There is no doubt that Illmatic is a classic. Not just in hip-hop, but in any genre, period. When it first dropped on April 19th, 1994', it put Nas on the map as one of the most lyrical, promising young emcees in the game. Not only that, it spawned a career that has lasted twenty three years, as of today. Now a veteran in the game, Nas can look back on a discography of ten studio albums, with another coming on the way. Dude has material for days.
Even so, many consider Illmatic to be Nasir Jones' magnum opus. While that can surely be debated, there's no denying that Illmatic has stood the test of time with iron boots. In celebration of the album's twenty-three year anniversary, here are five fast facts compiled by us Nas fans over at HNHH.