BET Talks Presents: It Ain't Hard To Tell - The Illmatic Legacy | BET Talks 

The GOAT album from the greatest MC!

Ice Cube said to NaS on his 'The Bridge' podcast, "Back then we were doing our penmanship, then you came and put it in Cursive". Highest compliments from 1 of Hip-Hop Greats! Illmatic is like New Testament to Catholics, it is like BC & AD, Before Illmatic and after Illmatic! Facts!

Illmatic should be in a museum. Pure goated!. Legendary Nas 4eva♥️🙏

I seen the whole picture of growing up in NYC USA from listening to Nas and I'm from Zimbabwe never been to the States but his music took me there walked me through the streets of Queens

deep like the shining, sparkle like a diamond sneak a uzi on the island in my army jacket lining hit the earth like a comet invasion Nas is like the afrocentric asian, half man half amazing..🔥🔥🔥

This album will never die you can’t call yourself a Real Hip Hop head if you don’t know Illmatic.

Illmatic the greatest hiphop album of all time

Yup. Nas is special.

Congratulations to the 🐐 For 30 yrs of this historic album Continue to flex your muscle on the culture ❤🍾💪🏿

The legendary illmatic album speaks for itself

I’m not the type to look for that quick shine I’m in it for the long run! You most def are my brother still🔥🔥🔥 in 24🐐💐💐💐

I remember riding the A train to Euclid Ave to see my grandmoms in cypress and I first heard live at the BBQ... I said to myself "this is real rapping..." when illmatic dropped it was my daily life soundtrack while riding the train to school...being from Brooklyn and at that time having a queens mc as your favorite rapper I got into a lot of arguments... "who's the best mc biggie jay z or nas..." illmatic represent... "my mic check is life or death/breathin a snipers breath..." - Nas

The greatest album from the greatest rapper.

This album created many young critical thinkers 💯

Nas finally getting good press.

Happy 30th Anniversary for the Hip Hop/Rap classic album Illmatic.

Illmatic is hands down the best album to ever come out

"Biggie's Ready to Die album came out several months after Illmatic, and Biggie was crowned king of New York in the popular culture of Hip Hop heads, Ready to Die unfairly over-shadowed Illmatic, which is truly a classic album. Though they were quite distinct artists, they innovated in analogous ways. Biggie merged language that was high and low, vernacular and vocabulary words, in a way that sounded natural. He did this with a sophisticated understanding of the patterns of black language. When a different or unusual word or phrase could be introduced while still maintaining the aesthetics of black language, he inserted it. NaS, in contrast, merged concepts that were high and low, vernacular and metaphysical, in a manner that was whole rather than pieced together, thus presenting a complex that is unusual in any music outside of jazz. What Biggie started to do with language in 1994, NaS had already begun to do with ideas on Illmatic. He carries us through the "Righteous steps" of the cosmic, oceanic, and literal dimensions of his person. He transcends." - Imany Perry (Born To Use Mics)

Lupe Fiasco's Food and Liquor is also up there as a modern day classic

The fact he dissed Mobb Deep & Cormega on “Stillmatic” yet years later they still willing to vouch for this masterpiece PROVES how masterful NAS is as an artist!

And to think he has a symphonic version of this w the National Symphony Orchestra, celebrating the 20th Anniversary.

Nas’s Illmatic is thee timeless “Thriller” album masterpiece of Hip-Hop, hands up and down!❤

Stillmatic 🔥🔥 changed my life for real

I named my son Nasir❤

Dope words for a magnum opus hip hop album 🔥👌🏽

Stillmatic is my illmatic that album.needs more love

I was born in 91, this is my fav hip hop album

Bet finally showing nas love

"Pac was Like Jesus, Nas wrote the Bible."

I appreciate how Nas is remembered while he is still with us.

Illmatic is a timeless 💎 everything about that era from the music videos to the music itself is the definition of Hip Hop. In it's purest format. That album got me threw middle school & high school. And as a adult, still continue to listen till this day. I never get tired of the songs.

No disrespect but yall love illmatic but IWW was God level storytelling coming from a young black man in the projects.

Illmatic by Nas is still a golden classic and relevant to this day masterpiece

I tried not miss Stretch & Bobbito Underground show b4 Illmatic dropped bc of Nas & Big L! Them sons had underground radio on lock w endless free styles & it was sweet

Illmatic will forever be the greatest Hip-hop album ever and Nas is the GOAT Mc!

Nas is the 🐐 not even close

THE BEST TO EVER DO IT‼️✌🏿👊🏿

Ralph McDaniels was the man

GOAT N@S, and even more when you hear his peer giving him credit

Nas is Something crazy for real

I'm still playing Illmatic. It's my #1 fav album across all genres. And shout out to Ralph McDaniels! He curated my childhood every day after school.

Illimatic

Nas needs a museum like jayz had. Each album was a staple in time!

This albums raised me a lil nicca from africa/ ethiopia! I was hooked! I used to write the lyrics while listeing to it. Nas is a modern day Picasso!

The Goat!!

Takes you back to that time. For me that’s when you know something is special. I haven’t seen another MC to come out the gate like this.

🐐 🐐 🐐 👑 👑 👑

The most dangerous MC💯

Nas is a beast!!! For him to had been so young and flowing lyrically with so much wisdom is phenomenal! 😮

Illmatic deserves a Pulitzer award.

Nas is the greatest to ever touch the mic untouchable. The goat 🐐🐐

This gave me chills

It's still the measurement that every album released since is measured against. You know how many times I've seen a publication say "will this be the next Illmatic" Put it this way, BIG L and Biggie both released albums in that same timeframe and they were dope but Illmatic was so ahead that it devalued everything around it. People literally scraped projects and ideas after it's release. I remember Biggie won album of the year at the source awards and said Nas absolutely deserved it afterwards. Just to think he didn't win a Grammy for that lol. It was written is my favorite album due to its range and versatility, but Illmatic is the greatest ever recorded

This should’ve been a entire documentary

*This piece was enthralling.*

MY SISTER ACTUALLY NAMED MY NEPHEW AFTER NAS NASIR

1. I grew up hearing It Was Written 1st. But when I went back n listened to Illmatic my mind was blown from Nas just turning on a switch when the beat drop with "rappers I monkey flip 'em with the funky rhythm..." 2. For me Pac will always be the greatest. But Nas is easily next for me, hands down the greatest storyteller in history of hip hop and Illmatic is the greatest hip hop album for me.. 3. If you haven't already listen to the original version of Memory Lane. That Primo beat is sooo tough! I wish they kept that version on the album!

You know this is special when PET actually has the nerve to finally talk about the goat

4:15 Destiny wouldn't let daddy focus on the interview. 😂 She a grown woman now.

Everthing you do, be righteous..word

I first heard Illmatic when I was 5 years old back in 04', I lived in Montréal, Canada at the time. Listened to it again back when I was 14 years old when I lived in Toronto. I’ve never been to New York yet Illmatic made me feel like I’m from there, it was as if the TTC turned into the New York Subway System once I put on Illmatic while going to school and it felt like Jane and Finch was turned into Queensbridge. Now I’m 25 years old, that album is still in my top 5 probably behind "The Gentle Side of John Coltrane"; Miles Davis’ "Kind of Blue"; Marvin Gaye’s "Romantically Yours"; "Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane" by Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane and then Illmatic

I’d put Illmatic behind paid n full and ready to die, but it is in the top 5 greatest hip hop albums of all times, which still says a lot.

B.E.T should give Nas the I Am Hip-Hop Award this year, it's long overdue.

History was made 30 years ago. Congratulations to Nas for establishing himself as the greatest rapper of all time 🍾👑

I bump Illmatic songs daily over here in the upper Indian Himalayas.

Once I seen Ralph Mcdaniels and Red Alert I knew this was official. 🏆

Nas you are the greatest! All of QB rappers are prolific!

One of the most respectable albums of all time.

"No filter between my brain and my mouth It just comes out"

🐐AS

The Greatest, EVER!! ❤

Nas went in reverse. back then rappers used one producer. Nas used multiple producers. now at the end he does one producer with Hitboy

I still remember the 1st time I saw the video for “I Ain’t Hard to Tell” He was rocking the red jacket and skull cap with the brim against the white snow. That’s been emblazoned in my memory since the 90s

NAS has always been the best rapper alive to me...his songs are way more complicated and thought out than most...

From South Africa 🇿🇦 Nas Ilmatic is a classic. Represent/ The world is yours 🤯

Classic!!🔥

THE GOAT.

Timeless

The greatest of the greats..period...it's not even close

We know who you talking about bro, that one guy named Jay Z switched his style up after illmatic dropped. Nas raised the bar definitely with that

Ilmatic

no filter from the mind to the mouth👑

TIMELESS RECORD ❤️‍🔥 💯 💿

Its #1 in my book as well. Timeless.🙌🏽

There can only be one king 👑 and the Name is Nas 🫡🫶🏾🙏🏿 People just don’t understand how illmatic changed the game i was a teenager in 1994 in Ghana 🇬🇭 west Africa in college in Accra listening to Nas songs. Fast forward i came to Copenhagen Denmark 🇩🇰 1998 and I’ve been to Nas concert 🎵 3 times and it’s just mind blowing 🤯 to see this incredible icon of hip hop. I’m still going to watch 30 anniversary concerts 25 October in Copenhagen 😂 Good music never dies

Goat 🐐 I'm Nas Fam From Florida The Man Storytelling Is Unmatched

Uncle Ralph 🔥🔥🔥

Greatest MC ever

Dear diary, modern BET posted Nas.

Nas is the greatest! There is no argument. It's not about nostalgia; this man is the King of Rap

Nas can be the GOAT

I was just listening to the 20th anniversary, Live At The Kennedy Center, accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra earlier today…

Nas music would send me on a journey to research the subject of his lyrics

Nas is the most revered rapper of all time and rightly so 🙌

Legendary

🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐

Nas, too real... Nas, true king...

DOPE 🔥

Greatest!

That kid from queensbridge has come a long way … 30 years later he’s GOAT status !!