Stillmatic

by Nas

Overview

Back on the hardcore block and with plenty to prove after two years without a record under his own name, Nas designed Stillmatic as a response: to the rap cognoscenti who thought he'd become a relic, and most of all to Jay-Z, the East Coast kingpin who wounded his pride and largely replaced him as the best rapper in hip-hop. The saga started back in the summer of 2001 with the mixtape "Stillmatic," Nas' answer track to an on-stage dis by Jay-Z. A few months after Jay-Z countered with the devastating "Takeover," Nas dropped the comeback single "Ether" and the full album Stillmatic; tellingly, Jay-Z had already released his response to "Ether" (titled "Super Ugly") before Stillmatic even came out. 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. "Ether" relies on a deep-throat vocal repeating the phrase, "F*ck Jay-Z," while "You're da Man" hits the heights of arrogance with a looped vocal sample repeating the title over and over. "Destroy & Rebuild" is a solid defense of his Queensbridge home, and "Got Ur Self A..." is an outstanding track, the best here, complete with chant-along chorus. Despite the many highlights, a few of these tracks (most were produced by either Large Professor or Nas himself) just end up weighing him down: "Smokin'," one of the worst, is an odd G-funk track that would've sounded dated years before its release. Stillmatic certainly isn't as commercial as past Nas output, but it places him squarely behind the times. Facts are facts: he's not the best rapper in the business anymore. ~ John Bush

Product Details

Release Date:	01/17/2020
Label:	Get On Down
UPC:	0664425145113
Rank:	19478

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Nas   Primary Artist,Lead Vocals
Amerie   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)
Az Izz   Primary Artist
AZ   Guest Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals,Lead Vocals
Mary J. Blige   Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Keon Bryce   Vocals (Background)
Kevin Crouse   Vocals (Background)
Salaam Remi   Bass,Drums,Organ,Guitar,Percussion,Fender Rhodes
Millennium Thug   Lead Vocals,Featured Artist
Blitz   Lead Vocals,Featured Artist

Technical Credits

Sixto Rodriguez   Composer
Teddy Riley   Composer
Paul Hendricks   Composer
Amerie   Composer,Performer
Shelene Thomas   Composer
Paul Mitchell   Composer
Kevin Crouse   Mixing,Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Ken "Duro" Ifill   Engineer,Producer
Brad Delp   Composer
Joe   Performer
J. Bynoe   Composer
Chester Burnett   Composer
Chris Gehringer   Mastering
L.E.S.   Producer
Large Professor   Producer
Jacques Revaux   Composer
Chucky Thompson   Composer,Producer
Baby Paul   Producer,Instrumentation
Terry Lewis   Composer
Claude Francois   Composer
Lawrence Parker   Composer
Barry White   Composer
Chad Hugo   Composer
Eddie Sancho   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Don Letts   Composer
Lofey   Producer
Hugo Burnham   Composer
S. Thomas   Composer
Lillian Armstrong   Composer
Salaam Remi   Producer
Leo "E-Zee-Kill" Williams   Composer
Jon King   Composer
Mariah Carey   Composer,Producer,Performer
Sadao Watanabe   Composer
Narada Michael Walden   Composer
Rick Rubin   Composer
Nas   Composer,Producer,Performer
Mary J. Blige   Performer
R. Wilson   Composer
Pablo Arraya   Assistant Engineer
Michelle Bell   Composer
Mick Jones   Composer
P. Miles Bryson   Composer
Ron Browz   Producer
Oswald Bowe   Engineer
Bunny Hull   Composer
Osie Bowe   Engineer
Cam Wilson   Composer
Megahertz   Composer,Producer
Jake Ninan   Assistant Engineer
DJ Clue   Producer
Dan Donovan   Composer
Paul Gregory   Assistant Engineer
Andrew Gill   Composer
Keith Sweat   Composer
L. David Lewis   Composer
James Harris III   Composer
Greg Roberts   Composer
Jean-Claude Olivier   Composer
Lou Wilson   Composer
Samuel J. Barnes   Composer
Raymond Scott   Composer
AZ   Performer
The Alchemist   Producer
DJ Premier   Mixing,Composer,Producer,Mixing Engineer
DJ Scott La Rock   Composer
Hank Mobley   Composer
Herb Middleton   Producer
Jonathan Merritt   Assistant Engineer
Jason Goldstein   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Rondell Turner   Composer
Ricardo Wilson   Composer
Gary Noble   Engineer
Trackmasters   Producer
J.A. Black   Composer
Dave Allen   Composer
Bryan Golder   Engineer
Dustin Jones   Executive Producer
Alex Dixon   Assistant Engineer
Az Izz   Performer
Precision   Producer
Tameka Foster   Stylist
Mike "Wrekka" Risko   Composer,Musician,Producer
Ismel Ramos   Assistant Engineer
Piers Marsh   Composer
J. Backues Neal   Composer
M. Bell   Composer
Malcolm Gold   A&R Assistance
L. Parker   Composer
B. White   Composer
Tom Scholz   Composer
R. Rubin   Composer
Will Kennedy   Imaging
LeShan Lewis   Composer
Simon Edwards   Composer
Hangmen 3   Producer
Dexter Thibou   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Lenny "Linen" Nicholson   A&R
Sacha Waldman   Photography
Jake Black   Composer
Rob Spragg   Composer
Alex Ndione   Assistant Engineer
James Porte   Engineer
Steve Fisher   Assistant Engineer
Anthony Cruz   Composer
Chris Feldman   Design,Art Direction
Carlos Wilson   Composer
Chris Martin   Composer
Nasir Jones   Composer
Salaam Gibbs   Composer
Vincent Turner   Composer
Destiny Jones   Producer
Mike Risko   Producer
Michael Sandlofer   Composer
Larry Gates   Composer
Alan Maman   Composer