Nas Illmatic Black Vinyl Edition

"Now let me take a trip down memory lane"....It's 1994 and the hype behind Queensbridge native Nasir "Nas" Jones had already reached a fever pitch. Coming off already classics such as "Live at the BBQ" and (his solo debut song) "Halftime" all eyes were on Nas. From the moment you popped in your cassette, CD, or dropped the needle on the vinyl, you knew you were listening to authentic Hip Hop. Right out the gate you were met with the sound of subway cars, a snippet from Nas on "Live at the BBQ" and finally the Wild Style Theme. These 3 elements seem subtle upon first listen, but once you digest the album you realize Nas was setting a tone. God's Son had arrived.

Backed by an all-star cast of producers including DJ Premier, Large Professor, Q Tip, Pete Rock and then unknown L.E.S, Illmatic never lets up. Nas was able to take you into his world, each beat seemed like it was hand crafted, tailored to precisely match each line of Nas' dense lyrics and unmatched flow.

During the week of its release, everyone now knew the hype was real. Nas, being barley 20 at the time, stood on the shoulders of his predecessors and let everyone know he'd arrived. Illmatic became the debut that from that moment on rappers from Jay Z to Kendrick Lamar got compared to, "is this (insert rappers name here)'s Illmatic?". It was a game changer, not just for Nas, but for New York.. for Hip Hop. The Source broke their unwritten rule of not giving 5 Mics (the highest honor at that time) to a debut - Illmatic got just that. So join us, as we pay homage to one of our favorite albums and revisit the album that became one of the most talked about debuts in Hip Hop’s recorded history.