Quote:
Originally Posted by Certain
I don't get how any Nas album could rank higher than Illmatic. I just don't get it.
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You know, song for song, I'm sure Illmatic is his best album. But it's about what the album means to you that can make it more preferable. I grew up in California. 94-96 was all about G-Funk. Warren G. Snoop Dogg. Dr. Dre. Tha Dogg Pound. Ice Cube. DJ Quik. Pac. etc. So, the first Nas song I heard was If I Ruled the World when It Was Written came out. The first full Nas album I heard was Nastradamus. So when Stillmatic came out in 2001, it was the illest album ever. I had gone back and listened to Illmatic by then, but Stillmatic was NOW. Stillmatic was the Nas/Jay-Z beef. It was happening in the moment. And it was raw as fuck.
So, yes. While I can't argue that Illmatic has less skip-worthy tracks, Stillmatic has just as many dope tracks. Ether. One Mic. Rewind. 2nd Childhood. Even Got Urself A Gun was dope as shit. In the moment, that album was my everything. I had one cd player, and I kept that cd in it for months. So for me, for what that album was for me and my life. That album is better than Illmatic.