24 years ago today, arguably one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time was released in the form of Nas' Illmatic. Listed by many influential artists as one of, if not, their favorite album, Nas' debut has gone into the history books as the work that cemented the New Yorker's legendary status. If you have not yet been exposed to the complete work, do yourself a favor and check it out on its original release date from 24 years ago. If you're a big fan of Illmatic, Nas may have just shouted you out on his Instagram page.
He was bound to speak and today, of all days, Nas addressed his fans on social media in a post thanking everybody for the support over the years. Overwhelmed that nearly a quarter century has gone by since dropping his first studio album, Escobar is appreciative of his fans, writing, "24 Years!! thanks to Hip Hop Music. thx to the People." He would continue in a second photo, claiming that the years have gone by extremely quickly. "Twenty four years like it’s nothing. thank you all. illmatic," told Nas to his supporters.
The masterpiece will forever be known as one of the landmark projects in the East Coast's hip-hop scene. Today is the perfect day to revisit Illmatic as we cross our fingers for further full-length Nas projects soon.