In light of the classic album’s 20th anniversary this week, you may have noticed that everybody is talking about Nas’s Illmatic. Add hip hop junkie Wrekonize to the list as he tells HipHopDX how he was affected by the incredible debut.

Like many other than him, Wrekonize Nas’s more commercially successful sophomore effort It Was Written before he ever listened to Illmatic, but once he did, his life was never the same.

“[It Was Written] was a little more light, a little more pop sensibility to it, even though like it’s still a hip hop. But, it just felt like he was going a little bit more up into the mainstream whereas when you go back from that album to Illmatic, it gets like way grittier, you know, like it definitely has that first album like hunger and grit to it. The production like, man, it just slapped me in the face, like I thought It Was Written was dope at the time and I was like all about the album and then when I went back, it flipped my whole world upside down because I felt stupid for missing it.”

Wrekonize also goes on to talk about his favorite beat on the album, “N.Y. State of Mind”. In the end, this interview is a very in-depth look into Wrekonize’s foray into one of the greatest albums of all time and is a must see.

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• When did you discover Illmatic?
• What’s your favorite beat on Illmatic?

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