the airtight verses of what would ultimately become "It Ain't Hard to Tell," Illmatic's second single and a highlight of his career to this day. Any hip-hop fan who knows the track's relentlessly heavy kick drum and Michael Jackson-sampled synthesizers also knows by heart that "Nas is like the afrocentric asian, half-man half-amazing."
With the road paved by singles "Halftime" and "It Ain't Hard to Tell" Illmatic hit stores in its finished form two decades ago today. The critical recognition was instant: this was a genre-elevating masterpiece from an improbably young source. The Source awarded it "5 Mics," the highest rating ever doled out by the magazine at that time. Commercial rewards lagged, though. It took almost two years for the record to reach the RIAA's gold certification of 500,000 units sold and didn't reach the prestigious platinum level until 2001. In the 20 years since its arrival, though, Illmatic's timeless status has been secured. With nine tracks (plus an introduction) Nas set the bar for rhyme pyrotechnics, thematic development, and the fearless bearing of self—all of the qualities that artful MCs strive for—impossibly high. So high, in fact, that it's a fair argument that not even Nas himself has been able to reach it again.
Illmatic's 20th birthday has been marked by an extensive media blitz that's included Time is Illmatic, a talk at Georgetown, and numerous performances of Illmatic end-to-end. A remastered reissue of the record has also been released, and there's a handy Soundcloud playlist below for your listening pleasure. If you listen to any album today, it ought to be this one.
