Today we celebrate arguably the greatest hip-hop album ever made. Without exaggeration, Nas’ Illmatic is that supreme. Released on April 19 1994, Illmatic is not just a magnum opus, calling it a ‘classic’ is almost a criminal underrating. Illmatic isn’t a just life changer, it didn’t just change the climate, The King from Queensbridge shifted culture and set a new standard for excellence. That standard and precedent the album set is so high, there are just a few albums since its release that deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Illmatic.
Last night, Nas celebrated his silver anniversary a day early, with a Pop Up shop at Sony Square in New York. The shop served as a museum and shrine to not just the album Illmatic, but to the inspirations that birthed it. Enclosed in glass cases where such collectables as Ron G mixtape cassettes as well as VHS tapes of Sylvester Stallone’s “Cobra,” “Shining,” “Wild Style,” “Scarface,” “Cooley High” and “The Mack.” Also on display were cement Jordan 3s, beat up Timberland boots, and bottles of E&J and Hennessy; both empty. All serving as fuel for Nas’ iconic lyrics. Also on the walls, hung three mural paintings of the Illmatic cover as well as pictures from a photoshoot in Queensbridge.
Nas walked in amazement, taking pictures of all the memorabilia.
“I’m happy. I’m happy. That’s it,” he told LiveXLive exclusively, standing in his own shrine, humbled by his milestone and the love he’s getting for it. “A quarter century is nothing to sneeze at. That’s all. I’m grateful.”
With the DJ playing “New York State of Mind,” oh so appropriately, Nas called his friend and only other person to spit a rap verse on Illmatic, AZ.
“He’s the architect because I figure I was a piece of shit at the time. But he saw something in me that I didn’t hear in myself,” said AZ, who immediately cemented himself as one of the hottest MCs in the culture after people heard him on “Life’s A Bitch.” “He told me ‘hop on the joint.’ I said ‘man you playing.’ Because he’s critically acclaimed [at the time]. I’m like ‘no way.’ But I got on. He coached me through it and is what it what it is. 25 years later. That’s a good look man.”
‘94 was such a beautiful year in music. A plethora of new artists coming to the forefront. Nas, Snoop Dogg, Notorious B.I.G. and Method Man all were vying for the King of Rap crown with outstanding opuses. Just like Michael Jordan will never stake claim to being the GOAT of basketball, Nas is too humble to say he is rap’s Greatest of All Time. However, AZ didn’t have any problem proclaiming it for his Firm teammate.
“He established the flow content to the game,” AZ asserted. “Switched the whole sonics of the game and had everybody following behind him. Dropping that pure poetry and reality, reality rap hit the game at that time and he was the King of it.”
“I mean, you know what it is,” Nas added. “We’re here to raise up the consciousness trough hip-hop. That’s what we’re here to do. That’s all we can be grateful for. That someone out there might have heard something we said in the music that takes us to another level. I learned from music. I learned from everybody’s stuff. I’m having a good time. 25 years, I’m grateful. Thanks to everybody out here who ever heard this record before. We thank you to AZ, thank you Jungle, Dave East, [King] Shooter, J Rosay. May you have a 25 year anniversary. That shit’s alright.”
Nas and AZ also got up on stage, in the area was a replica of the front of the Queensbridge Housing projects replete with the “Welcome To The Queensbridge Sign,” a phone booth with a phone (when you picked up the phone you could hear excerpts of previous Nas interviews) photo booth that let you replicate the iconic Illmatic album cover and an artist painting the Ilmatic album cover live and bar with Henny was on deck.
AZ said a toast.” To see this album grow into the colossal that it is, it’s crazy to me. You still look 25,” The Visualizer proclaimed on the mic. “You changed the course of hip-hop and the way MCs was flowing. Your footprint is forever in the game. Thank you, I love you from the bottom of my heart man. He’s the true GOAT of the game, Greatest of All Time. Make noise for Esco. My brother.”
“First of all, my brother AZ, my brother AZ is here,” Nas said on the mic in front of the crowd right after the toast. “This brother has the verbal, lyrical capability of everything inside of hip-hop wrapped into one; Grandmaster Caz to early [LL] Cool J, to Kool G. Rap, to Rakim. This is all embodied by the god AZ. He was the personification of MCing. Thank you my brother being here and I wouldn’t want anybody on this album but you.
“This is amazing,” God’s Son added. “We have 25 years in hip-hop still, cause our forefathers, they put down more years than us. Some of them are not celebrated enough but this is for the love of hip-hop. This is bigger than me, bigger than my brother AZ. This is bigger than all of us. Unified with a voice from the inner city, to explain the truth to the world like no other. 25 years in an incredible experience because we’re still alive to be here. To the young rappers coming up, I wish you guys a happy 25 years too. I wish the new generation 25 years. The generation after them 25 years. We gotta keep this thing going because hip-hop equals the truth.”
You will get to hear songs from Illmatic live soon. Nas and Mary J. Blige have both signed to go for the joint headlining “Royalty Tour” kicking off this Summer.
Click here for an exclusive playlist dedicated to Escobar on Slacker Radio.