In 1994, just as in 1988 for hip hop, an incredible musical wave gave birth to some classic albums, trend-setting artists and dynamic songs that we’ve noticed throughout its history so far. Amongst this batch of history, the elite roster of artists who were born before, but didn’t really show signs of teeth until 1994, were: Jeru The Damaja, Wu-Tang Clan , Common , Notorious B.I.G. , 2Pac , Black Moon , O.C. , The Roots , Gravediggaz, and of course, Nas. We no doubt as part of the hip- hop nation, will forever remember what burned the turntables around this time, and the memories of the music by Nas in the summer heat of 1994, showcased an excellence by the most natural lyricist of all time.

New York buzzed talk of this album’s release as such the didactic recipe for what a hip-hop album was supposed to sound like, that there wasn’t a head in all five boroughs without a copy or a bootleg after its “official” release. Even before the 1994 release, Nas’ flames of greatness sparked our ears with “Halftime”  off the Zebrahead movie soundtrack in 1991, or his prolific verse on Main Source’s “Live at the Bar-B Q” off their album in the same year.

Back then, without the large volume of rappers and a freedom from today’s hard-to-keep-up list of bombarding rap songs, the majority of yesterday’s hip hop following took a closer look within Nas, the rapper. So did the music industry, and soon after rapper Nas was signed to Columbia Records. Unlike most rappers or rap groups, who even today are signed to a label attached to the parent distribution company, Nas was one of the few in the same contractual position as Barbara Streisand, Bruce Springstein, Mariah Carey  and Miles Davis. In other words, whether it’s his talent, the business deal or a buzz that fostered this, Nas was officially looked at as a long-term asset to Sony. He was a part of the “bigger picture”. He was the heart and soul of hip hop, and one who many turned towards with the keenest ear. He was then and is now, Mr. Streetwise, an eloquent and verbally-in-touch youth with every inner-city, project building and crime-ridden urban blight of America.

From the initial sound of the subway train moving across its tracks on the “The Genesis,” blended right into “New York State of Mind” produced by DJ Premier , the blood rushes to your head like when tipsy or high as Nas flows: “It drops deep as it does in my breath/I never sleep ’cause sleep is the cousin of death!” Then as the mellow baptism douses your cabbage, we were introduced to another promising emcee, AZ. Enter “Life’s A Bitch”, the song that gave AZ a start on his career just from one verse and a hook. But a verse it was, as this became the lighter to many sparking blunts. C’mon, rap along now: “We were beginners in the hood as 5 percenters but something must of got in us because all of us turn to sinners.” When Nas approached the mic that night in the studio, those present couldn’t be luckier. He paints an unheard melody, a rhythmic pattern, a resounding onslaught of words and everyone is always queued to recite parts of the verse without knowing just why: “when I was young at this, I used to do my thing hard/robbing foreigners, take they wallets, they jewels and rip their green cards” Back then, it was a challenge to concentrate on the classic productions of Pete Rock , Premier or Q-Tip and Large Professor, as the strain between your ability to marinate the lyrics on cuts like “The World Is Yours”, “Memory Lane (Sittin’ in da Park)”, “One Love” or the album’s first, “It Ain’t Hard To Tell” battled for supremacy with the beats.

The ghetto is indeed a curse to the developing mind, a stable family and economic independence. But as always, there’s a black child that rises above all odds and physically survives to tell it all. Nas is such a child, humble as you can feel his easiness, but complex as you listen to his observations twisted into rhymes. On Illmatic, as you stare at his baby picture amidst the ghostly concrete Queensbridge projects in the background, you can only shake your head in oar. Never has a rapper expressed thoughts, imagination and a street style so naturally, as on Illmatic.

Originally published on HipHopSite.Com in 2003.

The L.A. Leakers had a chance to get in the studio with DJ Premier to work on a new audio-biography, Leaks That Collected Dust. It will be available for download on 05/12/14. With the 20 year anniversary of Nas’ Illmatic being this week, we felt it was only right to release this video first, DJ Premier talked to the Leakers on the making of “Memory Lane (Sittin’ in da Park)”.

From the label just named one of the “10 Best Record Labels of 2012” by FACT Magazine and the crew who brought the world Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx “Purple Tape Cassette Box,” it’s time for another hip-hop celebration.

This time they have set their sights on arguably the most defining hip-hop album of the ‘90s: Nas’ 1994 debut, Illmatic. With the deluxe, premium packaging that Boston-based Get on Down is known for, including an extended-length cherry-wood box, a 48-page hard-cover book and reproductions of unique promotional items from the original 1994 marketing campaign, this is another set you don’t want to sleep on.

Nas Illmatic Deluxe “Gold Edition” CD set features:

· “24k Audiophile Gold Disc” CD with re-mastered audio and actual 24-karat gold embedded in the CD, housed in a “Cherrywood Trophy Box” with gold plaque [limited to 2,000 CD sets]
· 48-page full-color, hard-cover book including liner notes from The Source founder Jon Schecter, extended artwork and full album lyrics
· Black 2-piece outer box with 1994 “Nas” red-on-white logo sticker [www.GetOnDown.com orders only]
· Reproduction of 1994 Illmatic press release, with two 8 x 10 glossy promo photos from Illmatic PR campaign [www.GetOnDown.com orders only]
· Rare 1994 promotional poster with full album lyrics printed on back [www.GetOnDown.com orders only]

In 1994, hip-hop was going through an at-times painful growth spurt. Since N.W.A.’s and Ice-T’s ascent in the late ‘80s, the rap game was no longer owned by the East Coast. After the worldwide popularity of Dr. Dre’s The Chronic in 1992, things were looking even worse for hip-hop’s hometown. The East Coast / West Coast feud that would later indirectly claim the lives of Biggie and Pac was still in its infancy, but New York needed a shot in the arm.

Black Moon hit in the fall of 1993 with Enta Da Stage and Wu-Tang Clan closed out that year with their game-changing debut Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), so the stage was set. In all honesty, the hype behind young Queensbridge native Nasir “Nas” Jones had been in full swing since before those two landmark albums, thanks to Columbia Records’ promo machine.

From his earliest appearance on Main Source’s “Live at the BBQ,” to his own accomplished debut “Half Time” (as Nasty Nas, on the Zebrahead soundtrack in late 1992), it was clear that this kid was something special. In fact, the pressure on him must have been overwhelming at times. April 19, 1994 couldn’t have come soon enough.

And as soon as the first lines of “N.Y. State of Mind” kick in, bolstered by perhaps DJ Premier’s darkest beat of all time, the entire East Coast breathed a collective sigh of relief. God’s Son had arrived. Backed by an absolute all-star cast of New York’s top-shelf producers – Premier, Pete Rock, Large Professor, Q-Tip and a youngster named L.E.S. – the album never lets up. Serious to a fault, and lyrically dense to an extent that has possibly never been matched, the 20-year old Nas stood on the shoulders of his predecessors and proudly proclaimed, “Don’t fuck with the East… we are BACK.”

The story from there is the stuff of legend, a legend that continues to this day, almost two decades and multiple platinum platters later. Illmatic itself boasted a hefty number of number of singles, five, especially considering that the original program ran nine full vocal tracks (excepting the dark intro, “The Genesis”). That’s how densely packed it was.

The album was actually a slow-burn, which might surprise fans that have come to its genius more recently. Despite an unheard-of “5 Mics” in The Source – despite an unwritten rule of never awarding classic status to debuts – it didn’t go gold until early 1996, and didn’t hit platinum status until late 2001. But when you dive deeper that shouldn’t be a shock: like Black Moon and Wu-Tang, it was a dark, hard record, made for heads in New York, not teeny-boppers in Des Moines. There were no dance beats, no crossover love songs. Just boom-bap and rhymes, skills and heart.

From “Life’s A Bitch” (with the album’s only true guest MC, AZ, along with a trumpet solo by Nas’ jazzman father, Olu Dara) to “It Ain’t Hard To Tell,” the album strings you along, brings you through ups and downs, and into the dark corners of NYC. The same corners brought to the world in Melle Mel’s “The Message,” and fleshed out in the late ‘80s by Nas’ lyrical idols Rakim and Kool G Rap.

“My duration’s infinite, moneywise or physiology.
Poetry, that’s a part of me, retardedly bop.
I drop the ancient manifested hip-hop, straight off the block.”
- Nas, “Memory Lane (Sittin’ In Da Park)”

Enjoyed by countless hip-hop heads to this day and considered by many to be a “Top 10 Greatest” in the canon of hip-hop full-lengths, Get on Down’s Illmatic “Gold Disc” set is a perfect way to revisit the record that helped bring the East Coast rap back to its homeland. With the deluxe features and unique “trophy shelf” packaging, it will sit among your other coveted possessions for decades to come.

Get On Down is an acclaimed Boston-based record label and premium online boutique (www.GetOnDown.com), offering an eclectic array of products, from deluxe music reissues on vinyl and CD to apparel and pop culture artifacts. Established in 2010, Get On Down’s record label boasts over 75 titles in its ever-expanding catalog.

The GetOnDown.com online boutique was launched in 2012 and operates with a strong “anti-big-box store” aesthetic, dedicated to carefully curating a premium product mix for independent-minded customers who span the globe. GetOnDown.com features items from the Get On Down label along with unique non-label offerings, including apparel, DVDs, pop culture artifacts and more.

DJ Vlad asks Preem to weigh in on Illmatic and It Was Written.

As we reported earlier this month, Fashawn is serious about remaking Illmatic. So serious in fact, that he serves up his take on “Life’s A Bitch”, featuring Talib Kweli.

Fashawn + Talib Kweli – “Life’s A Bitch” (MP3)