Ten years ago to the month, a young rapper from New York City established a connection with the right people, landed a deal with Columbia Records and created a record that for a decade has been hailed as one of the best rap albums ever recorded.
The place was the Queensbridge Projects, the right people were producers Large Professor and DJ Premier and the album is Nas's "Illmatic."
In order to commemorate the achievements of Nas and his landmark debut album, a remastered special edition has been released.
The album is a two-disc set. The first is the original ten tracks of "Illmatic," which have been reworked for crisper clarity.
The second disc includes four remixes of "Illmatic" songs and two previously unreleased songs, "On the Real" and "Star Wars."
The remastered version of "Illmatic" is reason enough to purchase the anniversary edition.
For many teens and early twenty-somethings, this will be the push they have been waiting for to purchase an album they might have missed when they were pre-teens.
The remixes and newly recorded songs are worth listening to, but do not alone demand the album's purchase. The remix producers include Rockwilder, Vibesman and Nick "Fury."
On the whole, they fall a little short of their potential. Besides the remix of "One Love," other reworked songs include instrumentals that are too bright and are stamped with the signature of a cheap Casio synthesizer.
The change in mood from the dark melodies of the entrancing originals will undoubtedly meet mixed reactions from fans.
Besides this small shortcoming concerning the anniversary edition, the release is all but flawless. From the dim and jazzy instrumentals to the liquid hypnosis of Nas's delivery, this album is without time or comparison.
So, if "N.Y. State of Mind," "The World is Yours" and "Halftime" are songs that made their way into your Napster or Kazaa folder, but not a jewel case, make the worthwhile purchase of this masterpiece.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
