T.he I.nformant
1st Ballot HOF Teller
Track 8, right? Easily.
But let me explain--
When I first heard illmatic, I was blown away just like everyone. It was a masterpiece. It was an instant classic deserving of the universal praise it had already garnered. It was easy to understand how it catapulted Nas to the top of the genre and heralded him as the second coming of Rakim.
BUT. And there was a sizable one for the younger me.
I wasn't really feeling "One Time 4 Your Mind."
I actually kind of thought it was the weak link. Seemed out of place. Too "slow." Ultimately, "boring." In my young mind, it fukked up the mood and flow of the album. In a nutshell, I had no real appreciation for it. Initially, I was willing to overlook its "shortcomings" because the rest of the album was so mind-blowing for me. It got to the point, though, that I was finding myself skipping it. 
I would eventually even leave this single track off when I uploaded the album to my iPod. 
Nuff said.
Nevertheless, with that said, I don't think I was alone in my under-appreciation for the song. This wasn't exclusively some personal failing. I think everyone kind of slept on it. For all of the critical acclaim the album has received you'll notice critics and fans hardly mention a peep about this track. They'll talk glowingly about the super production team. They'll praise Nas for generally raising the bar for lyricism and for ushering in a new era of rhyming. They'll wax poetic about the grittiness of a "NYSOM," AZ's vaunted feature on "Life's a bytch," the dead presidents on "The World Is Mine," "Halftime" being the debut single originally featured on the 1992 Zebrahead soundtrack, "Memory Lane" for its nostalgia, the concept of writing to incarcerated friends about the outside world on "One Love," the energetic "Represent" for providing a street anthem, and the lyrical brilliance on display in the album's closer in "It Ain't Hard To Tell." And like I said, I used to think there was good reason for their not highlighting anything about "One Time 4 Your Mind."
Damn. All I can say is I was wrong. Dead wrong.
Time's passed. I feel it now. I appreciate it these days. This shyt is dope. Crazy underrated. I don't know what the fukk I was thinking.
Let's start with the beat which truth be told was previously the thing that seemed underwhelming to me and probably prevented me from really getting in to it. Large Pro provides a jazzy, melodic soundscape, looping a sample of Jimmy Gordon and his Jazznpops Band's saxophone from "Walter L." Smooth. Mellow. Makes ya head bop. The deep bassline is almost a show stealer. From the jump, that shyt slowly rocks you into a trance. I really fukking love this beat, now.
But like all of illmatic, it's Nas's lyrical prowess that's in the spotlight. His stream-of-conscious raps blend themes of what a typical 20-year-old black youth from the inner city was dealing with in the early 90s: navigating the streets, hanging out with friends, spending leisure drinking and getting high, getting p*ssy, going against the grain, worrying about cops. It's the coming-of-age stuff that makes illmatic so endearing. There's also that bravado, confidence, and swagger of a young emcee who's boldly announcing his presence in the rap game, mixing poetics about the street and rapping about rapping in complex rhyme schemes. It's what makes illmatic compelling.
And then you have the stripped down simple refrain for a hook that is signature of the album that comes in the form of call and response with Grand Wizard letting the listener know it's time for illmatic and in that same spirit that it's time for Nas.
As good as anything on illmatic, brehs, and as good as it gets in rap.
But let me explain--
When I first heard illmatic, I was blown away just like everyone. It was a masterpiece. It was an instant classic deserving of the universal praise it had already garnered. It was easy to understand how it catapulted Nas to the top of the genre and heralded him as the second coming of Rakim.
BUT. And there was a sizable one for the younger me.
I wasn't really feeling "One Time 4 Your Mind."
I actually kind of thought it was the weak link. Seemed out of place. Too "slow." Ultimately, "boring." In my young mind, it fukked up the mood and flow of the album. In a nutshell, I had no real appreciation for it. Initially, I was willing to overlook its "shortcomings" because the rest of the album was so mind-blowing for me. It got to the point, though, that I was finding myself skipping it. I would eventually even leave this single track off when I uploaded the album to my iPod. Nuff said.Nevertheless, with that said, I don't think I was alone in my under-appreciation for the song. This wasn't exclusively some personal failing. I think everyone kind of slept on it. For all of the critical acclaim the album has received you'll notice critics and fans hardly mention a peep about this track. They'll talk glowingly about the super production team. They'll praise Nas for generally raising the bar for lyricism and for ushering in a new era of rhyming. They'll wax poetic about the grittiness of a "NYSOM," AZ's vaunted feature on "Life's a bytch," the dead presidents on "The World Is Mine," "Halftime" being the debut single originally featured on the 1992 Zebrahead soundtrack, "Memory Lane" for its nostalgia, the concept of writing to incarcerated friends about the outside world on "One Love," the energetic "Represent" for providing a street anthem, and the lyrical brilliance on display in the album's closer in "It Ain't Hard To Tell." And like I said, I used to think there was good reason for their not highlighting anything about "One Time 4 Your Mind."
Damn. All I can say is I was wrong. Dead wrong.
Time's passed. I feel it now. I appreciate it these days. This shyt is dope. Crazy underrated. I don't know what the fukk I was thinking.
Let's start with the beat which truth be told was previously the thing that seemed underwhelming to me and probably prevented me from really getting in to it. Large Pro provides a jazzy, melodic soundscape, looping a sample of Jimmy Gordon and his Jazznpops Band's saxophone from "Walter L." Smooth. Mellow. Makes ya head bop. The deep bassline is almost a show stealer. From the jump, that shyt slowly rocks you into a trance. I really fukking love this beat, now.
But like all of illmatic, it's Nas's lyrical prowess that's in the spotlight. His stream-of-conscious raps blend themes of what a typical 20-year-old black youth from the inner city was dealing with in the early 90s: navigating the streets, hanging out with friends, spending leisure drinking and getting high, getting p*ssy, going against the grain, worrying about cops. It's the coming-of-age stuff that makes illmatic so endearing. There's also that bravado, confidence, and swagger of a young emcee who's boldly announcing his presence in the rap game, mixing poetics about the street and rapping about rapping in complex rhyme schemes. It's what makes illmatic compelling.
And then you have the stripped down simple refrain for a hook that is signature of the album that comes in the form of call and response with Grand Wizard letting the listener know it's time for illmatic and in that same spirit that it's time for Nas.
As good as anything on illmatic, brehs, and as good as it gets in rap.
