Ay Hurts...Illmatic

[jason_g_718]

OK, since I am unemployed and looking for a job, I have no money. My sister heard me talking on Wednesday about the fact that I wanted to peep out The Documentary and Illmatic but didn't really want to buy them because I didn't know if I'd like them. Thursday, my sister comes home and gives me both albums.

So I popped Illmatic and I still didn't like it AT ALL. Upon the first listen, I was like "this shit is boring, bad beats and some are mediocre at best and Nas' voice is boring as well.

Upon the second listen, I started to like "Life's A Bitch". The beat is good for it and I was REALLY impressed with AZ. Don't know why, but I don't think I've ever heard AZ and if I have I don't remember. I really liked him.

third, fourth, fifth, sixth shot went buy. Yep, listened to it SIX different times...STILL didnt' like it.

LOL, this shit is funny. Popped about 5 roxycontin, smoked a joint, popped Illmatic in...and I liked it. Liked it a lot actually. Now..I don't know if I'll feel the same when Im sober tomorrow morning, but right now I'm high as fuck and diggin Illmatic.

The songs that stand out most to me are:
Represent
One Time 4 Your Mind
It Ain't Hard To Tell
Memorly Lane

The rest of the songs are good too, but the ones I listed above are the ones that I think will end up being my faves, and in the order I listed them.

Also, on a sidenote, for anyone wonder or who cares, The Documentary is "ok". Notice I didn't even capitalize "ok"?

It a lot of songs on the CD, a lot of parts, he sounds more like he's just speed talking over the beat. Sometimes almost as bad as Bizarre. There SOME songs where he pulls out a really good flow and I wonder why He didn't rap like that the whole album...or maybe he thought he was. Best songs on The Documentary:

We Ain't
Hate It Or Love It
Don't Need Your Love
The Documentary
How We Do (a BAD ASS BEAT makes mediocre lyrics seem like Nas wrote it)
Put You On The Game
Start From Scratch

 

[RapAlot89]

I personally think The Documentary is a fine release, very good in my opinion. Listen to it more, every song is listenable or fire. I love the production and once in a while game spits a nice line.
You gotta get use to illmatic, remember it was made many years ago so the beats are obviously gonna sound old. Nas presents little or NO charisma but if you get past that, he spits PURE fire. Thas my only problem wit Nas if it's 2 late he'll st8 up put me to sleep in seconds. But remember there's a reason why so many people classify illmatic as a classic, so keep listenin and you'll find it.

 

[jason_g_718]

I personally think The Documentary is a fine release, very good in my opinion. Listen to it more, every song is listenable or fire. I love the production and once in a while game spits a nice line.
You gotta get use to illmatic, remember it was made many years ago so the beats are obviously gonna sound old. Nas presents little or NO charisma but if you get past that, he spits PURE fire. Thas my only problem wit Nas if it's 2 late he'll st8 up put me to sleep in seconds. But remember there's a reason why so many people classify illmatic as a classic, so keep listenin and you'll find it.

OH..I always give someone I'm not familiar with or haven't listened to in ages plenty of chances. I didn't like 2pac or Em when I first listened to them. I hated Eminem at first and with Pac, I liked Brenda's Got A Baby, Keep Ya Head up, Dear Mama and I Get Around and liked all of them. However, I picked up 2pacalypse now in '93 and thought it was complete and utter trash. I didnt' like Pac's flow on that at all. Then, in august of 1995, we went on a family trip to S. Carolina and in the rental car there happened to be a tape in the backseat...it was 2pac: MATW. I thought "what the hell" and popped it in...I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. I've been a Pac fan ever since.

 

[Frank Grimes]

YOU'V FINALLY PEEPED THE GREATEST ALBUM OF ALL TIME.
illmatic that is.
did you say illmatic had bad beats. i cannot name an album with better production than illmatic. maybe a few with production AS GOOD
and whyd the fuck you buy games album, hey arnt you trying to "Branch out" in your hip hop tastes, did you realy have to buy another aftermath album, damn think of all those dope albums you coulda bought , think of them
btw loosen up with the "I dont want to buy an album cause i might not like it" fuck that, yesterday i bought 3 albums of artists iv hardly heard of. whats the worse that can happen, lose 10$.
see if it wasnt us giving you shit about not hearing illmatic you wouldnt of scored 2 albums out of ya sister

 

[*suspect#1*]

I personally think The Documentary is a fine release, very good in my opinion. Listen to it more, every song is listenable or fire. I love the production and once in a while game spits a nice line.
You gotta get use to illmatic, remember it was made many years ago so the beats are obviously gonna sound old. Nas presents little or NO charisma but if you get past that, he spits PURE fire. Thas my only problem wit Nas if it's 2 late he'll st8 up put me to sleep in seconds. But remember there's a reason why so many people classify illmatic as a classic, so keep listenin and you'll find it.

i copped illmatic when it first dropped and it was an instant classic but i agree if your just getting into now what almost 11 years later? it will sound dated

 

[ARon]

NaS isnt catchy, thats why a lot of people dont like him. Lyrically, the words, the content, his flow, anything an Emcee will look at, that album is straight classic. But the beats, wow, totally agree with hurts on that one. But i guess if you like more poppy music, I remember you sayin you like just lose it, which is as pop as you get lately i can see why you would find illmatic "boring." But hey who knows, at least you gave it a listen, finally, after 20 years of listening to rap, ahah.

 

[CalcuoCuchicheo]

Man, I know you didn't check Illmatic until recently & have been dogged for it enough but you're still unsure as to whether or nto you've heard AZ before.....damn!

All these years you've been listening to rap, & never listened to AZ. He is one of the best (IMO)

Btw, what were you listening during the years that Nas (&AZ along with him) emerged?

 

[2Pax]

I agree with Jason the production on Illmatic isn't the best.

 

[Chronic]

OK, since I am unemployed and looking for a job, I have no money. My sister heard me talking on Wednesday about the fact that I wanted to peep out The Documentary and Illmatic but didn't really want to buy them because I didn't know if I'd like them. Thursday, my sister comes home and gives me both albums.

So I popped Illmatic and I still didn't like it AT ALL. Upon the first listen, I was like "this shit is boring, bad beats and some are mediocre at best and Nas' voice is boring as well.

Upon the second listen, I started to like "Life's A Bitch". The beat is good for it and I was REALLY impressed with AZ. Don't know why, but I don't think I've ever heard AZ and if I have I don't remember. I really liked him.

third, fourth, fifth, sixth shot went buy. Yep, listened to it SIX different times...STILL didnt' like it.

LOL, this shit is funny. Popped about 5 roxycontin, smoked a joint, popped Illmatic in...and I liked it. Liked it a lot actually. Now..I don't know if I'll feel the same when Im sober tomorrow morning, but right now I'm high as fuck and diggin Illmatic.

The songs that stand out most to me are:
Represent
One Time 4 Your Mind
It Ain't Hard To Tell
Memorly Lane

The rest of the songs are good too, but the ones I listed above are the ones that I think will end up being my faves, and in the order I listed them.

Illmatic being one of the best albums in rap is a fact.
If you think the album is boring and the beats are bad, that's because of your personal taste.
No disrespect but most people who are more leniant to commercial rap (I don't mean as far as J-Kwon) than shit like Black Moon, will find that album boring.

I suggest you keep listening to that album till you see just how good it is.

 

[Hurts]

ha a thread dedicated to me...yet he still continues to make an ass out of himself..told yall i didnt have to do shit

 

[Frank Grimes]

I agree with Jason the production on Illmatic isn't the best.

wtf, its probaly the most well produced album iv heard of. the beats might not be catchy dr dre style but there fucking of the hook, about as raw as hiphop comes. not one hint of a weak beat .the "the world is your's" beat almost speaks,, its like you could name the tracks name by just hearing the beat, if that makes sense.

 

[jason_g_718]

I personally think The Documentary is a fine release, very good in my opinion. Listen to it more, every song is listenable or fire. I love the production and once in a while game spits a nice line.

In my ears, the only song on The Doc that just is completely horrible is "Higher". I don't know what it is about that song, but I fuckin' HATE it. Just as an example, I hate Biggie so much that if I'm out at a club or at a friends' house and a Biggie song comes on, I will actually walk out of the house so I can't hear it. I'd do that with "Higher" as well.

Other than that song though, every song on the album is "listenable", it's just that Im a lyrics guy. True, when I listen to music of any genre, the first thing I judge it on is the music itself. However, if I decide the music is good then the only thing that matters next is the lyrics. It's like I say myself in one of my own raps "Lace these bomb ass beats behind my intelligent sound/
Cuz when the beat makes you bump, the lyrics are more profound"

You gotta get use to illmatic, remember it was made many years ago so the beats are obviously gonna sound old. Nas presents little or NO charisma but if you get past that, he spits PURE fire. Thas my only problem wit Nas if it's 2 late he'll st8 up put me to sleep in seconds. But remember there's a reason why so many people classify illmatic as a classic, so keep listenin and you'll find it.

I actually hadn't listened to Illmatic since I made the post you responded to, but I listened to it earlier today, actually. I'm growing more and more fond of his material every time I listen to it. I started laughing at your comment, "remember the beats were made several years ago so the beats are obviously gonna sound old". First of all, I know it has been a while, but 95 actually doesn't seem that long ago to me, even though I graduated that year. AEOM was recorded in 95 and 96, it doesn't sound old. Despite what morons like Hurts says/thinks, AEOM is not "old" by anymeans. I still bump that shit everyday along with Makaveli, MATW, Doggystyle, The Chronic, I still play Regulate regularly. And I don't mean just the song Regulate, the whole fuckin' album.

Anyway, I'm really starting to like Nas now. The other thing I'm getting used to is that I listen to predominantly West Coast rap and only like 3 East Coast artists. So, I have to get used to a DRASTIC (for me anyway) change in beat style, as well as a different style of rhyming (focusing more on punchlines and word play than telling stories like he WC).

I'm checking out Big Pun next. I STILL don't like Big L.

 

[jason_g_718]

YOU'V FINALLY PEEPED THE GREATEST ALBUM OF ALL TIME.
illmatic that is.

It's a good album dogg, but I wouldn't go that far. In my opinion, The Chronic, Doggystyle, Me Against The World, Makaveli, All Eyez On Me, The Marshall Mathers LP are all better than Illmatic. Of course I'll get hated on and told I'm "stupid" and get a lot of really ignorant sounding posts from people who think itz cool to put a Z instead of an "s", or spell "done" "dun".

did you say illmatic had bad beats. i cannot name an album with better production than illmatic.

No disrespect man, but you gotta be fuckin' kiddin' me? Maybe it's just that I prefer the smooth, rounded and polished beats of the WC to the grimey, dirty dark beats the EC is known for.

The beats on The Chronic alone would completely obliterate Illmatic in a heartbeat.

maybe a few with production AS GOOD
and whyd the fuck you buy games album, hey arnt you trying to "Branch out" in your hip hop tastes, did you realy have to buy another aftermath album, damn think of all those dope albums you coulda bought , think of them
btw loosen up with the "I dont want to buy an album cause i might not like it" fuck that, yesterday i bought 3 albums of artists iv hardly heard of. whats the worse that can happen, lose 10$.
see if it wasnt us giving you shit about not hearing illmatic you wouldnt of scored 2 albums out of ya sister

*laughing* First of all, dude, why is it "bad" for me to like most of the products that Aftermath releases? I'm not going to apologize for liking the shit I like. I have been buying records from predominantly WC artists since 1990 and do you know how many times trusting Death Row (in the good days) or Dr. Dre or 2pac, or Daz, or Kurupt, Nate Dogg, Warren G. etc... left me wish I hadn't have bought the product? Like MAYBE 3 in 15 years. I was VERY DISAPPOINTED with both Encore (Em's fault) and Loyal To The Game (Afeni's fault). Oh...even though I'm an Eminem fan NOW, I used to hate the guy. When he came out with The Slim Shady LP, I was actually pissed. I wanted to find and kill Eminem. So, when I found out who Em was and what he was about, I was like "Dre, what the fuck are you doing?". I still despise that album as well. Only song on it I like is Guilty Conscience.

I'm not sorry dude, I happen to like just about everything Aftermath does, and the same thing goes for Shady Records.

And finally, dude, I wish I had your money to just not have to worry about what I spend $10 on. Man...times are rough. Especially when it comes to music with the fact that there are no returns. Take it back to a pawn shop or a "sell - buy - trade" place and even brand new the most you're gonna get 'round here is $4.

 

[jason_g_718]

NaS isnt catchy, thats why a lot of people dont like him. Lyrically, the words, the content, his flow, anything an Emcee will look at, that album is straight classic. But the beats, wow, totally agree with hurts on that one. But i guess if you like more poppy music, I remember you sayin you like just lose it, which is as pop as you get lately i can see why you would find illmatic "boring." But hey who knows, at least you gave it a listen, finally, after 20 years of listening to rap, ahah.

ROTFLMFAO

Uh...I don't know if you know who you're responding to or how good your memory is, but I NEVER said that I liked Just Lose It. Holy shit!!! Are you fucking kidding me? That song is complete garbage.

No, I don't like the pop sound at all. I just prefer WC rap because it's more "polished". Because it is "polished" and not the grimey stuff EC cats do.

 

[Frank Grimes]

im going to end by quoting Chronic.

Illmatic being one of the best albums in rap is a fact.
If you think the album is boring and the beats are bad, that's because of your personal taste.
No disrespect but most people who are more leniant to commercial rap (I don't mean as far as J-Kwon) than shit like Black Moon, will find that album boring.

I suggest you keep listening to that album till you see just how good it is.

 

[Skillz187]

Illmatic is overrated like a motherfucker. It's a good album yes but not the GOAT. As for Game shit was straight.

 

[Tito]

Illmatic is the best of all-times. I listen to it at least once a week. Shit never gets old.

 

[ARon]

Pop fans will never get any respect.

 

[jason_g_718]

Man, I know you didn't check Illmatic until recently & have been dogged for it enough but you're still unsure as to whether or nto you've heard AZ before.....damn!

All these years you've been listening to rap, & never listened to AZ. He is one of the best (IMO)

Btw, what were you listening during the years that Nas (&AZ along with him) emerged?

LOL @ "AZ is one of the best". I'm not laughing because I disagree or anything, merely becasue I swear it feels like everytime I say I haven't listened to someone before someone makes a post in the thread saying "he is one of the best".

I've known of AZ for a long ass time, just never cared to check out his music.

Another thing, man, I've typed out the list of rappers I've listened to over the past 20 some years like 5 times.

In the 80's I was listening to Fat Boys (first rappers I ever listened to), Beastie Boys, Run DMC, Fresh Prince, NWA in the late 80's, Young MC, MC Hammer.

In the 90's it was: NWA, Mc Hammer, Young MC, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 2pac, Warren G, Tha Dogg Pound, Daz solo (Retaliation, Revenge & Get Back), Kurupt solo, Westside Connection (first album only), Salt n Pepa, TLC, Da Brat, Jermaine Dupri, Tha Eastsidaz

Now I listen to: 2pac, Eminem, old Snoop, Westside Connection (still the first, second was terrible), Obie Trice, Young Buck, Papa Graz (my own shit), Warren G, Ice Cube, and a few others, some Method and Red.

 

[VENOMOUS]

az is one of the best.There is know denying that