Black vinly LP with full lyric insert and poster plus recreation of original press release. backed by an absolute all-star cast of new york\’s top-shelf producers -premier, pete rock, large professor, q-tip and a youngster named l.e.s. – the album never lets up. serious to a fault, and lyrically dense to an extent that has possibly never been matched, the 20-year old nas stood on the shoulders of his predecessors and proudly proclaimed, \’don\’t f*** with the east\’ we are back\’. \’illmatic\’ was actually a slow-burn, which might surprise fans that have come to its genius more recently. despite an unheard-of \’5 mics\’ rating in the source – breaking an unwritten rule of never awarding classic status to debuts – it didn\’t go gold until early 1996, and didn\’t hit platinum status until late 2001.

Black vinly LP with full lyric insert and poster plus recreation of original press release. backed by an absolute all-star cast of new york’s top-shelf producers -premier, pete rock, large professor, q-tip and a youngster named l.e.s. – the album never lets up. serious to a fault, and lyrically dense to an extent that has possibly never been matched, the 20-year old nas stood on the shoulders of his predecessors and proudly proclaimed, ‘don’t f*** with the east’ we are back’. ‘illmatic’ was actually a slow-burn, which might surprise fans that have come to its genius more recently. despite an unheard-of ‘5 mics’ rating in the source – breaking an unwritten rule of never awarding classic status to debuts – it didn’t go gold until early 1996, and didn’t hit platinum status until late 2001.