People say Illmatic was ahead of its time but it wasn’t, it’s simply timeless. In 1994, it was a classic. If it was released tomorrow it would be a classic and there are so few, if any, albums that can boast that type of impact.

Illmatic is the be-all end-all of hip-hop albums and raised the bar for not only every album released but also every bar written and every track produced thereafter. While you can hear Rakim’s influence in Nas’ delivery, Illmatic was truly a blueprint.

Never before, or after for that matter has an album been so perfectly executed. It really hits home when you sit back and think about all the hip-hop albums that have been released. You have Reasonable Doubt, Aquemini, The Fix, The Blueprint, Paid in Full, Doggystyle, The Chronic, The Chronic 2001, The Marshall Mathers LP, Ready To Die, Life After Death, All Eyez On Me, Born to Mack, Internal Affairs, It’s Dark and Hell is Hot, We Can’t Be Stopped, Stankonia, Black on Both Sides, Doe or Die, Capital Punishment, One For All, Mecca and The Soul, Let’s Get Free, and a bunch of other that are labeled classics.

These albums set trends, changed the hip-hop game, changed the hip-hop culture but still none are better than Illmatic. While the one knock on Illmatic was that it w as too short at only ten tracks, I see that as one of its strong points. If you have a classic at ten tracks, why spoil the perfection by trying to make it twelve? No matter what scale you use to judge Illmatic, it still comes out on top. Did it change the game? Absolutely. Every album up to and including albums that haven’t been released yet will strive for its greatness. Illmatic was released in a time when lyrics were king and it still triumphed as the supreme. Did it influence other rappers? Every and I mean every rapper has been influenced by Illmatic. While I realize some people might view this as hip-hop blasphemy, Illmatic influenced even Jay-Z and Tupac. It’s impossible to listen to that album and not draw some sort of inspiration from it whether it is the style, the lyrics, or the overall hip-hop purity. Even more impressive was the fact that this album was dropped in what many, not all but many, considered to be the golden era of hip-hop.

Lyrics had made a jump, in large part thanks to Rakim and Big Daddy Kane, from hot to just mind-boggling. The material being released was incredible and still Illmatic was number one. Had Nas quit rap the day after he dropped Illmatic, he would still be considered a hip-hop legend. What’s impressive also is the majority consensus that Illmatic is the greatest rap album of all time, given the ever-changing opinion of what’s hot and what’s not in hip-hop. An amazing trait that Illmatic also has is the chemistry between Nas and the producers. That is one quality that I don’t think will ever be duplicated.

Q-Tip, Large Professor, Pete Rock, and L.E.S all contributed to the album. They all brought classic material to the table but the iconic DJ Premier, by many considered to be the best hip-hop producer of all time stole the show. What him and Nas had together was so amazing it has to be described as something even greater than chemistry. It was magic, never before had an artist and a producer been able to complement each other in such a way that they seemed like one.

The album was hip-hop in its purest form. It was one MC, putting his all, lyrically into some of the most well crafted tracks in hip-hop history. There was one guest appearance and it wasn’t somebody who was hot at the moment. It was Brooklyn’s own, Anthony Cruz, better known in hip-hop circles as AZ. There is nothing negative I can say about this album. From 'N.Y State of Mind', to 'The World is Yours', to 'Memory Lane', to 'The Genesis', to 'Life’s A Bitch', this album, if not perfect, is hands down the closest thing to it. It’s nine tracks and one skit of pure hip-hop, nothing more and nothing less. This album is everything hip-hop was meant to be and more. It’s a shame that the standard that this album set hasn’t lasted throughout the generations. One thing is for sure, it’s the greatest ever and everybody who knows hip-hop knows that.

“N.Y. State Of Mind”

Rappers I monkey flip 'em with the funky rhythm I be kickin'
Musician, inflictin' composition
Of pain I'm like Scarface sniffin' cocaine
Holdin' a M-16, see with the pen I'm extreme, now
Bullet holes left in my peepholes
I'm suited up in street clothes
Hand me a nine and I'll defeat foes
Y'all know my steelo with or without the airplay
I keep some E&J, sittin' bent up in the stairway
Or either on the corner bettin' grands with the cee lo champs
Laughin' at base heads, tryin' to sell some broken amps
G-Packs get off quick, forever niggaz talk shit
Reminiscing about the last time the Task Force flipped
Niggaz be runnin' through the block shootin'
Time to start the revolution, catch a body head for Houston
Once they caught us off guard, the Mac-10 was in the grass and
I ran like a cheetah with thoughts of an assassin
Pick the Mac up, told brothers, "Back up," the Mac spit
Lead was hittin' niggaz one ran, I made him back flip
Heard a few chicks scream my arm shook, couldn't look
Gave another squeeze heard it click yo, my shit is stuck
Try to cock it; it wouldn't shoot now I'm in danger
Finally pulled it back and saw three bullets caught up in the chamber
So now I'm jetting to the building lobby
And it was filled with children probably couldn't see as high as I be
(So whatchu sayin'?) It's like the game ain't the same
Got younger niggaz pullin' the triggers bringing fame to they name
And claim some corners, crews without guns are goners
In broad daylight, stickup kids, they run up on us
Fo'-fives and gauges, Macs in fact
Same niggaz'll catch a back to back, snatchin' yo' cracks in black
There was a snitch on the block gettin' niggaz knocked
So hold your stash until the coke price drop
I know this crack head, who said she gotta smoke nice rock
And if it's good she'll bring ya customers in measuring pots, but yo
You gotta slide on a vacation
Inside information keeps large niggaz erasin' and they wives basin
It drops deep as it does in my breath
I never sleep; cause sleep is the cousin of death
Beyond the walls of intelligence, life is defined
I think of crime when I'm in a New York state of mind