Nas-Stillmatic Full Album Zip
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Stillmatic is the fifth studio album by American rapper Nas, released on December 18, 2001, by Ill Will and Columbia Records. In contrast to his previous work's gangsta rap themes, the album contains socially conscious and philosophical themes similar to that of his 1994 debut Illmatic. Nas' lyrics address topics such as ghetto life, American politics, and his feud with rapper Jay-Z.
Stillmatic was a commercial and critical success and helped re-establish Nas' career, following a period of critical disappointment with his previous album Nastradamus (released in 1999).[1][2] It debuted at number 8 on the US Billboard 200 and sold over 342,600 in its first week of sales, eventually going on to sell over 2,026,000 copies in the United States.[3] It has been certified Platinum by Recording Industry Association of America.[4]
Though he had gained critical acclaim with his classic debut album Illmatic in 1994, Nas' image had been quickly deteriorating in the hip-hop community with his change of theme, from the philosophical topics of Illmatic to the gangsta rap and commercialized sound that became the focus of his later albums.[5] While his second album, It Was Written received positive reviews and introduced him to a greater audience, the follow-ups I Am... and Nastradamus were considered mediocre in comparison by critics.[5][6] The release of Stillmatic was an attempt by Nas to reestablish his credibility in the hip-hop community, with the title signifying his intentions to continue where Illmatic left off.
Jay-Z had previously dissed Nas in his song "Takeover", taken from his September 2001 release, The Blueprint.[5] On Stillmatic, Nas retaliated with the anticipated song, "Ether," a response to "Takeover" which insinuated that Jay-Z had stolen lyrics from The Notorious B.I.G. several times, that he had sold out, and that he was a misogynist, among other things. Several hip-hop aficionados believe Nas won the feud based on this track, which many felt was much more vicious and ruthless than "Takeover", although this is still a subject of debate within hip-hop circles. Jay-Z would respond with "People Talkin", "Don't You Know", "Blueprint 2" from The Blueprint 2: The Gift and the Curse and the radio freestyle "Supa Ugly."[7]
The first single from Stillmatic was "Rule" featuring R&B singer Amerie. It was not heavily promoted but still managed to reach number 67 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.[8] It did not receive a video and was issued on compact disc, so many are unaware that it was a single. "Got Ur Self A..." was believed to have been the first single from Stillmatic. "Got Ur Self A...", produced by Megahertz, contains a sample from the theme song to the HBO crime drama The Sopranos. The third single was "One Mic", which received acclaim for its content and video.[citation needed]
Stillmatic was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 69, based on 12 reviews.[9]
The Source awarded the album a perfect "five-mic" rating,[16] and Blender's Alex Pappademas praised it as "a surprising return to form".[11] Reviewing for The Village Voice, Selwyn Seyfu Hinds said: "Stillmatic isn't merely a reunion or rehash of Illmatic themes. The Nas on this record has grown, with the emotional expansion such maturation suggests. For one, he has never before drawn upon his anger, with a burning focus and controlled intensity that underscores nearly every song. Some of it can surely be ascribed to the Jay-Z battle, but more seems due to the deeper, internal struggle Nas has waged against the fallout from his early, precocious success".[7] Steve Jones of USA Today stated, "diss songs aside, Nas' strength has always been his incisive lyrical analyses of current events."[18] John Bush from AllMusic said: "Dropping many of the mainstream hooks and featured performers in order to focus his rapping, Nas proves he's still a world-class rhymer, but he does sound out of touch in the process of defending his honor. Despite the many highlights, a few of the tracks just end up weighing him down".[10] Elizabeth Mendez Berry of Vibe called it "infuriatingly inconsistent" but also "an exercise in lyrical courage and musical might".[19]
Some reviewers were more critical. Rolling Stone magazine's Kathryn McGuire said: "Striving to maintain street cred while reaching for pop success has left Nas vacillating clumsily on past projects, and this record is riddled with similar inconsistencies. One moment he casts himself as a gritty cat who feels most at home on a project bench, calling out neighborhood snakes ('Destroy and Rebuild') and ducking gunshots ('One Mic'). The next, he's delivering dumbed-down verses over the Track Masters' rinky-dink rendition of Tears for Fears' 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World.'"[15] In The Village Voice's "Consumer Guide", Robert Christgau found the release unworthy of a review and instead relegated it to a listing of ungraded "duds" in the column.[20]
Retrospective appraisals have been relatively positive. In The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Chris Ryan wrote that Stillmatic "finds Nas sticking with what works, creative storyraps and trenchant social commentary. He still errs when he makes attempts at club tracks, but the album is largely a success."[6] Writing in the Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Colin Larkin commended Nas for "rebuilding his creative and commercial standing" in the early 2000s with Stillmatic.[21] In 2005, Chris Rock compiled a list of his Top 25 Hip-Hop Albums of all time, to which he ranked Stillmatic at number 20, commenting "It's like Mama Said Knock You Out eleven years earlier, where a guy just reclaimed his spot with some great records".[22]
Through these years, when Nas went to the studio, he recorded in marathon sessions, writing long verses and labyrinthine narrative raps. This approach yielded innumerable impressive songs, but that proliferation, along with a self-sustaining reputation as someone whose best work was damned to languish on DAT tapes, ensured that new material would be leaked by studio and label employees, sample-clearance specialists, and assorted hangers-on whenever possible, each knowing any scrap would be eaten up by mixtape DJs or online collectors, often for a significant price. So when it came time to record Stillmatic, the album on which his reputation would now hinge, Nas retreated to the Bahamas.
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Though Nas' artistic legacy is without question, it was not always the case; if Nas had flourished during the mid-90s, he had stumbled clumsily while transitioning into the 00's. After achieving universal praise via Illmatic and commercial success with its' follow-up It Was Written, Nas' next few releases were considered inconsistent and lackluster compared to the critical one-two punch they followed. During this time period he had abandoned the socially-conscious and philosophical topics that made him a critical darling in favor of more commercially viable gangsta rap. Though he maintained a chart presence for much of the late-90s, review scores began to dwindle, and his status among the hip-hop community was thrown into question.
This would change in 2001 with the release of Nas' fifth studio full-length, which made the effort to re-establish him as a legitimate artist. Eschewing the pop-friendliness he'd found success with, Nas instead opted to return to the underground style he came up in, with tracks about American politics, ghetto life, and social upheaval. Perhaps sensing this need to return to his roots, he titled the album Stillmatic, a clear and present reference (and sequel of sorts) to Illmatic.
The ploy worked perfectly; Stillmatic was hailed by critics as a stunning comeback, and a brilliant return to form, earning rave reviews from rap outlets such as The Source and HipHopDX as well as from more mainstream publications as The Rolling Stone and The Village Voice. Praise was heaped upon the complexity and introspective nature of Nas' lyrical content, the top-tier production from veterans like Large Professor, DJ Premier, L.E.S., and Trackmasters, and hard-hitting guest appearances from AZ, Mary J. Blige, and Amerie.
Stillmatic would see release on December 18th of 2001, right as Nas was caught in the middle of a highly publicized feud with fellow New York rapper Jay-Z. As such, the record features one of the feud's most intense apexes in the form of its second track "Ether", a ruthless Ron Browz-produced diss track. A response to Jay-Z's own diss "Takeover", "Ether" savaged the Brooklyn-native, accusing him of brown-nosing to get ahead, of plagiarizing earlier rappers such as Notorious B.I.G. and KRS-One, and dismissing his street cred. To this day "Ether" is considered one of the best and most potent diss tracks ever recorded, a major turning point in the Nas/Jay-Z feud, a standout among the already critically acclaimed Stillmatic, and is even credited with boosting Jay-Z's career by proxy.
Stillmatic is the fifth studio album by American rapper Nas, released in 2001 on Columbia Records and Ill Will Records. Though he had gained critical acclaim with his classic debut album Illmatic in 1994, Nas' image had been quickly deteriorating in the hip community with his change of theme, from the philosophical and conscious topics of Illmatic to the commercialised sound that became the focus of his later albums. Some criticised Nas' inability to continue his critical success, including Jay-Z on his song "Takeover" with a line claiming that Nas had "a one hot album every ten year average". The release of Stillmatic was an attempt by Nas to reestablish his credibility in the hip hop community, with the title signifying his intentions to continue where Illmatic finished.
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