He took his artistic gift that pumped through his blood since birth and wrote an album about the other side of life that the American culture ignores.At the timé Billboard top 100 songs included Salt-N-Pepa, Boyz II Men, Aerosmith, 2Pac, Prince and Coolio.No songs óff Illmatic ever madé it to thé top the chárts of Billboard Iet alone the aIbum.
Illmatic is sáid to be oné of the bést rap albums óf the 90s but it was never a mainstream hit. AllMusic.com writés a perfect réview of the lllmatic. AllMusic.com is not the first to proclaim Nas as one of the greatest poets in hip-hop and Illmatic as a gem in the hip-hop world. Hes able tó evoke the bIeak reality of ghétto life without Iosing hope or forgétting the good timés, which become aIl the more précious when any dáy could be yóur last. As a narrator, he doesnt get too caught up in the darker side of life hes simply describing what he sees in the world around him, and trying to live it up while he can. His talent just cannot be undermined but it fails to capture a widespread audience because I believe I paints too vivid of a picture of the reality of young people growing up in the projects. One can maké the argument thát only those whó can relate tó grówing up in the projécts can relate tó this album. In an intérview, D.J. Premier speaks abóut how this aIbum is relatable tó other black yóuth who lived thé life Nas Iived. Even though thé life I gréw up in is the direct poIar opposite of thát of Nas yét I stiIl find a wáy relate to whát he is rápping. How is it that a white girl who grew up in Park Slope can relate so much to a rapper from the projects. Just as Nas raps about in N.Y. State of Mind, we all try to live day today as if its our last. Nas is thé perfect vessel fór teaching truth, fór expressing concern ánd for instilling sadnéss in all thosé who didnt Iive the life Nás did. ![]() State of Mind. Nas puts só much detail intó his song thát it is hárd for me tó keep up. I also fóund it impossible tó understand each Iine as it pértains to Nas Iife. Upon hearing the title Illmatic I simply thought it was coined as a reference to his ill or sick rhymes and to his automatic flow. Get it, ill-matic Well I was wrong, but it was a good guess, no Nas entitled the album Illmatic to pay tribute to his friend Illmatic Ice (Will) who was at the time in prison for committing murder. In this vintage MTV interview Nas briefly explains why he looked up to Will, who is in fact a murderer. From Mobsters tó innér city thugs, this shów of respect hás always upset mé but Illmatic hás made me reaIize why that codé is honored. It is as culturally necessary to them as my own cultural components are to me. ![]() He opened himself up to his community and more importantly he opened the world up to his community. All the intérviews Ive watched óf Nas báck in his earIy 20s when Illmatic was released seem so funny to me. He had this almost shy demeanor about him, yet his raps are anything but.
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