Nas’s Sonic Evolution: A Guide to Nas’s Most Iconic Albums

Nas is one of hip-hop’s most respected and successful artists, often cited as one of the greatest rappers of all time. He has collaborated with American rappers and singer-songwriters like Jay-Z, Timbaland, Alicia Keys, Dr. Dre, and Lauryn Hill. He’s sold more than twelve million albums, garnered fourteen Grammy nominations from America’s Recording Academy, and performed his debut album, Illmatic at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., with the city’s National Symphony Orchestra. He’s also an accomplished actor, a veteran film producer, and an astute businessman.

New York–bred rapper Nas is a living monument to the power of words.

1. 1. Illmatic (1994): Nas’s debut album arrived smack in the middle of the American West Coast’s gangsta rap dominance. While Los Angeles superproducer Dr. Dre delivered albums (his own The Chronic and Snoop Doggy Dogg’s Doggystyle among them) that paired confrontational rhymes with crisp, funk-driven production, Illmatic evokes the danger and grit of New York’s streets both lyrically and sonically. The album’s producers—DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Large Professor, Q-Tip, and L.E.S.—also hail from New York, and the beats they contributed hearken back to the stripped-down production that defined 1980s New York rap. With its sampling of early emcees and its embrace of new recording technologies, Illmatic served as an update of rap’s so-called golden age—a period that began in the late 1980s and saw the release of several albums still considered to be among the genre’s best.
2. 2. It Was Written (1996): For his second album, Nas and American producing duo Poke and Tone opted for a relatively clean, radio-ready sound. “Street Dreams” samples “Sweet Dreams” by British pop duo the Eurythmics, and “If I Ruled the World” features vocals by Lauryn Hill, American singer-songwriter and erstwhile member of the Haitian American hip-hop group the Fugees (whose smash-hit album The Score came out the same year).
3. 3. I Am… and Nastradamus (1999): Both I Am… and Nastradamus continued on the pop-leaning course set by It Was Written. American hitmaker Timbaland produced the Nastradamus track “You Owe Me,” adding guest vocals by platinum American singer-songwriter Ginuwine—whose song “Pony” was also produced by Timbaland.
4. 4. Stillmatic (2001): As its name suggests, Stillmatic proved that Nas could still summon the brooding power of his first album. For standout track “One Mic,” American producer Chucky Thompson composed a symphony of gunshots, sirens, and crashing percussion leading into a whispered chorus—a bold choice that proved Nas wasn’t simply resting on his laurels.
5. 5. God’s Son (2002): The death of Nas’s mother in 2002 informed the slower, more reflective moments on God’s Son, which arrived that same year. The elegiac track “Dance” features horns by Nas’s father, jazz cornetist Olu Dara.
6. 6. Hip Hop Is Dead (2006): By the mid-2000s, the languid sounds of Southern rap had been ruling the airwaves for years, led by artists like Ludacris (representing Atlanta, Georgia), Lil Wayne (New Orleans, Louisiana), and UGK (Houston, Texas). Nas reasserted his love of old-school rap with Hip Hop Is Dead, whose single “Where Are They Now” features shout-outs to rap forefathers, including Kool Moe Dee (New York), King Sunny Adé (Osogbo, Nigeria), and Lakim Shabazz (Newark, New Jersey). On the title track, American producer and Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am samples classic 1970s funk recordings while Nas charts rap’s evolution from a street culture to a pop fixture.
7. 7. Life Is Good (2012): Nas’s more-recent work suggests an artist who has freed himself from expectations. Life Is Good has a relatively optimistic feel, even as Nas expresses such real-world concerns as his daughter’s social-media habits. The soulful “Cherry Wine” features posthumous vocals by young British chanteuse Amy Winehouse, who had died the year before.
8. 8. King’s Disease and King’s Disease II (2020, 2021): Nas partnered with American millennial producer Hit-Boy for King’s Disease and King’s Disease II. Made mostly without samples, the songs on both albums are shorter than a typical Nas track, a reflection of the genre’s drift toward tighter arrangements that had begun in the early 2010s. Such choices prove that Nas can seamlessly incorporate fresh ideas into his singular style—innovating and integrating all at once.

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