Wikipedia: Illmatic

Illmatic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Illmatic is an East Coast rap album by Nas, released on April 19, 1994 (see 1994 in music). With producers like DJ Premier and Pete Rock, Illmatic began its career with advance buzz on the streets. According to most critics, the album held up to its reputation, and became known as one of the most individual and creative gangsta rap albums in the history of the genre. Songs like "Life's A Bitch" (featuring rapper AZ in an almost show-stealing verse), "It Ain't Hard To Tell" (which samples Michael Jackson's song "Human Nature"), and "One Love" (produced by Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest), "Illmatic" is widely regarded as a must-own record for rap fans. Illmatic established Nas as a critical darling, a reputation he was unable to keep through a series of disastrously reviewed albums, finally ending with the critically acclaimed Stillmatic.

Track listing

The Genesis
N.Y. State of Mind (Jones/Martin)
Life's a Bitch (Cruz/Dara/Jones/Scott/Wilson)
The World Is Yours (Jones/Phillips)
Halftime (Byrd/Jones/Mitchell)
Memory Lane (Sittin' in da Park) (Barsella/Jones/Martin/Wilson)
One Love (Davis/Heath/Jones)
One Time 4 Your Mind (Jones/Mitchell)
Represent (Martin/Jones)
It Ain't Hard to Tell (Jones/Mitchell)

Personnel

MC Serch - Executive Producer
Olu Dara - Trumpet
Nas - Vocals, Producer
DJ Premier - Producer
Diego Garrido - Engineer, Mixing
Large Professor - Producer
Tim "The Funky Red" Lathem - Engineer
Q-Tip - Producer
Kevin Reynolds - Engineer
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Producer
Eddie Sancho - Engineer
Jamey Staub - Engineer
Jason Vogel - Engineer
Stan Wallace - Engineer
Louis Tineo - Assistant Engineer
Pete Rock - Producer
Aimee MacAuley - Design
Jack Hersca - Assistant Engineer
Danny Clinch - Photography
L.E.S. - Producer
Anton "Sample This" Pushansky - Engineer
A.Z. - Vocals

Chart positions

Billboard Music Charts (North America) - album

1994	The Billboard 200	                No. 12
1994	Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	                No. 2

Billboard (North America) - singles

1993	Half Time	        Hot Rap Singles	                     No. 8
1994	It Ain t Hard To Tell	The Billboard Hot 100	             No. 91
1994	It Ain t Hard To Tell	Hot Rap Singles	                     No. 13
1994	One Love	        Hot Rap Singles	                     No. 24
1994	The World Is Yours	Hot Rap Singles	                     No. 27
1994	It Ain t Hard To Tell	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks     No. 57
1994	The World Is Yours	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks     No. 67
1994	It Ain t Hard To Tell	Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales   No. 3
1994	One Love	        Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales   No. 6
1994	The World Is Yours	Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales   No. 6
1995	One Love	        Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales   No. 34

	Wikipedia: Illmatic