Believe it or not but back in 94 this now obscure album received more airplay than Illmatic.

Crumple

All Star
Joined
Jul 12, 2014
Messages
7,608
Reputation
755
Daps
9,062
I don't think I remember this.

But I do know I never heard illmatic on Toronto radio when it dropped. Maybe just It ain't hard to tell on College Radio.

Sir Mix Alot, Wrex n Effect, Dr. Dre, Snoop, Pharcyde, Digital Planets seemed and I believe we're way bigger than Nas at the time.

It took years before it was heralded as a classic which caused millions of heads to revisit it.
 

mrvaughn

Sorcerer Supreme
Joined
Apr 8, 2013
Messages
620
Reputation
248
Daps
1,352
Reppin
Latveria
I always have this on my ‘to listen to’ list but never get round to it. It’s in my Spotify library untouched. No reason why I haven’t yet heard it. Should really make this the time but I’m knee deep in DPG / LBC / Snoop Dogg and associated acts right now.
 

Child_Of_God

Love is a long road.
Joined
Jun 10, 2018
Messages
10,495
Reputation
3,787
Daps
52,600
Reppin
Washington D.C.
I don't think I remember this.

But I do know I never heard illmatic on Toronto radio when it dropped. Maybe just It ain't hard to tell on College Radio.

Sir Mix Alot, Wrex n Effect, Dr. Dre, Snoop, Pharcyde, Digital Planets seemed and I believe we're way bigger than Nas at the time.

It took years before it was heralded as a classic which caused millions of heads to revisit it.
IIRC Illmatic received little to no promotion at all. It Was Written actually put Nas into the public spotlight. :yeshrug:
 

Knucklehead

HMFIC
Joined
Jul 4, 2013
Messages
2,247
Reputation
1,232
Daps
13,427
Reppin
Montreal #byrdgang
It took years before it was heralded as a classic which caused millions of heads to revisit it.
This is just blatantly false.
It got 5 Mics in The Source and was given rave reviews in all the big publications of the day like Spin and Rolling Stone. It didn’t take years for shyt it was right away.
 

Child_Of_God

Love is a long road.
Joined
Jun 10, 2018
Messages
10,495
Reputation
3,787
Daps
52,600
Reppin
Washington D.C.
????
What city were you living in at the time?
I was born in 93.

Old heads was discussing this on a hip hop YouTube channel that I’m subscribed too. :yeshrug:

I have older cousins and relatives who were in their 20’s at the time and they all said that nobody was actually fukking with Illmatic like that in 94.

They was in DC though so it might have been different in NY but even then they said that DC fukked with Biggie, Bad Boys, The Lost Boyz, Tribe Called Quest and Wu Tang real heavy.
 
Last edited:

987654321

Superstar
Joined
Jun 15, 2018
Messages
8,837
Reputation
4,399
Daps
31,839
IIRC Illmatic received little to no promotion at all. It Was Written actually put Nas into the public spotlight. :yeshrug:

I remember randomly hearing “it ain’t hard to tell” and “the world is yours” on Atlanta and Houston radio. It wasn’t often though. Even some of my family in the middle of nowhere, GA and Alabama had purchased cassette copies of “Illmatic”.

IWW was definitely more in our faces before, during, and after it dropped. Lol my brother thought AZ was better until “Nas is like” came out. It was just because he liked “Sugar Hill” so much lol.
 
Last edited:

LoMax30

Bokeem Hoodbine
Joined
Jun 6, 2014
Messages
1,395
Reputation
650
Daps
5,414
Reppin
Chopped Cheese & Snapple Iced Tea
I have older cousins and relatives who were in their 20’s at the time and they all said that nobody was actually fukking with Illmatic like that in 94.

They was in DC though so it might have been different in NY but even then they said that DC fukked with Biggie, Bad Boys, The Lost Boyz, Tribe Called Quest and Wu Tang real heavy.
Which is crazy because by late 90s early 2000s DC nikkas was fukkin with 3-6 and No Limit HEAVY
 

Crumple

All Star
Joined
Jul 12, 2014
Messages
7,608
Reputation
755
Daps
9,062
IIRC Illmatic received little to no promotion at all. It Was Written actually put Nas into the public spotlight. :yeshrug:

Yup, that I remember. I bought that tape when it dropped. I was put on to illmatic later on in full.
 
Top