1994 var en bra årgång! Det året släpptes en lång rad klassiska album, däribland Nas-skivan “Illmatic” som av många anses vara en av tidernas bästa skivor. Nu meddelar Nas att han den 15:e april släpper en jubileums-skiva med titeln “illmaticXX”. Skivan kommer vara i formatet av ett dubbelalbum, där ena volymen är en nymastrad version av originalspåren samt volym två innehåller remixer och exklusiva spår (se låtlista nedan).
Nas kommer även genomföra en turné med fokus på jubileumet och även senare år släpps en dokumentär med titeln “Time Is Illmatic“.
Skivan går redan nu att förbeställa via iTunes
Tracklisting: Disc 1: Remastered original album
01. The Genesis
02. N.Y. State Of Mind
03. Life’s A Bitch
04. The World Is Yours
05. Halftime
06. Memory Lane (Sittin’ In Da Park)
07. One Love
08. One Time 4 Your Mind
09. Represent
10. It Ain’t Hard To Tell
Disc 2: Demos, Remixes & Live Radio
01. I’m A Villain (previously unreleased)
02. The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show on WKCR October 28, 1993 (previously unreleased freestyle)
03. Halftime (Butcher Remix)
04. It Ain’t Hard To Tell (Remix)(promo single)
05. One Love (LG Main Mix)
06. Life’s A Bitch (Arsenal Mix)(promo single)
07. One Love (One L Main Mix)
08. The World Is Yours (Tip Mix)
09. It Ain’t Hard To Tell (The Stink Mix)(UK single)
10. It Ain’t Hard To Tell (The Laidback Remix)(UK single)
With the release of Illmatic, Nas quickly established himself as a hip hop icon and has become one of the hottest artists on the music scene today. The landmark album has been lauded by critics as one of the most exemplary hip hop recordings of all time. Illmatic contributed to the revival of the New York City rap scene and has been consistently ranked near the top of many “best album” lists. Today, the collection remains one of the most widely celebrated and influential albums in history with Rolling Stone proclaiming, “a portrait of an artist as a hood, loner, tortured soul, juvenile delinquent, and fledgling social critic… [the album] still stands as one of rap’s crowning achievements.” NPR Music called the collection “[a] masterwork of story-telling, lyricism and beat-making,” while upon the album’s release, The Village Voice gave Nas the title of, “one of the most important writers of the 20th century.”
Nas emerged from the Queensbridge neighborhood of Long Island City, a hotbed of rap artists since the ’80s. The son of jazz trumpeter Olu Dara, he has since gone on to sell over 20 million albums worldwide over the span of his legendary career, and has acted as an ambassador for hip-hop culture throughout the globe. Since the release of Illmatic, he has released 9 solo albums and 3 compilations all of which have been certified double-platinum, platinum and gold. His most recent release was 2012’s Life Is Good, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, marking the sixth #1 album that Nas has produced in his career. The collection also received four GRAMMY nominations bringing the rap icon’s GRAMMY recognition count to 13 overall.
