Stillmatic
Studio album by Nas
Released	December 18, 2001 (United States) December 27, 2001 (JPN)
Recorded	2001
Genre	Hip hop
Length	56:42
Label	Ill Will Records/Columbia Records CK-85736
Producer	Baby Paul, Chucky Thompson, DJ Premier, Hangmen 3, L.E.S., Large Professor, Lofey, Megahertz Music Group, Mike Risko, Nas, Ron Browz, Salaam Remi, Trackmasters Entertainment, Precision
Professional reviews
Allmusic link The Source link HipHopDX.com link NME link RapReviews.com link Stylus (A-) link Robert Christgau link
Nas chronology
Nastradamus (1999) Stillmatic (2001) God's Son (2002)
Singles from Stillmatic
"Rule" Released: 2001 "Got Ur Self A..." Released: December 4, 2001 "One Mic" Released: April 16, 2002

Stillmatic is the fifth studio album by East Coast rapper Nas. It was released in December, 2001 by Columbia and Ill Will Records. It was a critical success that reestablished Nas' career after the critical flop Nastradamus. The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200 eventually selling over 1.7 million copies.^[1] The album additionally contained beats produced by longtime Nas collaborators including DJ Premier, Large Professor and L.E.S..

Stillmatic was immediately hailed as Nas' best album since his landmark debut, Illmatic.^[2]

Background

Stillmatic was one of the most highly anticipated hip-hop albums of the year, primarily due to the fallout from Nas's heated battle with rival Jay-Z. Jay-Z had previously dissed Nas in his single "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 the radio freestyle "Supa Ugly", which was not as well received as "Takeover" or "Ether". Cormega, Nature and Prodigy were also dissed on "Destroy & Rebuild".

Reception

The first single from Stillmatic was "Rule" featuring Amerie. It was not heavily promoted but still managed to reach #27 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. It did not receive a video and was not put to compact disc, so many are unaware that it was a single, and believe "Got Ur Self A..." was the first single from Stillmatic. "Got Ur Self A...", the second single contained a sample from the theme song on the HBO drama The Sopranos. The third single was "One Mic", which received acclaim for its content and video.

Stillmatic marked Nas' reemergence atop the rap scene, after many said his career was waning following his previous LP, Nastradamus (an album considered by some critics and fans to have been the most mediocre album in his discography). The success of the album resurrected Nas' career, as he has since released several successful and critically acclaimed albums. Well received by critics, Stillmatic received 5 mics from The Source magazine-a distinction set aside only for classic hip-hop albums. This made Nas one of only a few artists to have two 5 mic albums. It was also on the 2005 list of Rolling Stone's top 100 albums and ranked 20th on Chris Rock's Top 25 Hip-Hop Albums of all time.^[3]

While widely-acclaimed in the hip-hop media, Stillmatic received more mediocre reviews from broader music review outlets such as Rolling Stone, Vibe, and Allmusic. The album was certified platinum, though it failed to return Nas to the commercial peak he had reached in the mid and late '90s with It Was Written and I Am....

Track listing

Alternate track lists

• The first pressing of Stillmatic contained "Braveheart Party", a Swizz Beatz production that featured Mary J. Blige and The Bravehearts. It was track eleven between "The Flyest" and "Rule". It was removed from future pressings of the album at Blige's unexplained request.^[4]
• 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 2002 Nas compilation album.
• A limited edition version of Stillmatic contains a bonus disc with snippets from five songs on The Lost Tapes.

Credits

• Executive Producer: Destiny Jones
• Mastering: Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound Studios, NYC
• A&R Direction: Lenny Nicholson
• Album Coordination: Nikki Martin
• Marketing: David Belgrave
• Art Direction & Design: Chris Feldmann
• Photography: Sacha Waldman
• Producer: Daquan Williams

Chart positions

Album

Singles

References