What's happening folks! It's been a long time since we've done this, but what a better time than now right? It's time we give some love to very seminal albums from a very seminal year. We will start with an album that was not only considered a rejuvenation and a slightly overdue fire put back in this particular legendary emcee, but among his most prized works. This album showed a return lyrically and focus-wise an emcee heralded for crafting (arguably, although there's not an argument from this particular writer) the most influential and greatest hip-hop album to ever exist, Illmatic. This album also once and for all put some respect on the name of this emcee that many didn't think he had a lot left after poorly received criticism from his previous effort, Nastradamus, not to mention being humiliated and called out by rival Jay-Z in a VICIOUS effort called "The Takeover". This all lead to a blistering reminder of who he was in 2001. Ladies and gentlemen, we salute Stillmatic, the fifth album from god MC, Nas.
We all know the legacy of Illmatic. How so many in hip-hop have been impacted and influenced from this perfect album. From lyrical structure to just raw hunger displayed all over the album, this album has been so revered, this made it to the Library of Congress for "significant cultural impact" and rightfully so. Not to mention, numerous tributes, a documentary on it, and even Michael Eric Dyson wrote an entire book dedicated to the poignancy of Illmatic. The question was 'How do you follow up something so perfect?" The answer lied with It Was Written, in which many people state was every bit as great, or better, than Illmatic in terms of sequencing, even better lyricism, and a conceptual masterwork as his storytelling was on full display pretty much throughout the album. This also put him into hip-hop's mainstream appeal, as was evidenced by the first single, the massively successful collab wit the "it" girl at the time, Lauryn Hill, "If I Ruled The Word", which led to three million copies sold of IWW. Nas was officially here. He had arrived.
Attempting to silence critics of his claiming he had went too pop and didn't have his hard edge anymore (these same people must not have heard cuts like "Live Nigga Rap", Take It In Blood", "The Message", and "Silent Murda"), he delivered his third album, I Am, which was received with overall positive receptions with strong cuts like "NY State Of Mind Pt. 2", "Favor For A Favor", and the crazy first single "Nas Is Like", but was still venturing into pop/radio territory with cuts like the hot yet controversial second "Hate Me Now" and the unnecessary "Dr. Knockboots" so it wasn't flawless, but still considered his most underappreciated. Of course, I Am was plagued with rampant bootlegging, as the original concept was a double album called I Am...The Autobiography. If you go and google the actual tracklist for this effort, especially the cuts that we would later hear throughout various other projects and mixtapes, this would've been the greatest double album of all time without question. A few of those cuts made it onto his follow-up, Nastradamus, a good yet overall underwhelming effort, especially from the curator of the most lyrically amazing hip-hop album likely ever in hip-hop history. Things were about to turn around in dramatic fashion.
In 2001, Jay-Z presented the aforementioned "Takeover", a brutal diss at Nas and Nas homie and fellow QB artist, the late Prodigy of Mobb Deep. After some reported back and forth subliminal disses between the two for supposedly a couple of years before this even all blew up in the open, "Takeover" could've been the dagger to Nas' career. Instead, this was the fire Nas needed, and in came his FEROCIOUS yet supposedly factual diss "Ether", in which he went after Jay and members of Jay's Roc-A-Fella crew. This set the stage for his much anticipated Stillmatic, a title that likely implied he was back to his Nasty Nas days for this album, and quite honestly, if Illmatic had come out in 2001 instead of April of '94, it quite likely could've sounded like this or similar...more like similar. Once we get past "Ether", we get into the first commercial single of the album, "Got Urself A Gun". From there, it's one of the best rides Nas had ever been on. He reunited with Illmatic producers Large Professor, L.E.S., and DJ Premier on the cuts "You're Da Man", "The Flyest" w/ several time collaborator AZ, "Every Ghetto", and "2nd Childhood" respectively for a few of the true highlights on the album. He dips into his creativity on a few cuts too. Take the cut "Rewind" for example. Nasir Jones literally told a story of a woman that set him up told from the end to the beginning, even so much as rapping the dialogue in reverse as well. Also, powerful moments such as the politically conscious reworking of Tears For Fears' most heralded cut "Everybody Wants To Rule To World", "Rule", the exceptional third single "One Mic", "What Goes Around", and the noteworthy "Destroy & Rebuild", in which he lets off on enemies such as former Firm affiliate Nature, former close friend, the aforementioned Prodigy, and friend turned very bitter rival, Cormega.
This album needed to album, as Nas was somewhat at a crossroads. With the lukewarm reception to his albums of I Am and Nastradamus, along with Jay coming at him in such a public, vicious way, Nasir had to make us all remember the man many compared to a younger Rakim, and for a reason. This was a message to those that thought Jay's dissing and the criticisms were gonna define him. Nas' pen game was as sharp as ever, as was his beat selection and his ability to tap into those unique abilities that ended up making him into the legend he is now. Was it one hundred percent perfect? I wouldn't say that BUT this was easily his best effort since at least It Was Written and while Nasty Nas was a kid in the hood with the grown man's mind, this Nas was a full grown man with deepened ambitions to be among the true GOATs. This album brought him that much closer to that title.
With a discography that has ranged from decent to near classic with albums such as Hip-Hop Is Dead, God's Son, Street's Disciple, Life Is Good, his Lost Tapes compilations plus the Grammy Award winning King's Disease (his first by the way), Nas has more than proven his legendary, OG status within hip-hop, however it was Stillmatic that made people finally look at him and officially bring him into the conversation. With four million sold from this album plus his most acclaimed effort since IWW, the once chip-toothed Queensbridge prodigy became a full blown great by the end of Stillmatic if anyone was unsure before. Here's a lifted glass to the greatness that is Stillmatic. Until next time folks!
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