Top 9 Illmatic Quotes & Sayings

The things Nas' Illmatic was saying were sometimes hard realities but it was done on such a high level, I felt I could point to him as a representative. Someone who put my struggle and my worldview into poetry.

The effect that 'Illmatic' had on us at that moment was serious.

'Stillmatic' is the rebirth of 'Illmatic,' my first debut album to come out in 1994. 'Stillmatic' is me coming full circle in my career and with everything, and just bringing pure hip-hop back.

It used to be when a good record was about to drop you heard it out of every car and every kid with a boom box was playing it 3-4 weeks before it came out. Now it's not like that you just see ipods left and right and there's no anticipation factor. I have yet to see something drop with the anticipation that Illmatic had or that Ready 2 Die and Cuban Linx had. Those records had real anticipation factors.

When I made Illmatic, I was trying to make the perfect album. It comes from the days of Wild Style. I was trying to make you experience my life. I wanted you to look at hip-hop differently. I wanted you to feel that hip-hop was changing and becoming something more real.

Nas' Illmatic blew my mind when I first heard it. The poetry was done on such a high level that in a way, it validated our existence, our culture. He used the language of the street at the time and made it art. Art tends to be validating.

I'm Ready to Die without a Reasonable Doubt Smoke Chronic and hit it Doggystyle before I go out. Until they sign my Death Certificate, All Eyez on Me I'm still at it, Illmatic, and that's The Documentary.

'Illmatic' was dope.

Growing up in the Bay, I was still looking for a lot of East Coast hip-hop. I had an older homie put me on to a lot of stuff like Nas' 'Illmatic.'