Nasir reflects on his masterpiece.
Album rankings are always going to inspire debate. It’s part of the fun of ranking in the first place. Billboard courted controversy (as all list-making outlets do) when they decided to roll out the 100 greatest hip-hop albums of all time. Their selection for the number one, however, was undeniable. Billboard chose Illmatic as the greatest release in the genre’s history, and fans were pretty much in agreement that Nas’ 1994 debut was as close to perfect as an album can get.
Nas reposted the number one ranking on his Instagram July 12. He also thanked the outlet for giving Illmatic such a glowing write-up. “Thank you to @billboard,” he wrote. Of course, the rapper took time out to thank the generations of fans who grew up with Illmatic, as well. “N the people,” he added. “We here #1 Illmatic.” Nas also claimed the number 57 spot on the Billboard list with his 1996 album, It Was Written. The rapper has had a fascinating relationship with his debut over the years. There was a time where he considered it an albatross, something that affected the way people listened to the rest of his music.
Nas’ Relationship With Illmatic Has Changed Over Time
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Over time, however, Nas has made peace with the legacy of Illmatic. It exists, in many ways, outside of the rest of his catalog. A catalog that has actually gotten better over the last decade. Nas talked about the gift and the curse of dropping a classic debut back in 2014. He likened Illmatic to another acclaimed debut, Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, and told Complex that there’s a lot of pressure that comes with making a successor. “They called it the sophomore jinx back then,” Nas recalled. “So many artists never got past their first album… It was so crazy that I had to take it seriously.”
Illmatic has gone from albatross to crown jewel in the rapper’s estimation. Nas released a deluxe version of the album for its 20th anniversary in 2014. He also participated in the acclaimed documentary Time Is Illmatic, which chronicled the album’s making. For the album’s 30th anniversary, which happened back in April, Nas praised his collaborators in an Instagram post. “Even tho the album leaked months before the release date,” he wrote in the caption. “We still are apart of music history.”
