Without a shadow of a doubt, Nas created one of hip-hop's greatest bodies of work, Illmatic. The status of this album is elevated by the fact that it was his debut offering. It spawned some of the best writing and performances the genre has ever seen. Prime examples include "N.Y. State of Mind," "The World Is Yours," and "It Ain't Hard To Tell." Illmatic is so amazing that it is now in the Library of Congress. With the widespread recognition of how important this project is to music at large, the placement in the Apple Music Best 100 Albums list has fans expectedly up in arms.
The streaming giant announced about a week ago that over the next 10 days, they would be ranking what they feel are the greatest LPs ever. On May 22, the full list will be available. According to Apple Newsroom, their experts, along with artists, producers, industry pros, and more all collaborated on this already hotly debated list. In fact, SZA voiced her confusion about her most recent album, SOS, receiving the 72nd spot. A fair number of rap/R&B sets have cracked the ranking such as ASTROWORLD (98), Flower Boy (92), Doggystyle (84), and more. The next 10 (40-31) were released today and Illmatic slotted in at number 39.
Fans DO NOT Agree With Nas' Illmatic At 39
There were a few notable works ahead of it and its led to a lot of angry fans. They include Beyonce's self-titled at 36, Wu-Tang Clan's Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) at 37, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back by Pulic Enemy holds down 34th, and Biggie slides in at 32 with Ready to Die. A lot of people were commenting "should be top 10" or that it should not be behind Beyonce. Some are even predicting that Yeat, Ice Spice, Cardi B, and Taylor Swift albums will place higher. If that happens, prepare for burning buildings and protests outside of Apple Music HQ. If you want, you can track the list with the second "[Via]" link below.
What are your thoughts on Illamatic by Nas ranking 39th on Apple Music's Top 100 Albums of All Time list? Do you think it should be ranked higher or lower and why? If higher, where would you place it? Do you consider this the greatest rap album in the history of the genre? What songs do you revisit the most from the record? We would like to hear what you have to say, so be sure to leave your takes in the comments section. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest news surrounding Nas and Apple Music's list. Finally, stay with us for everything else going on in the world of music.