A QUESTION FOR THE OLD HEADS.....DID ILLMATIC REALLY HAVE AS MUCH OF AN IMPACT AS PEOPLE SAY.....

[lutha]

in 1994, pac was nowhere near to as culturally accepted as nas was in 1994.
which is why nas became the large gateway for cultural based rap fans in 1996.
which, is also why nas selling out.
was not needed, as he would have eventually moved the cultural importance of hiphop to forefront for the industry of rap like krs did in the mid to late 80's.
yet, he did not stay true, and here we are.

in 94, pac was pretty much the overly pr'd rapper who could be a much larger platinum selling rapper/actor.
if he stayed out of the press with legal issues.
especially, back then..
since, every time you were in the press with anything attached to a pair of handcuffs.
was always given the most extreme negative backlash, on too many platforms to name.
on top of being a rapper, and the people in the know and in charge...
also, are behind the marketing of the prison industrial complex.
in 1994, pac was kinda like a nobody.....
he originally, was a movie money marketed feature gangsta rap artist.
which means he was pegged to be a platinum gangsta rapper as the general rule.
so, he was doing what he was pretty much signed to do.
yet, past that in the public eye...
he could have been viewed as a nobody.
back at that exact time,...
he could have been tupack shackur, and been glad to just get the pr.
no matter how good or bad.

it was not until his whole shooting, bandanna tied spitting shooting mtv rant vids and matw..
did, pac turn into the mythical two that America likes to market/pr, as the only archetypes that are acceptable.
when it comes to black men of a certain gen.



art barr

pac not culturally accepted as nas back then? lol what bullshyt are you trying to pass on these people?...was 2pacolypsenow not out by then?...muthafukkas knew about and accepted pac culturally before nas...now, was pac looked at as the pure lyricist as nas? nope...but he was looked at as a potentially bigger artist, which he eventually became...

 

[lutha]

Yes it did have that kind of impact. Think of how Kendricks Control verse had everybody goin nuts. It was like that but a whole albums worth. Kill yaself at anybody who brings up sales in regards to this album. Sales? SALES??? Vanilla Ice's first album sold more than the WHOLE CAREERS of Rakim, Kane, KRS-1, and G-Rap PUT TOGETHER. So kill that argument.

no it did not...just like this Kendrick verse aint having an impact yall trying to hype it into having...the album didn't make hip hop start over, make muthafukkas go back to the drawing board, etc. like yall thinking it did...it did none of that...hell, nas's verse on 'live at the bbq' had more of an impact than illmatic...I say that cause that verse made people actually start looking out for nas and wanting to see if he could spit like that on a whole album...when illmatic dropped, people saw he could, which made people take note that this could be the start of another potential star/legend, which he became...

 

[lutha]

what's tripping me out about this thread is people are acting and trying to make it seem like illmatic came out at a time when there was a bunch of bullshyt coming out...and that's far from the truth...during that time, we were getting quality music every month....there were just as good, if not better albums that came out around the same time of illmatic...ex: outkast - southernplayalistic.....that's why it didn't have this huge impact like people trying to say...the only place it impacted like that was ny...the rest of the country, not so much...people thought it was a good to great album, but that's about it....and i'm not hating on the album, I had the bootleg and bought a retail couple of the album when it dropped...

 

[mobbinfms]

lol..you can call me what you want, doesn't change what it was like then...i'm not one of these youngsters, i'm old enough to know, cause i experienced it...I know it hurts you 'real hip hop heads' to hear that illmatic didn't impact the game like yall wish, hope, and believe it did thanks to all the bullshyt hype that's been placed on the album over the years, but that shyt just gotta hurt...the album was good when it came out, but it was just that: another good album during a time when a lot of good albums were coming out....and like I said: chronic had more of an impact on the game than illmatic....if anything, illmatic should thank chronic for getting those 5 mics it did...cause the only reason chronic didn't get it was cause it wasn't a ny released album...and since ny wanna be the 'mecca' of every damn thing, they had to give the first 5 to a ny album...but that's another topic....

on a side note: this is hilarious...this cat doesn't know me from a can of paint, yet instead of making a counter point to what I said, he went with name calling trying to attack me as a person...i tell you, the internet makes people bold....but whatever, I aint here for that, so continue on

Illmatic was not the first album to get 5 mics from the Source.

 

[Truality]

i'm not gonna read this long ass thread but i'm a white guy that grew up on chicagos southside at 44th and western and hung with mostly hispanic and black

i was mostly into west coast at that time but after i heard some nas shhit on whpk and 950AM i like it

my boy danny from curie high got me an advanced copy of illmatic cuz he worked at coconuts music and used to jack cds

for hiphop heads it pretty much was something really lyrical and advanced and grimy sounding, i bumped it just as much as doggystyle and spice 1 and thug life but within a year its appreciation became godly

many others felt the same as me

now it's a classic

so is spice 1 tho

 

[W.I.Z.E.]

again...look at most major hip hop outlets from 94 till now and damn near all of them will say that Illmatic was impactful and a classic. And for some of yall trying to make this a coastal or regional thing, in the US, ur rewriting history. I clearly remember the early 90's. Cats on the East Coast were bumping Da Chronic and cats on the west were bumping Illmatic

Yall can debate it all you want but look at these as just a few opinions on this topic

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/diverseity/the_12_most_essential_hip_hop_albums/

http://www.emusic.com/music-news/connections/six-degrees-of-illmatic/

http://pitchfork.com/news/48866-nas-illmatic-gets-box-set-reissue/


AND the fact that 20 years later ppl are still discussing it further echoes it's impact.

 

[lutha]

Illmatic was not the first album to get 5 mics from the Source.

i was wrong, you are correct...it was 7th

 

[Truality]

i agree with most of art barr's posts regarding illmatic

twista too, i remember romonski luv tryin to push him

don't see nas selling out on iww tho

after it maybe

but the mafioso was just the cool thing overall

 

[mr.africa]

what's tripping me out about this thread is people are acting and trying to make it seem like illmatic came out at a time when there was a bunch of bullshyt coming out...and that's far from the truth...during that time, we were getting quality music every month....there were just as good, if not better albums that came out around the same time of illmatic...ex: outkast - southernplayalistic.....that's why it didn't have this huge impact like people trying to say...the only place it impacted like that was ny...the rest of the country, not so much...people thought it was a good to great album, but that's about it....and i'm not hating on the album, I had the bootleg and bought a retail couple of the album when it dropped...

it has been stated many times throughout this thread that heat was being dropped left and right every few weeks in that era.
your west coast bias and beef with the source for not awarding 'the chronic' 5 mics is somewhat clouding your judgement. the album was not mr popular. there were albums around that time that initially had bigger impact, but the album made an impact. and not just in ny. again look at proof being provided throughout this threat.your beef is with the source, not illmatic. classics were being dropped on the regular!

 

[Wacky D]

did somebody just try to say outkast debut was hotter than illmatic?

 

[lutha]

it has been stated many times throughout this thread that heat was being dropped left and right every few weeks in that era.
your west coast bias and beef with the source for not awarding 'the chronic' 5 mics is somewhat clouding your judgement. the album was not mr popular. there were albums around that time that initially had bigger impact, but the album made an impact. and not just in ny. again look at proof being provided throughout this threat.your beef is with the source, not illmatic. classics were being dropped on the regular!

let's be clear: i have no bias, we're just discussing music stating our opinions...and for your info: if i did have a bias, it wouldnt be for the west coast, i'm not from there....i dont have anything against the source...used to buy the magazine all the time growing up...i dont have anything against illmatic...think it's a great album, bought the bootleg, then bought it again retail when it dropped....

with that out the way: you just said what i've been saying: yes, it had an impact, but not the impact people trying to imply it had...people talking like it changed hip hop when it dropped, that kinda impact...and it didnt...you just said so in your post...i was only using the chronic as an example of the media bias that was being shown towards illmatic to make it seem like it had a bigger impact than it did...

 

[lutha]

did somebody just try to say outkast debut was hotter than illmatic?

i didnt try, i did...to me it was/is....to this day, it's gotten more burn than illmatic

 

[Wacky D]

WOW.

 

[↓R↑LYB]

Even Cacinem knew Illmatic was the truth

 

[Art Barr]

lol..you can call me what you want, doesn't change what it was like then...i'm not one of these youngsters, i'm old enough to know, cause i experienced it...I know it hurts you 'real hip hop heads' to hear that illmatic didn't impact the game like yall wish, hope, and believe it did thanks to all the bullshyt hype that's been placed on the album over the years, but that shyt just gotta hurt...the album was good when it came out, but it was just that: another good album during a time when a lot of good albums were coming out....and like I said: chronic had more of an impact on the game than illmatic....if anything, illmatic should thank chronic for getting those 5 mics it did...cause the only reason chronic didn't get it was cause it wasn't a ny released album, but that's another topic....

on a side note: this is hilarious...this cat doesn't know me from a can of paint, yet instead of making a counter point to what I said, he went with name calling trying to attack me as a person...i tell you, the internet makes people bold....but whatever, I aint here for that, so continue on

edit - the album wasnt the 1st 5 mic receiver...it was 7th..

Stop trying to play up for the camera, lil nikka.
If you were really there culturally.
We would not be having this discussion.
it is completely obvious to anyone in the know culturally.
That you exhibit the experiences of someone who does not and did not culturally experience what was to it when illmatic dropped.
If youu did ,...
You would be talking about it from a cultural standpoint and not one of sales.
Let alone mentioning the chronic that dropped on Oct 5, 1992.
The same year year and day that common sense and Redman debuted.
Also,...
If you want to be entertained by getting tabled by me.
By even bringing up why the chronic never got five mics.
Make a thread, asking why the source never have the chronic five mics originally.
You keep mentioning the chronic because you can only refer back to the nineties using mainstream mtv basd ideals.
Not actual real cultural experiences.
That alternatively, I have consistently provided .
Not just in this thread a lone.
Yet for close to twenty years online in the cultural context.
alternatively, You have provided nuffin.


Talking about culture, then using your talks about sales as validation in a discussion about culture.
Already shows you have no idea wtf, you even talembout.


Art Barr