N.Y. State of Mind - Nas

This song really takes me into the world of QB projects. 

While violent and dangerous, it is just cool how Nas takes 

you right into that world

           The first actual song on Illmatic. All about the whole experience living in the QB housing projects of New York. Of course it isn't the lightest song. A very gritty feel to the lyrics and story. Nas does an excellent job of painting a vivid image, really getting me to feel the song. And that is just one of the many great qualities of Nas. Kind of ironic to think he started the track saying, "man I don't know how to start this shit", right before spitting one of the greatest hip-hop songs ever.
           What makes the song so great? Nas of course. If you don't know, he has an incredible flow, clever lines, thought provoking lyrics, and an immense vocabulary which makes his rhymes so intelligent. Just listening to him when he describes shoot outs is pretty intense. He doesn't overdose you with too many words, so he can rap fast, and it gives everyone to imagine their own picture of the song. He also drops the famous line:

I never sleep, 'cause sleep is the cousin of death

And my favorite rhyme: 

Life is parallel to hell but I must maintain

Very simple meaning. Yet I couldn't possibly list all the lines, as they are all clever and sound awesome.

          And of course don't forget the beat. Simple beat, like I described to you in the last post. Classic instrumental at this point. Starts with synths, simple beeping noise, and the piano and drums accompany you as Nas spits a legendary track. Produced by DJ Premier. And they really make a duo, with Nas holding the mic, and Premo producing, the song will always be classic. Just look at all the songs with Nas & Premier, all great. 

A great track, really gotta love it. I admit at first I didn't really feel for the beat when I first heard it, it has grown onto me and now I love the song. No surprise though, everything is Illmatic on this album, pun intended. 

Tomorrow we will here another classic, with arguably one of the best verses in Hip-Hop history.