Illmatic
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Illmatic is an East Coast rap album by Nas, released on April 19, 1994 (see 1994 in music). With producers like DJ Premier and Pete Rock, Illmatic began its career with advance buzz on the streets. According to most critics, the album held up to its reputation, and became known as one of the most individual and creative gangsta rap albums in the history of the genre. Songs like "Life's A Bitch" (featuring rapper AZ in an almost show-stealing verse), "It Ain't Hard To Tell" (which samples Michael Jackson's song "Human Nature"), and "One Love" (produced by Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest), "Illmatic" is widely regarded as a must-own record for rap fans. Illmatic established Nas as a critical darling, a reputation he was unable to keep through a series of disastrously reviewed albums, finally ending with the critically acclaimed Stillmatic.
Track listing
- "The Genesis"
- "N.Y. State of Mind" (Jones/Martin)
- "Life's a Bitch" (Cruz/Dara/Jones/Scott/Wilson)
- "The World Is Yours" (Jones/Phillips)
- "Halftime" (Byrd/Jones/Mitchell)
- "Memory Lane (Sittin' in da Park)" (Barsella/Jones/Martin/Wilson)
- "One Love" (Davis/Heath/Jones)
- "One Time 4 Your Mind" (Jones/Mitchell)
- "Represent" (Martin/Jones)
- "It Ain't Hard to Tell" (Jones/Mitchell)
Personnel
- MC Serch - Executive Producer
- Olu Dara - Trumpet
- Nas - Vocals, Producer
- DJ Premier - Producer
- Diego Garrido - Engineer, Mixing
- Large Professor - Producer
- Tim "The Funky Red" Lathem - Engineer
- Q-Tip - Producer
- Kevin Reynolds - Engineer
- Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Producer
- Eddie Sancho - Engineer
- Jamey Staub - Engineer
- Jason Vogel - Engineer
- Stan Wallace - Engineer
- Louis Tineo - Assistant Engineer
- Pete Rock - Producer
- Aimee MacAuley - Design
- Jack Hersca - Assistant Engineer
- Danny Clinch - Photography
- L.E.S. - Producer
- Anton "Sample This" Pushansky - Engineer
- A.Z. - Vocals
Chart positions
Billboard Music Charts (North America) - album
1994 The Billboard 200 No. 12 1994 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums No. 2
Billboard (North America) - singles
1993 Half Time Hot Rap Singles No. 8 1994 It Ain t Hard To Tell The Billboard Hot 100 No. 91 1994 It Ain t Hard To Tell Hot Rap Singles No. 13 1994 One Love Hot Rap Singles No. 24 1994 The World Is Yours Hot Rap Singles No. 27 1994 It Ain t Hard To Tell Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks No. 57 1994 The World Is Yours Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks No. 67 1994 It Ain t Hard To Tell Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales No. 3 1994 One Love Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales No. 6 1994 The World Is Yours Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales No. 6 1995 One Love Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales No. 34