Illmatic: Parental Advisory

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Nasir Jones made this debut album at the age of 20, already armed with the calm perceptiveness and been-there-done-that attitude of a much older ghetto vet, though sometimes his inner callow youth shows itself. Illmatic is a look back at a life spent in the culture of the projects, acknowledging joy as much as pain and taking note of violence as a fact of his environment rather than a focus of his life. It's enlivened by Nas's kicky, deep-threaded multiple rhymes--you can tell he grew up listening to Mr. Magic's rap show and internalising the secrets of everybody's flow--and by tracks from a bunch of all-stars, including the Large Professor, DJ Premier, and, most memorably, Q-Tip ("One Love"). --Douglas Wolk

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-11-21 rating:
top ten
this has gotta be in the top ten of greatest hip-hop albums ever made, its also the only nas album i like ive heard most of his other albums and i didnt really like any of them but this album is class, great lyrics and great production, as far as rappers go though i think 2pac was a better rapper

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review by: date: 2008-08-04 rating:
Five mics
Greatest hip-hop album of all time, and possibly the greatest poetic work of the 20th century

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review by: hip hop head date: 2008-06-15 rating:
QUEENS BRIDGE
Im keeping this short cause any real hip hop fan knows that this is one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time,the whole album is dope and lyricly its maybe the best,just one word needed to sum it up CLASSIC

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review by: date: 2007-06-04 rating:
Greatest Rap Album Ever Recorded
There, i've started off my review with that statement. So why do I think Illmatic is worth that accolade. Well, I'd say it's the greatest for a number of reasons, one of them being the impact this album had on the rap world. Nas practically invented a new style of delivery, which influeneced every rapper going, and most rappers still use this style to this day.

My other reason is the lyrics. Nas is a true poet, and possibly the best lyricist in the game ever, maybe not in terms of wordplay like Rakim, but just the ability to tell a story in an articulate way is just astounding. Tracks like N.Y. State Of Mind and The World Is Yours depict what life is like growing up in New York as a working class individual, and considering Nas was only 20 at the time, it's like Bob Dylan writing Blowin' In The Wind, for the 90's.

The album is short for a rap album, containing only nine tracks and one skit. The phrase quality over quantity springs to mind immediately, because for me, seven of the tracks I'd rate as 5-star classics. Rap just doesn't get any better than this. Show any hater who thinks they know about rap, and slags it off, this masterpiece, and they'll be converted.

For me, this is the greatest rap album ever made, and is in my all time top 10 of all genres. This is as essential as Sgt. Pepper's, London Calling, or The Queen Is Dead.


review by: Shoot Warriors date: 2007-04-17 rating:
Best Hip Hop Album All Time
I Dont say this often but if i was on a desert island thingy then this would be the album i would take with me, my favourite hip hop album of all time and possible the worlds greatest hip hop album of all time. Every track brilliant til they stretch the 5 star limit. It also contains what i think is the greatest hip hop track of all time "It aint hard to tell" i think this song and this album is a simple must to have for any hip hop fan

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