I saw a debate on Facebook that immediately caught my attention: Nas’ Illmatic or Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt?

Two legendary rappers. Two classic debut albums.

But if you’re making me choose one? I’m taking Illmatic.

And that’s not disrespect to Jay-Z at all.

Reasonable Doubt is a classic. Jay was rapping at an elite level on that album, and when you go back and listen to it today, you can hear the beginning of everything he eventually became.

But Illmatic was different. To me, Illmatic didn’t just introduce Nas. It changed hip-hop.

 

Illmatic Felt Like You Were Standing in Queensbridge

That’s what always separated Nas to me.

Nas didn’t just rap about where he was from. He could put you there.

You could hear the environment in his music. The projects. The streets. The people. The pressure. The ambition. The paranoia. The reality of being young and trying to navigate everything around you.

And Nas was only 20 years old when Illmatic was released.

Think about that.

Somebody that young was writing with the perspective and detail of somebody who had already lived three different lives.

When you hear records like “N.Y. State of Mind,” “The World Is Yours,” “Memory Lane” and “It Ain’t Hard to Tell,” you’re hearing somebody operating on another lyrical level.

There wasn’t much wasted space on that album either.

Ten tracks. No need for 20 songs. No need for a bunch of filler. Nas got in, painted the picture and got out.

 

Reasonable Doubt Was Brilliant in a Different Way

Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt came out in 1996, two years after Illmatic, and Jay gave you something different.

Jay was smooth. Calculated. Confident. He could give you street stories, money talk, ambition, regret and paranoia while making everything sound effortless.

“Dead Presidents II.” “D’Evils.” “Can I Live.” “Can’t Knock the Hustle.”

That’s grown-man rap.

And the older I’ve gotten, the more I appreciate Reasonable Doubt because some of what Jay was talking about hits differently when you’ve actually lived some life.

I understand why somebody could choose it.

I’m just not choosing it over Illmatic.

 

Here’s the Difference for Me

Jay-Z eventually became the bigger superstar. His catalog became bigger. His business success became legendary. You can even make an argument that Jay had the greater overall career.

But that’s not the question. We’re talking about these two albums.

And if I’m judging the album itself, lyricism, production, influence, storytelling, replay value and what it meant to hip-hop I’m going with Nas.

Illmatic feels almost like a time capsule. Put it on and you’re immediately transported back to early-’90s New York hip-hop. But somehow it doesn’t sound trapped in 1994.

That’s difficult to accomplish.

 

Illmatic Changed the Standard

That’s probably the biggest reason I give Illmatic the edge.

There are great albums. There are classic albums. And then there are albums that become measuring sticks.

Illmatic became one of those.

For decades, whenever a young rapper comes along who is supposed to be an incredible lyricist, eventually somebody starts making the Nas comparison. Whenever somebody releases a short album without much filler, people talk about creating that perfect body of work. Whenever people debate the greatest hip-hop albums ever made, Illmatic is almost automatically part of the conversation.

That’s impact.

 

Jay Became Jay — But Nas Had Illmatic

The interesting part is that Jay-Z’s career after Reasonable Doubt became enormous.

He kept evolving. He made hit records. He made classic albums. He became one of the biggest artists hip-hop has ever produced.

Nas’ career took a different path.

But Nas has something very few rappers in history can say: At 20 years old, he dropped an album that people are still using as a standard more than 30 years later.

That’s crazy.

And maybe that’s ultimately what separates the two for me.

Reasonable Doubt introduced us to a rapper who would eventually become one of hip-hop’s greatest icons. Illmatic introduced us to Nas already sounding like one of hip-hop’s greatest rappers.

There’s a difference.

So give me Reasonable Doubt as a classic. Give Jay-Z all the respect he deserves.

But if you put both albums on the table and tell me I can only keep one?

I’m grabbing Illmatic and walking out the door.