Nas's Illmatic (14 page)

That’s not to say Large Pro’s version of the beat sounds anything like what SWV did. The two songs only share a small, if prominent, sample that Large Pro buried under the verses. And the rest of his construction here is flawless. Those vocals at the beginning are MJ, pulled from the end of the track and doubled back on themselves in a perfect loop that swings around the channels like you’re in the middle of a merry-go-round. Meanwhile, Kool and the Gang’s “N.T.” provides the strained horns that populate the intro and the choruses, chopped up and reconfigured beautifully so they fit right in next to the king of pop. There are plenty of other little touches in here—the vocal stabs that could have come from Kanye a decade later, the echo bouncing at the beginning of each verse that is shiver-inducing, the heavy layered sound that drops out instantaneously, leaving just a bass and drums—but they all add up to a complete and complex entity. There’s little doubt that of the three songs Large Professor made for
Illmatic
, “It Ain’t Hard to Tell” is his masterpiece.

And yet, the remix Large Professor himself did after the record was released might be just as entertaining. While it’s far simpler, the track loses everything about the music except those vocal stabs in the chorus and rebuilds with a tight but unidentified guitar loop and a snipped Biz Markie sample that sounds like “Nas is the king of disco”—he’s really saying “recognized as the king of disco” on “Nobody Beats the Biz.” It presents the listener with a completely different mood than the original, and yet it somehow fits perfectly with Nas’s lyrics.

But if there’s one thing the remixes from
Illmatic
prove, it’s how versatile Nas’s lyrics are. By displaying the complexity of
his life in each track, Nas was able to complement a dark beat just as easily as a happy one. Because he had such incredible producers, this versatility was on full display on
Illmatic
. It’s not that the precise combination of breaks and flows on the album were so essential to Nas’s message. Rather, the thoughtful offerings from this all-star lineup underscored or counterbalanced his message, heightening the impact of his words.

They also happened to be straight fire.

By the turn of the millennium, Nas was facing decreasing interest among hip hop fans and new challengers to the New York hip hop throne he was widely regarded to reside upon after the Notonous B.I.G.’s death in 1997. “The fact that Big passed made him what it was,” AZ recalls. “And that’s when his mom was going through some problems. And that’s when people said he lost it or he switched over or whatever and he came out with
Nastradamus
, and there was one joint on it and that was it. And, I mean, the lyrical content was there, but it wasn’t as strong as
Illmatic
and
It Was Written.”
The lukewarm response to 1999’s
I am
…and
Nastradamus
signaled the first rough patch in Nas’s career (though it should be noted that both albums still eventually went platinum). Fans bemoaned the perceived sellouts, particularly that fateful “Hate Me Now” video and the Notonous Ginuwine collab. The sharks could smell blood in the water, and in the hyper-competitive world of hip hop, an attack was inevitable.

The biggest shark in the water circa 2001 was undoubtedly Jay-Z. The history behind one of the most-publicized feuds in hip hop has been well documented elsewhere. But
Illmatic’s
status as an undeniable classic is key to understanding why Jay fired his first shots. It’s the reason why Jay felt the need to dedicate a full verse to Nas on his song-length claim to the throne, “The Takeover,” off 2001’s
The Blueprint
. But it’s also why, even on that biting dis record, Jay still feels the need to admit Nas has “a one hot album every ten year average.”

Therein lies the conundrum of
Illmatic
for Nas. Like any artist who succeeds so wildly so early in life, Nas has struggled the rest of his career with separating his new work from what came before it. On the intro to
Stillmatic
, he raps “they thought I’d make another
Illmatic
, but it’s always forward I’m moving, never backwards, stupid, here’s another classic.” Yet, ironically, he has time and time again reached back to that work. That tide
Stillmatic
, used for his 2001 “comeback” album, was a clear indication that he felt the need to insist he had not lost his previous touch. His 2004
Street’s Disciple
used the first two words Nas ever spoke on record from “Live at the BBQ” as its title. Meanwhile, the album intro to
I am
…reminded viewers of his previous hits (and leads into a sequel to “N.Y. State of Mind”) while songs like “The Message,” and “Thief’s Theme” use samples or lines from
Illmatic
tracks as choruses.

Nas’s complex relationship with his own work shows up in interviews as well. While promoting 2006’s
Hip Hop is Dead
, Nas was asked by Pitchfork’s Ryan Dombal if he ever wished
Illmatic
had not been quite as good as it was. “I could never wanna wish that,” Nas replied. “Because if there’s a record I do that’s as good as
Illmatic
, it wouldn’t be intentional. When I say as good as
Illmatic
, I mean to those
Illmatic
fans, in their opinion. I want each album to say something different and be accepted better than the last one but I don’t have any point
to outdo any particular album of mine.” This process of putting the past behind him is essential to the longevity of Nas’s career in a genre Notonous for throwing away talent when it arbitrarily goes out of style.

Premier explains Nas’s mentality
post-Illmatic
as that of a musical auteur. “Nas has always been cutting edge, and he has always done what he feels like he should do, whether it was a good decision or a bad decision. He makes those decisions alone. I mean, even when he had all those dudes with him, he was always kind of a loner. But through all that he has always been daring to break certain barriers, you know, putting out the
Nigger
album and
Hip Hop Is Dead
, willing to take a lot of flack for that for the fact that everybody’s thinking he’s hatin’ or whatever. And I understood his points on all of them.”

But Nas’s desire to constantly reinvent himself as the musical landscape evolves is not the only explanation. In fact, Nas’s shift from hardcore hip hop emcee on
Illmatic
to more amenable crossover rapper on
It Was Written
might seem unnecessary in hindsight. Deciding you have to switch up your sound in order to fit in with hip hop’s new directions after releasing a record hailed as the greatest hip hop album of all time would, indeed, be completely insane. Yet, as AZ notes, the reality of the time was very different than the revised history might imply. “After
Illmatic
, he was trying to find his way.
Illmatic
was so anticipated on the streets, there was blowback on the streets early that the sound didn’t equate to the hype. I came out with ‘Sugar Hill’ and
Doe or Die
and ‘Sugar Hill’ went platinum. So I was the plank that he crossed over to do
It Was Written
.’Cause you gotta understand, after
Illmatic
was out and sales wasn’t doin’ so good, I know that the vibe with-Nas was that he was kinda disappointed in himself. When ‘Sugar Hill’ came out and blew up, I did for him what he had done for me like ‘let’s go to shows and do what it was,’ you know what I
mean? He still was the number one contender in the game, but through that I guess he got his vibe up. He switched management, got with Steve Stout and the Trackmasters, and worked on
It Was Written
, and after that, he did what he had to do.”

The management switch AZ speaks of meant Nas left behind one of the people most integral in getting his career off the ground, MC Serch. Yet it was Serch who ultimately made the decision, not Nas. “To be totally honest with you, I didn’t want to be the Jew behind the black guy. I didn’t want to be Lyor [Cohen, the legendary hip hop manager/executive]. I wanted him to stand on his own. I wanted him to be a black man doing for himself and for the other brother s around him. That’s why I chose to walk away.”

If Serch had stayed, he says, there would have been more objection to the path Nas took in the late-90s. “I would not have agreed with the Ginuwine records, and I would not have agreed with the
Nastradamus
direction. But I understand it from an artist perspective because he is a true artist. He wants to experiment and he wants to test the boundaries and he wants to see what people think and what people are gonna say and how they are gonna react.” Serch also acknowledges a key component of Nas’s talent, his acute sense of where his genre has been and where it is headed. “He also went with the flow of the music and he went with the flow of the culture and he always found his place within the culture. If Nas would have got stuck [with
Illmatic]
, he wouldn’t have grown, and he enjoys that growth process. And if he didn’t go that route, he never would have created “Ether.” He never would have created
Stillmatic
. He never would have created
Hip Hop Is Dead.”

It’s this give and take that seems like the most rewarding way to approach Nas’s catalogue
post-Illmatic
. Even viewing
It Was Written
as the first step Nas took towards being mindful of the radio is difficult when listening to uncompromising
tracks like “I Gave You Power” and “Black Girl Lost”—or even street-minded cuts like “Affirmative Action” and “The Set Up.” “He’s a real artist,” Q-Tip says. “I think he’s definitely trying to change and grow and do different things and be innovative with his music.”
Illmatic’s
seeming contradictions have not disappeared—if anything, they have become more apparent and challenging to the listener. But neither has its unflinching portrayal of reality faded from Nas’s focus. Tracks like “My Country,” “Hip Hop is Dead,” and “Coon Picnic (These Are Our Heroes)” are flawed but complex explorations of what it means to be a black person in America.

While the “gift and curse” explanation of
Illmatic
seems most appropriate considering how Nas has been viewed since the album was released, the truth is that few artists wouldn’t give up the relatively low expectations of their future work for the opportunity to produce a work as moving and influential as Nas did at only 20 years old. Even if Nas hadn’t become the towering figure in hip hop that he did,
Illmatic
would have been enough to cement his reputation as the quintessential modern emcee. That much is certain.

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