Monday, March 17, 2008

Nas - Illmatic [The Samples]



Post Updated on August 10th, 2010

Greatest hip hop album of all time? Many people would say so. Definitely a must-own album (I'm proud to say I've got this baby on vinyl). The East Coast's Golden Child of the mid-90's, Nas dazzled us all with his pen-and-pad proficiency. But that's minimal when we talk about samples and sample sets. The work that guys like Premo, Pete Rock, LP, L.E.S. and Q-Tip put in on this record set it apart from most. It oozes with soul and refined beat-craftsmanship. The prevalent genre on this set is jazz, and rightfully so: Nas' pops is a jazz musician and -- understandably so -- must have affected his musical preferences and beat choices for his debut record. Original tracks by The Gap Band, Joe Chambers and The Heath Brothers stand out, most definitely; but all in all, this set is just a great playlist to kick back and vibe to. A BIG thank you to John Q of Lyrics to Go for the collaboration on this one! To many more in the future! Cheers...