Nas Illmatic Vinyl Debut album from American rapper Nas released in 1994. The landmark album has long considered by critics as one of the greatest Hip Hop albums of all time, Illmatic is a densely textured, deeply lyrical portrait of life in the US's largest public housing project, Queensbridge. Upon release, the record signaled the resurgence of the moribund New York hip-hop scene and helped pave the way for Biggie Smalls, Jay Z and a new generation of New York rappers. With the release of Illmatic, Nas quickly established himself as a hip hop icon and has become one of the hottest artists on the music scene today. Illmatic has been consistently ranked near the top of many "best album" lists.