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Music consumption and discussion in 2024 bears little resemblance to fandom a decade ago, let alone three or four. Old songs get new life on TikTok; AI creates original music trained on data from the world’s most popular artists; Drill rappers post a song on YouTube on Tuesday, and by Friday it’s buzzing in elite college dorms.
Many have considered how this digital ecosystem impacts the buying and selling of music. But a related question has largely escaped inquiry: How does that affect the way music is valued and remembered? Few albums display such stark contrasts in musical appreciation and genre-defining as Nas’ 1994. IllmaticWidely recognized as one of the most important albums ever made.
Today, the 30th anniversary of its release offers an opportunity to reflect not only on the album itself, but also on how the modern music industry and the technology that drives it (streaming, social media, artificial intelligence) has changed the landscape and can help preserve its legacy.
Illmatic‘s release initially flew under the mainstream radar. There were no major release parties, no cover articles for MTV or VH1 coverage rolling stone or splashy features The New York Times, Naas’s hometown newspaper. It sold only a few thousand copies in its first week and did not achieve platinum status until 2001, after his sophomore effort (1996’s It was written) had done so.
In music circles, however, praise Illmatic Came almost immediately. For example, it’s got one sourceDesignated “5-Mike” ratings for instant “hip-hop classics.” In the decades since, it has consistently collected accolades. Illmatic Highest on many all-time greatest albums lists (in any genre) and, in 2021, the first hip-hop album to be inducted into the Library of Congress.
These acknowledgments tell only part of the story, because its informal influence is so great. So much considered Illmatic An album’s title is now used to describe a musician’s defining work (one might hear: “This Mom’s gun Erica Badu’s Illmatic?”). Its significance goes beyond music: the album’s famous cover—featuring Nasir Jones as a child, with a photo of Queensbridge Houses as a backdrop—inspired visual artists.
Over the years, scholars And fans have tested it Illmatic In search of an explanation of what worked. The answers are multiple, but converge on some points. For one, there is time. Illmatic One of the defining albums of hip-hop’s unofficial golden age (somewhere between 1988 and 1996), the art form’s enormous commercial success, geographic (and sonic) diversity, global footprint, and talented lyricists, large influx of producers, and tastemakers, almost all of them hip-hop. Raised in the early days.
It was played IllmaticHis production style, featuring an ensemble of producers, created an expansive yet cohesive soundscape. Then, of course, there’s the lyrics. Nas’ lyrics are a magical elixir, a mix of cool G rap, Rakim, The Lost Poets and William Shakespeare. It was a mix that listeners had never heard before (and arguably, haven’t since).
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