The debut studio album from Nas was released on 19 April 1994 by Columbia Records and features production from DJ Premier, Large Professor, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, L.E.S., and Nas himself.
Since its release, Illmatic has been recognised as a landmark album for East Coast hip hop by fans and music critics alike. It’s sold over 2 million copies State-side and is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential hip hop albums of all time, bringing with it multi-syllabic internal rhymes and inner-city narratives based on Nas’ experiences growing up in Queensbridge, New York.