Stillmatic

Though he had gained critical acclaim with his classic debut album Illmatic in 1994, Nas' image had been quickly deteriorating in the hip-hop community with his change of theme, from the philosophical topics of Illmatic to the gangsta rap and commercialized sound that became the focus of his later albums.Birchmeier, Jason. [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p44732/biography|pure_url=yes}} Biography: Nas]. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-11-21. While his second album, It Was Written received positive reviews and introduced him to a greater audience, the follow-ups I Am... and Nastradamus were considered mediocre in comparison by critics. The release of Stillmatic was an attempt by Nas to reestablish his credibility in the hip-hop community, with the title signifying his intentions to continue where Illmatic left off.

Jay-Z had previously dissed Nas in his song "Takeover", taken from his September 2001 release, The Blueprint. On Stillmatic, Nas retaliated with the anticipated song, "Ether," a response to "Takeover" which insinuated that Jay-Z had stolen lyrics from The Notorious B.I.G. several times, that he had sold out, and that he was a misogynist, among other things. Several hip-hop aficionados believe Nas won the feud based on this track, which many felt was much more vicious and ruthless than "Takeover", although this is still a subject of debate within hip-hop circles. Jay-Z would respond with "People Talkin", "Don't You Know", "Blueprint 2" from The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse and the radio freestyle "Supa Ugly."Hinds, Selwyn Seyfu. [http://www.villagevoice.com/2002-01-15/music/kings-of-new-york/ Review: Stillmatic]. The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2009-11-21.

The first single from Stillmatic was "Rule" featuring R&B singer Amerie. It was not heavily promoted but still managed to reach number 67 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r564036/charts-awards/billboard-single|pure_url=yes}} Billboard Singles: Stillmatic]. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-11-22. It did not receive a video and was issued on compact disc, so many are unaware that it was a single. "Got Ur Self a Gun" was believed to have been the first single from Stillmatic. "Got Ur Self a Gun", produced by Megahertz, contains a sample from the theme song to the HBO crime drama The Sopranos. The third single was "One Mic", which received acclaim for its content and video.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

{{Music ratings

| MC = 69/100

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{rating|3|5}}{{AllMusic|last=Bush|first=John|class=album|id=r564036}}

| rev2 = Blender

| rev2score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}

| rev3 = Los Angeles Times

| rev3score = {{Rating|3.5|4}}{{cite magazine|last=Baker|first=Soren|author-link=Soren Baker|date=December 23, 2001|title=A Return to Aggressive Form for Nas|magazine=Los Angeles Times|page=F.71}}

| rev4 = NME

| rev4score = 7/10{{cite magazine|last=Needham|first=Alex|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-nme-5983-335068 |title=Review: Stillmatic |magazine=NME |date=January 11, 2002|access-date=August 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021002120846/http://www.nme.com/reviews/10104.htm |archive-date=October 2, 2002 }}

| rev5 = Pitchfork

| rev5score = 9.1/10{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/nas-stillmatic/|title=Nas: Stillmatic Album Review|website=Pitchfork|last=Thompson|first=Paul A.|date=January 29, 2023|access-date=January 29, 2023}}

| rev6 = Rolling Stone

| rev6score = {{Rating|2.5|5}}

| rev7 = The Source

| rev7score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite magazine|last=Osorio|first=Kim|author-link=Kim Osorio|date=February 2002|issue=149|title=Record Report: Nas – Stillmatic|url=http://www.thesource.com/articles/7782/NAS-5-Mic/?thesource-prod=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928045432/http://www.thesource.com/articles/7782/NAS-5-Mic/?thesource-prod=|archive-date=September 28, 2012|magazine=The Source|page=127|location=New York|access-date=August 1, 2024}}

| rev8 = Spin

| rev8score = 7/10{{cite magazine|last=Ryan|first=Chris|page=107|title=Reviews|magazine=Spin|date=February 2002}}

| rev9 = USA Today

| rev9score = {{Rating|3.5|4}}

| rev10 = Vibe

| rev10score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}

}}

Stillmatic was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 69, based on 12 reviews.{{cite web|title=Stillmatic by Nas|url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/stillmatic|website=Metacritic|access-date=August 1, 2024}}

The Source awarded the album a perfect "five-mic" rating, and Blender{{'s}} Alex Pappademas praised it as "a surprising return to form".{{cite magazine|last=Pappademas|first=Alex|date=February 2002|title=Review: Stillmatic|magazine=Blender|publisher=Alpha Media Group|issue=5|page=114}} Reviewing for The Village Voice, Selwyn Seyfu Hinds said: "Stillmatic isn't merely a reunion or rehash of Illmatic themes. The Nas on this record has grown, with the emotional expansion such maturation suggests. For one, he has never before drawn upon his anger, with a burning focus and controlled intensity that underscores nearly every song. Some of it can surely be ascribed to the Jay-Z battle, but more seems due to the deeper, internal struggle Nas has waged against the fallout from his early, precocious success". Steve Jones of USA Today stated, "diss songs aside, Nas' strength has always been his incisive lyrical analyses of current events."{{cite magazine|last=Jones|first=Steve|date=December 18, 2001|title=Put musical trust in 'R' and Nas, Gene and Ginny ; Hits keep coming for Lil' Bow Wow, Bell Biv DeVoe and 8-Ball|url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/95727928.html?dids=95727928:95727928&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+18,+2001&author=Steve+Jones;+Brian+Mansfield&pub=USA+TODAY&desc=Put+musical+trust+in+'R'+and+Nas,+Gene+and+Ginny+;+Hits+keep+coming+for+Lil'+Bow+Wow,+Bell+Biv+DeVoe+and+8-Ball&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131151245/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/95727928.html?dids=95727928:95727928&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+18,+2001&author=Steve+Jones;+Brian+Mansfield&pub=USA+TODAY&desc=Put+musical+trust+in+'R'+and+Nas,+Gene+and+Ginny+;+Hits+keep+coming+for+Lil'+Bow+Wow,+Bell+Biv+DeVoe+and+8-Ball&pqatl=google|archive-date=January 31, 2013|magazine=USA Today|page=D.06|access-date=August 1, 2024}} John Bush from AllMusic said: "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. Despite the many highlights, a few of the tracks just end up weighing him down". Elizabeth Mendez Berry of Vibe called it "infuriatingly inconsistent" but also "an exercise in lyrical courage and musical might".{{cite magazine|last=Berry|first=Elizabeth Mendez|date=February 2002|title=Revolutions: Nas – Stillmatic|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yCUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA120|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422093359/https://books.google.com/books?id=yCUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA120&dq=#v=onepage&q&f=false|archive-date=April 22, 2022|magazine=Vibe|page=120|location=New York|access-date=August 1, 2024}}

Some reviewers were more critical. Rolling Stone magazine's Kathryn McGuire said: "Striving to maintain street cred while reaching for pop success has left Nas vacillating clumsily on past projects, and this record is riddled with similar inconsistencies. One moment he casts himself as a gritty cat who feels most at home on a project bench, calling out neighborhood snakes ('Destroy and Rebuild') and ducking gunshots ('One Mic'). The next, he's delivering dumbed-down verses over the Track Masters' rinky-dink rendition of Tears for Fears' 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World.'"{{cite magazine|last=McGuire|first=Kathryn|date=January 31, 2002|issue=888|title=Recordings: Nas – Stillmatic|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/stillmatic-20020108|magazine=Rolling Stone|page=53|access-date=August 1, 2024}} In The Village Voice{{'s}} "Consumer Guide", Robert Christgau found the release unworthy of a review and instead relegated it to a listing of ungraded "duds" in the column.{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|date=March 12, 2002|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv302-02.php|title=Consumer Guide|newspaper=The Village Voice|access-date=September 17, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}

Retrospective appraisals have been relatively positive. In The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Chris Ryan wrote that Stillmatic "finds Nas sticking with what works, creative storyraps and trenchant social commentary. He still errs when he makes attempts at club tracks, but the album is largely a success."{{cite book|last=Ryan|first=Chris|editor-first1=Nathan|editor-last1=Brackett|editor-link1=Nathan Brackett|editor-first2=Christian|editor-last2=Hoard|editor-link2=Christian Hoard|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|url=https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/568|via=Internet Archive|url-access=registration|publisher=Fireside Books|location=New York|date=2004|access-date=January 21, 2024|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|page=569}} Writing in the Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Colin Larkin commended Nas for "rebuilding his creative and commercial standing" in the early 2000s with Stillmatic.{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|year=2011|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|publisher=Omnibus Press|edition=5th|isbn=978-0857125958|page=1993}} In 2005, Chris Rock compiled a list of his Top 25 Hip-Hop Albums of all time, to which he ranked Stillmatic at number 20, commenting "It's like Mama Said Knock You Out eleven years earlier, where a guy just reclaimed his spot with some great records".{{cite magazine|last=Rock|first=Chris|author-link=Chris Rock|date=December 15, 2005|issue=989|title=The Chris Rock 25|magazine=Rolling Stone|pages=98–99|location=New York|issn=0035-791X}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Stillmatic track listing

| total_length = 56:34

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title1 = Stillmatic (The Intro)

| writer1 = {{flatlist|

• Nasir Jones
• Jeffrey Backues Neal

}}

| extra1 = Hangmen 3

| length1 = 2:11

| title2 = Ether

| writer2 = {{flatlist|

• Jones
• Rondell Turner

}}

| extra2 = Ron Browz

| length2 = 4:37

| title3 = Got Ur Self a Gun

| writer3 = {{flatlist|

• Jones
• Jake Black
• Dorsey Wesley

}}

| extra3 = Megahertz

| length3 = 3:48

| title4 = Smokin{{'-}}

| writer4 = Jones

| extra4 = {{flatlist|

• Nas
• Precision

}}

| length4 = 3:47

| title5 = You're da Man

| writer5 = {{flatlist|

• Jones
• William Mitchell

}}

| extra5 = Large Professor

| length5 = 3:26

| title6 = Rewind

| writer6 = {{flatlist|

• Jones
• Rick Rubin
• Mitchell

}}

| extra6 = Large Professor

| length6 = 2:13

| title7 = One Mic

| writer7 = {{flatlist|

• Jones
• Chucky Thompson

}}

| extra7 = {{flatlist|

• Nas
• Chucky Thompson for The Hitmen

}}

| length7 = 4:28

| title8 = 2nd Childhood

| note8 =

| writer8 = {{flatlist|

• Jones
• Christopher Martin
• P. Miles Bryson

}}

| extra8 = DJ Premier

| length8 = 3:51

| title9 = Destroy & Rebuild

| writer9 = {{flatlist|

• Jones
• Lawrence Parker
• Paul Hendricks
• Michael Risko

}}

| extra9 = {{flatlist|

• Baby Paul
• Mike Risko

}}

| length9 = 5:24

| title10 = The Flyest

| note10 = featuring AZ

| writer10 = {{flatlist|

• Jones
• Anthony Cruz
• Leshan Lewis

}}

| extra10 = L.E.S.

| length10 = 4:38

| title11 = Rule

| note11 = featuring Amerie

| writer11 = {{flatlist|

• Jones
• Amerie Rogers
• Samuel Barnes
• Olivier
• Chris Hughes
• Roland Orzabal
• Ian Stanley

}}

| extra11 = Trackmasters

| length11 = 4:32

| title12 = My Country

| note12 = featuring Millennium Thug

| writer12 = {{flatlist|

• Jones
• Nashawn Jones

}}

| extra12 = Lofey

| length12 = 5:12

| title13 = What Goes Around

| note13 = featuring Keon Bryce

| writer13 = Jones

| extra13 = Salaam Remi

| length13 = 4:59

| title14 = Every Ghetto

| note14 = featuring Blitz the Ambassador

| writer14 = {{flatlist|

• Jones
• Lewis

}}

| extra14 = L.E.S.

| length14 = 3:28

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Disc 2 (Limited Edition)

| extra_column = Producer

| total_length = 9:35

| title1 = No Idea's Original

| writer1 =

| extra1 = The Alchemist

| length1 = 3:07

| title2 = U Gotta Love It

| note2 = snippet

| writer2 =

| extra2 = L.E.S.

| length2 = 1:33

| title3 = My Way

| note3 = snippet

| writer3 =

| extra3 = The Alchemist

| length3 = 1:36

| title4 = Make It Last

| note4 = snippet

| writer4 =

| extra4 = L.E.S.

| length4 = 1:57

| title5 = Doo Rags

| note5 = snippet

| writer5 =

| extra5 = Precision

| length5 = 1:22

}}

Notes

• "Got Ur Self a Gun" was later retitled "Got Ur Self A..." on the clean version of the album.
• The track "Braveheart Party", written by Nasir Jones and Jean-Claude Olivier and produced by Swizz Beatz, was removed from later pressings of Stillmatic at Mary J. Blige's request.Reid, Shaheem. [https://web.archive.org/web/20020202164812/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1451938/20020125/story.jhtml "Mary J. Blige Track On Nas' Stillmatic To Be Cut For 'Personal Reasons'"]. MTV.com. January 25, 2002. Retrieved August 11, 2008.
• The Japanese release of Stillmatic features three additional tracks: "No Idea's Original", "Everybody's Crazy" and "Black Zombies". Each can also be found on The Lost Tapes, a compilation album that was released in 2002.
• A limited edition version of Stillmatic contains a bonus disc with snippets from five songs on The Lost Tapes.

Samples

• "Stillmatic (The Intro)" contains a sample from "Let Me Be Your Angel" by Stacy Lattisaw.
• "Ether" contains dialogue from "Fuck Friendz" by 2Pac, and gunshot samples from "Knuckleheadz" by Raekwon and "Who Shot Ya?" by The Notorious B.I.G.
• "Got Ur Self a Gun" contains a sample from "Woke Up This Morning" by Alabama 3.
• "You're Da Man" contains a sample from "Sugar Man" by Sixto Diaz Rodriguez (sometimes misattributed to DJ David Holmes), "Am Fenster" by the German band City, and "Theme from Exodus" by Pat Boone & Ernest Gold.
• "Rewind" contains a sample from "It's Yours" by T La Rock, "Monkey Island" by The J. Geils Band, and "I'm Not Rough" by The J. Geils Band.
• "One Mic" contains a sample from "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins, and "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby" by Barry White.
• "2nd Childhood" contains a sample from "Born to Love" by Peabo Bryson & Roberta Flack, "Da Bridge 2001" by Nas & Ill Will Records Presents QB's Finest, and "N.Y. State of Mind Pt. II" by Nas.
• "Destroy & Rebuild" contains an interpolation from "The Bridge is Over" by Boogie Down Productions.
• "The Flyest" contains a sample from "Night Moves" by Frank McDonald and Chris Rae, and "Child of Tomorrow" by Badder Than Evil.
• "Rule" contains an interpolation from "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears.
• "Every Ghetto" contains a sample from "Main Title" (The Eiger Sanction) by John Williams.

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

• Pablo Arraya – assistant engineer
• AZ – performer
• Baby Paul – producer, instrumentation
• Mary J. Blige – performer
• Osie Bowe – engineer
• Ron Browz – producer
• Keon Bryce – vocals (background)
• Kevin Crouse – engineer, mixing
• Alex Dixon – assistant engineer
• DJ Premier – producer, mixing
• Chris Feldman – art direction, design
• Steve Fisher – assistant engineer
• Tameka Foster – stylist
• Chris Gehringer – mastering
• Bryan Golder – engineer

{{col-2}}

• Jason Goldstein – mixing
• Paul Gregory – assistant engineer
• Destiny Jones – executive producer
• Will Kennedy – imaging
• Large Professor – producer
• Nas – performer, producer
• Alex Ndione – assistant engineer
• David A. Belgrave – Marketing
• Jake Ninan – assistant engineer
• James Porte – engineer
• Ismel Ramos – assistant engineer
• Salaam Remi – organ, bass, guitar, percussion, drums, producer, Fender rhodes
• Mike "Wrekka" Risko – producer, musician
• Eddie Sancho – mixing
• Chucky Thompson – producer
• Sacha Waldman – photography

{{col-end}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Stillmatic}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Canada|artist=Nas|title=Stillmatic|award=Gold|relyear=2001|certyear=2002}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United Kingdom|artist=Nas|title=Stillmatic|award=Gold|relyear=2001|certyear=2013|certmonth=7|id=10299-1231-2}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United States|artist=Nas|title=Stillmatic|award=Platinum|relyear=2001|certyear=2002|refname="riaa"}}

{{Certification Table Bottom}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book | editor1-last = Brackett | editor1-first = Nathan | editor2-first = Christian | editor2-last = Hoard | title = The New Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely Revised and Updated 4th Edition | publisher = Simon and Schuster | year = 2004 | isbn = 0-7432-0169-8 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac }}

• [http://www.discogs.com/Nas-Stillmatic/master/20243 Stillmatic] at Discogs
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=t7UNykqMKrMC&pg=PA26 Background on 5 mic rating] — Straight from the Source

{{Nas}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2001 albums

Category:Albums produced by Da Beatminerz

Category:Albums produced by DJ Premier

Category:Albums produced by L.E.S. (record producer)

Category:Albums produced by Large Professor

Category:Albums produced by Ron Browz

Category:Albums produced by Salaam Remi

Category:Albums produced by Trackmasters

Category:Columbia Records albums

Category:Nas albums

Category:Sequel albums

Category:Albums produced by Megahertz (record producer)