I used to watch MTV a lot and saw the video for Can't Forget About You. Thought it was dope and decided to start listening to Nas. Played Hip Hop Is Dead a few times then went back to illmatic

As far as production goes idk man it's tough. There's a lot of albums with production I really really love that I can't rank. I'll put it over Blueprint tho for sure

People really saying Illmatic the best thing since sliced bread.

Its very vivid when it comes to storytelling etc. Nas’ lyricism is top class but imo Illmatic aint the best s*** out there.

I find albums like Aquemini better.

Imo Illmatic hype stems from NY niggas, critics and fans who act like they like it to feel like they know something about hip-hop

Aquemini, Ready to die > Illmatic

its gritty, content so vivid you can picture it

Mysterious

HOW DARE YOU?! YOU ARE BANISHED FROM THE HIPHOP HEAD COMMUNITY FOREVER!

In terms of imagery and production, it perfectly captures what the 90s was like living in NYC

The beats and the rapping tf?

I just bump the genesis

That's because you lack an appreciation for poetry as well as a basic understanding of writing techniques.

Here we have this vid of a Harvard poetry professor praising Nas' pen:

On "It Ain't Hard to Tell", Nas himself basically describes the euphoric feeling that his raps give to the listeners:

Nas is like the Afrocentric Asian: half-man, half-amazin'
‘Cause in my physical I can express through song
Delete stress like Motrin, then extend strong

This rhythmatic explosion
Is what your frame of mind has chosen
I'll leave your brain stimulated, niggas is frozen
Speak with criminal slang, begin like a violin
End like Leviathan, it's deep? Well, let me try again
Wisdom be leakin' out my grapefruit, troop
I dominate break loops, givin' mics men-e-strual cycles
Street's disciple, I rock beats that's mega trifle
And groove even smoother than moves by Villanova
You're still a soldier, I'm like Sly Stone in Cobra
Packin' like a Rasta in the weed spot
Vocals will squeeze Glocks
MCs eavesdrop, though they need not to sneak
My poetry's deep, I never fell
Nas' raps should be locked in a cell; it ain't hard to tell

Illmatic is masterfully written and performed in a way that's far beyond the talent of the average rapper, especially in our day and age, where it's cool to act lazy and freestyle the same basic rhymes and rely on adlibs.

The best up n coming rapper in the game teamed up with the best producers and together they created a beautiful composition that's perfect and concise. Just like Kind of Blue and all those other seminal Jazz records.

In terms of content, it's almost like a documentary in the form of audio:

There’s a lot of historical value in there. Back then there was a killing of a guy named Jose “Kiko” Garcia in Washington Heights by the police that I mention in my lyrics. I talk about the Supreme Team, a d*** gang in Queens, and their leader named Supreme, who is now locked up. I talk about Ron G who was a Harlem mixtape DJ who was really popular at the time. It was kind of the first time you’d hear street conversation by someone who knew these guys personally at the time.

Everyone's favorite albums have beats and rapping. What make those beats better than the top, let alone your average production from 2000-2010, for example? What makes the rapping good? Can you relate to what he is rapping about?

Tbh I think most of the clout comes from the old heads that don’t listen to any rap after 2000. If you asked my dad what the best rap albums are he’d probably say Illmatic or 36 chambers since that was the best rap at the time and he didn’t listen to anything from this century.

I've listened to more albums than 99% of KTT and still hold those two on the highest regard.

So does @Aftermathbws

Okay but do you have any conceivable reason other than the nostalgia factor? I feel like lyrics and beats have kept getting better up until like 2015

Everything the beats, flows, delivery, storytelling, the overall vibe really.

Illmatic is the album that got me into Hip-Hop

It's one of the greatest achievements of the genre

idk if it's a top 10 hip hop album but i love it. the production, the rapping, the feel... it just feels like new york, it's awesome.

Represent is ridiculous

They're culturally important.

Like old movies.

People don't compare an old classic movie that broke new ground to a movie made last year with new technology/trends/etc. Obviously the special affects were better in frozen 4 compared to the great train robbery.

Raps no different. Comparisons only go so far because there's also a cultural significance factor.

His flow, delivery, rhyming schemes, lyrics... everything is top-notch. The verses are sooooooo smoooth, it's insane It's one of the greatest albums of all time, no doubt. Regardless of genre.

Ehh lol. Nas is the best rapper ever to me. He offers the perfect mix of technique, intellect, griminess and swag, which makes him very appealing and accessible.

There is no other rapper who is capable of writing rhymes that describe reality as vividly and masterfully as Nas imo. Dude does it so naturally, plus he's authentic af. At last, his flow is so raw and acrobatic that it makes heads spin, he goes Super Saiyan on every track, you can tell that he learned from his father who is a Jazz musician.

Prod wise we get Preemo, Q-Tip, Pete Rock and Large Pro all in their prime. Every beat on the album is out of this world.

I don't see how "lyrics and beats got better" at all

Who can do better in your opinion?

This plus your previous reply. Someone catches my drift and gets it. You can love Illmatic and have it as your number one and whatnot... I just dont believe these "hiphop heads" who grew up listening to 2000s music and not being from the hood and/or not being a thug: a) genuinely thinking it is lyrically amazing and thus relatable and b) genuinely thinking that it's production is anything that stands out compared to later music with which they grew up.

How often do you listen to it? And how often is that compared to other albums? The albums you listen to most = your favorite albums = the best albums (in your opinion). Taste is subjective.

Only a true shallow motherfucker who sees the world through a scope would insist that you have to be a thug to appreciate Illmatic.

broooo, nostalgia has little to do with it, Illmatic sounds as fresh as ever

how can you listen to tracks like Represent and The World Is Yours and not be thinking that his flows, rhyming, beats, lyrics, atmosphere, etc. s***s on 95 % of current-age hip-hop?

Lyrically, I can think of many albums that are better. Why? Because they actually say something of substance which speaks to me and to which I can relate. And if you want metaphors, word play and so on, I can think of many, many better albums and songs. And for rhyme schemes, I can also find many better songs and albums. Someone rapping about holding an M16 and doing basic aaaaaaaaa bbbbbbbb monosyllabic rhyming is nothing special. Sure there are some good beats there, but overall it is quite dusty compared to modern music and even earlier music.