Illmatic, the 1994 debut album by Nas, made a significant impact on the hip hop genre. The album has been credited as one of the pivotal works that returned East Coast hip hop, particularly Queensbridge's hip hop scene, to prominence in a time when public attention was focused on West Coast releases. Nas' lyricism and storytelling on Illmatic has been regarded as setting a new standard for lyrical sophistication in major hip hop releases. The production of Illmatic has also been viewed as influential in cementing the characteristic sound of New York hip hop.

Many other hip hop artists have described Illmatic as having influenced them. Additionally, the album has received substantial discussion in academic and literary fields, including in the 2009 book Born to Use Mics. When reviewing Nas' later albums, critics have frequently compared those albums to Illmatic; in particular, Nas' albums from the later 1990s were often criticized for their departures from Illmatic style.

East Coast hip hop

Illmatic has been noted as one of the most influential hip hop albums of all time, with pundits describing it as an archetypal East Coast hip hop album.Foster, S. (2004). "Bridging the Gap (Part 2)". Ave Magazine, pp. 48–54. Jeff Weiss of Pitchfork writes: "No album better reflected the sound and style of New York, 94. The alembic of soul jazz samples, SP-1200s, broken nose breaks, and raw rap distilled the Henny, no chaser ideal of boom bap."Illmatic Reissue Review Retrieved on March 8, 2013 Citing Illmatic as part of a string of notable albums released in 1994, David Drake of Stylus Magazine writes "This was the critical point for the East Coast, a time when rappers from the New York area were releasing bucketloads of thrilling work". John Bush of AllMusic compares Illmatic to another DJ Premier production, The Sun Rises in the East (1994), as "one of the quintessential East Coast records".Bush, John. [ The Sun Rises in the East: Overview]. Allmusic. Retrieved on February 22, 2009. Along with the critical acclaim of the Wu-Tang Clan's debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993) and the success of The Notorious B.I.G.'s debut Ready to Die (1994), Illmatic was instrumental in restoring interest in the East Coast hip hop scene. "Rarely has the birthplace of hip-hop," wrote Rob Marriott of Complex, "been so unanimous in praise of a rap record and the MC who made it."Marriott, Rob. 10 Ways Nas' "Illmatic" Changed Hip-Hop . Complex. Retrieved on 2013-05-20. As Nas later recounted: "It felt amazing to be accepted by New York City in that way... at the time a lot of West Coast hip-hop was selling; East Coast wasn't selling as much, especially for a new artist. So back then you couldn't tell in the sales, but you could tell in the streets".Nas & Rakim: Meeting of The Kings . MTV. Retrieved on January 20, 2007.

Production Illmatic has been noted as a creative high point for East Coast hip hop, since it featured production from renowned New York-based producers Large Professor, Pete Rock and DJ Premier.Gloden, Gabe. I Love 1994 . Stylus Magazine. Retrieved on 2013-04-11. The album solidified the reputation of these producers, whose contributions to Illmatic became influential in shaping the soundscape of New York's regional scene. According to music writer Rob Marriott, Illmatic helped to establish DJ Premier as "the go-to producer for the jazz-and-blues-inflected knock that became so central to East Coast sound."

Following the album's release, hip hop artists increasingly began to draw upon a broad stable of producers for their projects. At the time, the assembly of big-name producers was unprecedented, since most hip hop albums had primarily been the work of one dedicated producer and sometimes an embedded production team.Cowie, Del. Nas: Battle Ready . Exclaim!. Retrieved on January 20, 2007. Yet author Adam Mansbach reflects on the impact of Illmatics noteworthy producers, writing: "The psychological impact on the listener of having all these elite producers – some of whom, like Q-Tip, really weren't known yet for doing outside production work at all – coming together to lace the debut of this kid from Queensbridge was tremendous."Dyson, Michael Eric., and Sohail Daulatzai. "It Was Signified: 'The Genesis'" Born to Use Mics: Reading Nas's Illmatic. pp. 13–32 This same template would be used by other successful East Coast rappers. In an article on New York hip hop, Mosi Reeves of Creative Loafing wrote that "Nas' Illmatic... is the first to draw together top hip hop producers in the recording industry. That formula, most successfully mined by the late Notorious B.I.G. (1997's Life After Death), Puff Daddy (1997's No Way Out) and Jay-Z (1998's Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life), is what most N.Y. prospects still use today."Reeves, Mosi. Is New York hip-hop dead? . Creative Loafing. Retrieved on January 20, 2007. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times writes that after Illmatics release, "[I]t became commonplace for rappers to search around for different producers who could enhance their sound."Dyson, Michael Eric., and Sohail Daulatzai. Nighttime is More Trife Than Ever Born to Use Mics: Reading Nas's Illmatic., pp. 2010. 255–60.

Yet while hip-hop artists continue to draw upon this template for album production, the practice has earned some criticism. In an article titled, "How Nas' "Illmatic" Ruined Hip-Hop," Insanul Ahmed of Complex argues that one "unintended consequence" of Illmatic was the overall decline in the cohesion and quality of rap albums: "Next thing you knew, rap albums started having a different producer for every song. And like a film that has a different director for every scene, albums became unfocused affairs. This meant that producers weren't tied to artists anymore."Ahmed, Insanul.How Nas' "Illmatic" Ruined Hip-Hop . Complex. Retrieved May 20, 2013.

Queensbridge

Illmatic is credited with reviving the Queensbridge rap scene. Once home to prestigious pioneers such as Marley Marl, MC Shan, Roxanne Shanté, Queensbridge had been one of the most productive hip hop scenes in the country during the 1980s. In an April 2006 article, an XXL columnist wrote of the history and impact of the Queensbridge hip hop scene, stating "Since the 1980s, New York City's Queensbridge Housing Projects has been documented perhaps better than any other geographic location. Starting with super producer Marley Marl's dominant Juice Crew in the '80s all the way through '90s mainstays like Nas, Cormega and Capone, the Bridge has produced the highest per-capita talent of any 'hood."XXLmag.com | Hip-Hop On A Higher Level | » Mobb Deep's Queensbridge Classics . Harris Publications, Inc. Retrieved on September 1, 2008. Yet during the early 1990s, the Queensbridge rap scene was otherwise stagnant. According to Nas: "I was coming from the legacy of Marley Marl, MC Shan, Juice Crew kind of vibe. Knowing these guys out in the neighborhood. At that time, the Queensbridge scene was dead. Dropping that album right there said a lot for me to carry on the legacy of the Queensbridge pioneers."

Following Illmatics release, Queensbridge returned to prominence after years of obscurity, with the ascendancy of the influential hardcore rap group Mobb Deep (whose affiliation with Nas garned them credibility) and later with the emergence of the trend-setting underground duo Capone-n-Noreaga. Nas appeared on Mobb Deep's critically acclaimed studio album The Infamous (1995), in addition to their next two studio albums, Hell on Earth (1996) and Murda Muzik (1999). The album is credited with launching the career of the East New York-based rapper AZ, who later joined Nas's rap group The Firm. AZ, who gained instant exposure and underground credibility due to his appearance on "Life's a Bitch", became a frequent collaborator of Nas, who appeared on his debut album Doe or Die (1995).

Decline of alternative hip hop Illmatic was one of the first major recordings to emerge from New York's burgeoning hardcore hip hop scene, at a time when much of East Coast hip hop was still dominated by alternative hip hop acts such as A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul (groups known for their jazz-inspired production, socially conscious lyrics, and playful sensibilities). Adam Heimlich of The New York Press comments on the appeal of alternative hip-hop in New York City's music scene, and points out that, "In 1994, there appeared likely to be more money (and definitely more cultural rewards) in working with Arrested Development or Digable Planets." Yet according to Heimlich, Illmatic provided an "explosive, explicit rejection of the cultural assimilation of most previous hip-hop," due to its rugged use of language and its uncompromising portrayal of crime.Heimlich, Adam. Hiphop's Year One: Nas, Mobb Deep and Wu-Tang Clan Face 9/11 . New York Press: Volume 15, Issue 4. Retrieved on January 20, 2007. Professor Sohail Dalautzai of the University of Southern California comments on Illmatics indebtedness to hardcore hip hop: "[B]ecause in bridging the gap and embodying the street swagger of Kool G Rap, the metaphysics of Rakim, and the revolutionary lumpen philosophies of Ice Cube, Nas... unified the disparate threads of urban rebellion that were conflagrating from hip-hop's street corner ciphers."

Heimlich cites Nas' role in the resurgent hardcore movement, writing: "[Nas] came on the scene as hardcore's golden child. Along with Wu-Tang Clan, Nas and Mobb Deep... all but invented 90s New York rap, back when the notion of an 'East Coast gangsta' still meant Schoolly D or Kool G. Rap. Those three... designed the manner and style in which New York artists would address what Snoop and Dre had made rap's hottest topics: drugs and violence." Similarly, Duke University Professor, Mark Anthony Neal, writes, "Nas was at the forefront of a renaissance of East Coast hip hop" in which "a distinct East Coast style of so-called gangsta rap appeared," as heard in similarly styled recordings such as Wu-Tang Clan's "C.R.E.A.M." and Notorious B.I.G.'s "Everyday Struggle". Steve Huey of AllMusic concludes that while Illmatic contains strong elements of jazz rap, it nonetheless signaled a major regional shift towards hardcore aesthetics, marking "the beginning of a shift away from Native Tongues-inspired alternative rap."

West Coast hip hop The critical acclaim surrounding the album helped to shift attention away from the melodious, synth-driven, and funk-induced G-funk subgenre, which dominated the charts for some time after Dr. Dre's The Chronic (1992).Biography: Nas . Citing the example of Snoop Dogg's wildly popular Doggystyle (released six months prior to Nas' debut) author Matthew Gasteier writes, "The first thing immediately noticeable about the [Source magazine] review, is that, like essentially every other review about Illmatic in publications like Vibe, Spin, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times, it mentions Snoop Doggy Dogg's Doggystyle in the first paragraph." That nearly every reviewer felt the need to contextualize their response to Illmatic within the frame of West Coast G-Funk "is a reminder of just how pervasive the style was within the hip hop world and the music community as a whole."Gasteier, Matthew Nas's Illmatic 2009 pp. 52–54.