Bleep

It’s impossible to overstate the influence of Nas’ Illmatic, despite the years of hype and praise assigned to its legacy since its 1994 release. The young emcee’s debut, unmatched in its tough-as-nails beats and hard-knock life wisdom, may as well have risen fully formed from the smoggy streets of Queens, New York. Not only did Illmatic cement Nas’ status as one of the all-time greats of hip-hop, it also gave east coast hip-hop the shot in the arm it sorely needed.