Stillmatic

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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).<ref name="RSguide" /><ref name="Leroy">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="More Than Words">"More Than Words". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media) 120 (27): 33. Retrieved 2011-08-12.</ref> It has been certified Platinum by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

BackgroundEdit

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.<ref name="Birchmeier">Birchmeier, Jason. [{{#ifeq: yes | yes | https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p44732/biography{{

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}} Biography: Nas]. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-11-21.</ref> 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.<ref name="Birchmeier"/><ref name="RSguide"/> 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.

Feud with Jay-ZEdit

Jay-Z had previously dissed Nas in his song "Takeover", taken from his September 2001 release, The Blueprint.<ref name="Birchmeier" /> 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 & the Curse and the radio freestyle "Supa Ugly."<ref name="Hinds">Hinds, Selwyn Seyfu. Review: Stillmatic. The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2009-11-21.</ref>

SinglesEdit

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.<ref name="singles">[{{#ifeq: yes | yes | https://www.allmusic.com/album/r564036/charts-awards/billboard-single{{

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}} Billboard Singles: Stillmatic]. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-11-22.</ref> 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 Gun" was believed to have been the first single from Stillmatic. "Got Ur Self a Gun", 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.Template:Citation needed

Critical receptionEdit

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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.<ref name="MC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The Source awarded the album a perfect "five-mic" rating,<ref name="source"/> and BlenderTemplate:'s Alex Pappademas praised it as "a surprising return to form".<ref name="Pappademas">Template:Cite magazine</ref> 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".<ref name="Hinds"/> Steve Jones of USA Today stated, "diss songs aside, Nas' strength has always been his incisive lyrical analyses of current events."<ref name="Jones">Template:Cite magazine</ref> 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".<ref name="Bush"/> Elizabeth Mendez Berry of Vibe called it "infuriatingly inconsistent" but also "an exercise in lyrical courage and musical might".<ref name="Berry">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

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.'"<ref name="McGuire">Template:Cite magazine</ref> In The Village VoiceTemplate:'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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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."<ref name="RSguide">Template:Cite book</ref> Writing in the Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Colin Larkin commended Nas for "rebuilding his creative and commercial standing" in the early 2000s with Stillmatic.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Track listingEdit

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Notes

"Got Ur Self a Gun" was later retitled "Got Ur Self A..." on the clean version of the album.
The track "Braveheart Party", written by Nasir Jones and Jean-Claude Olivier and produced by Swizz Beatz, was removed from later pressings of Stillmatic at Mary J. Blige's request.<ref name="mtv">Reid, Shaheem. "Mary J. Blige Track On Nas' Stillmatic To Be Cut For 'Personal Reasons'". MTV.com. January 25, 2002. Retrieved August 11, 2008.</ref>
The Japanese release of Stillmatic features three additional tracks: "No Idea's Original", "Everybody's Crazy" and "Black Zombies". Each can also be found on The Lost Tapes, a compilation album that was released in 2002.
A limited edition version of Stillmatic contains a bonus disc with snippets from five songs on The Lost Tapes.

Samples

"Stillmatic (The Intro)" contains a sample from "Let Me Be Your Angel" by Stacy Lattisaw.
"Ether" contains dialogue from "Fuck Friendz" by 2Pac, and gunshot samples from "Knuckleheadz" by Raekwon and "Who Shot Ya?" by The Notorious B.I.G.
"Got Ur Self a Gun" contains a sample from "Woke Up This Morning" by Alabama 3.
"You're Da Man" contains a sample from "Sugar Man" by Sixto Diaz Rodriguez (sometimes misattributed to DJ David Holmes), "Am Fenster" by the German band City, and "Theme from Exodus" by Pat Boone & Ernest Gold.
"Rewind" contains a sample from "It's Yours" by T La Rock, "Monkey Island" by The J. Geils Band, and "I'm Not Rough" by The J. Geils Band.
"One Mic" contains a sample from "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins, and "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby" by Barry White.
"2nd Childhood" contains a sample from "Born to Love" by Peabo Bryson & Roberta Flack, "Da Bridge 2001" by Nas & Ill Will Records Presents QB's Finest, and "N.Y. State of Mind Pt. II" by Nas.
"Destroy & Rebuild" contains an interpolation from "The Bridge is Over" by Boogie Down Productions.
"The Flyest" contains a sample from "Night Moves" by Frank McDonald and Chris Rae, and "Child of Tomorrow" by Badder Than Evil.
"Rule" contains an interpolation from "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears.
"Every Ghetto" contains a sample from "Main Title" (The Eiger Sanction) by John Williams.

PersonnelEdit

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Pablo Arraya – assistant engineer
AZ – performer
Baby Paul – producer, instrumentation
Mary J. Blige – performer
Osie Bowe – engineer
Ron Browz – producer
Keon Bryce – vocals (background)
Kevin Crouse – engineer, mixing
Alex Dixon – assistant engineer
DJ Premier – producer, mixing
Chris Feldman – art direction, design
Steve Fisher – assistant engineer
Tameka Foster – stylist
Chris Gehringer – mastering
Bryan Golder – engineer

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Jason Goldstein – mixing
Paul Gregory – assistant engineer
Destiny Jones – executive producer
Will Kennedy – imaging
Large Professor – producer
Nas – performer, producer
Alex Ndione – assistant engineer
David A. Belgrave – Marketing
Jake Ninan – assistant engineer
James Porte – engineer
Ismel Ramos – assistant engineer
Salaam Remi – organ, bass, guitar, percussion, drums, producer, Fender rhodes
Mike "Wrekka" Risko – producer, musician
Eddie Sancho – mixing
Chucky Thompson – producer
Sacha Waldman – photography

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ChartsEdit

Weekly chartsEdit

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Weekly chart performance for *Stillmatic*
Chart (2001–2002)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)<ref name=aus>Template:Cite Ryan</ref>	54
Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	28
Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	9
Japanese Albums (Oricon)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	95

Year-end chartsEdit

Year-end chart performance for *Stillmatic*
Chart (2002)	Position
Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	37
Canadian Rap Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	19
US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	31
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	5

CertificationsEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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NotesEdit

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External linksEdit

Stillmatic at Discogs
Background on 5 mic rating — Straight from the Source

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