Today is the 18th year anniversary of Nasā landmark debut Illmatic. Nas has made so many great songs (and a few awful ones) but still, his legacy lies in his debut. Illmatic is arguably the greatest rap record ever and an album just about anyone who calls themselves a hip-hop fan knows all the words to.
While last nightās Behind The MusicĀ on Nas taught us lots of things about Nasir Jones most of us didnāt know (or things we donāt believe, like that whole bit about a shuffle with 2Pac) weāre willing to bet that thereās things about Illmatic that even the biggest Nas stan doesnāt know.
Thatās why in celebration of the album, we dug through the archives of various articles about the album and pulled together 10 Things You Didnāt Know About Nasā Illmatic. And if you do know these things already, then congratulations you win the Rap Nerd of the Day award....
Written by Insanul Ahmed (@Incilin)
Large Professor Would Edit Nas Rhymes
Large Professor Would Edit Nasā Rhymes
Hip-hop purists might find this hard to believe, but the lyrical masterpiece of Illmatic wasnāt constructed by just one man. Every great writer needs a great editor and for Nas it was Large Professor. Extra P would bring Nas to studio sessions during the making of Eric B. & Rakimās Let the Rhythm Hit āEm and drop jewels.
āHe helped me because I only knew half of what was going on,ā said Nas, to Mass Appeal back in 2002. āI knew about the pen touching the paper. Paul knew that too, but he also knew to tell me, āDonāt say this. Take that out. Why would you say this? That makes you look crazy! This word donāt make no sense.āā He taught me everything.ā IT WAS WRITTEN EDITED!