The Top 4 Hip-Hop/Rap Artists of All Time – 4: NAS

4: NAS

Born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones on September 14, 1973, but more commonly referred to his rap name, “Nas”. The beginnings of Nas can be traced back to the young age of 9, where he began writing rhymes due to the influence of his neighbour Willy “Ill Will” Graham. Upon the divorce of his parents when he was 12, he dropped out of school in eighth grade and decided for a life on the streets of Queensbridge. At the same time, he also maintained in educating himself, frequently reading books on the cultures of other countries. It was this experience on the streets of Queensbridge mixed with his yearning for knowledge that helped him in personalising his rhymes and creating his own unique style.

Many place him as the number 1 artist of rap/hip hop due to his consistent release of high quality music. His first album, “Illmatic” is also at the top of many people’s list for the greatest rap album ever, and top 25 in music history.

In 1994, he released an album that would be forever remembered by millions. ”Illmatic” climbed to no. 12 on the Billboard Hot 200 and despite the ‘low’ ranking, it was an album for the history books due to the reception it received from others down the line. It was the sublime lyricism combined with the fact the album was delivered into the heat of the raging East-West rap conflict that quickly cemented Nas’ reputation as a premium name in the rap game. The album gave birth to many hit songs, including, “The World Is Yours”, “It Ain’t Hard to Tell”, and “One Love”. To this day, many still rate the album as the greatest hip hop album of all time and the best hip-hop record ever made.

The following of his albums (“It Was Written”, “I Am..”, “Nastradamus”, “Stillmatic”, God’s Son”, “Street’s Disciple” and “Hip Hop is Dead”) did relatively well but none rose to the acclaim that his first album, Illmatic reached. Despite all his albums being of high quality and meaningful content, it was the raw emotion mixed with the lyrical genius of Illmatic that really set the album in the history of music.

REVIEW: ILLMATIC

If you have ever wondered what life is like in the neighbourhood of Queens, New York, stop. Nas has created that image for you through “Illmatic“, he’s most renowned album. Through the tone set by Nas through his rhymes and instrumentals the album does well to depict the dark and murky setting of this gangster area. The song, “N.Y. State of Mind”, doesn’t start with a exclamation, rather it starts with a slow stroll throughout the hellish streets of Queens, New York. Whilst the piano plays in the background, Nas begins spitting out his rhymes about his upbringing and gang life in the streets. The minimalistic use of piano places heavy reliance on Nas’ dark poetry and this is what sets this track as a hip-hop classic and a large reason why Nas will always get a mention in anyone’s top 5 in hip-hop/rap artists of all time. The other songs in the album follow the same dark and oppressed tone that clearly depicts how Nas grew up and how he views his childhood city. With Nas’ father being a famous jazz musician, the jazz influence is very evident throughout the album serving as a backdrop to the slick lines that Nas brings to the mic.

To conclude, Illmatic is a legendary album that deserves every right it currently has to be regarded as the greatest rap album ever. The album serves as a reminder to the new generation of what ‘real’ music really was and a classic that gets many of the younger generations into the old school style of music.

ALBUM RATING: 5/5