Last week we showed you how many classic verses Nas racked up over the course of 20 years, but did you know he’s also featured on some pretty great remixes too? Here’s a collection of the best. Breakdowns, tracklisting and download link after the jump.

— Snoop Bloggy Blogg

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Nas – It Was Remixed

01 Nas – Stillmatic Intro (Soul Supreme)
02 Nas – It Aint Hard to Tell (Nick Fury)
03 Nas – Life’s a Bitch (Arsenal)
04 Nas – NY State of Mind 2 (45 King)
05 Nas – Take it in Blood (Alternate)
06 Nas – Street Dreams (K-Def)
07 Nas – Halftime (The Butcher)
08 Nas – Bridging The Gap (Marley Marl)
09 Nas – Made You Look (Single rmx)
10 Nas – The World Is Yours (DJ Hollywood)
11 Nas – One Love (LG)
12 Nas – 2nd Childhood (Cookin’ Soul)
13 Nas – Ether (Soul Supreme)
14 Nas – It Ain’t Hard To Tell (Large Professor)
15 Nas – Memory Lane (DJ Premier)
16 Nas – Ghetto Prisoners (45 King)
17 Nas – Self Conscience (Tony Mahoney)
18 Nas – Life’s a Bitch (Buckwild)
19 Nas – Surviving the Times (Cool & Dre)
20 Nas – Family (Cloudkickers)
21 Nas – The World is Yours (Q-Tip)
22 Nas – Street Dreams (R Kelly)
23 Nas – 2nd Childhood (Soul Supreme)
24 Nas – The Cross (9th Wonder)
25 Nas – Thief’s Theme (Cookin’ Soul)
26 Nas – Hope (Wyldfyer)

Nas – It Aint Hard to Tell (Large Pro)

LP decides to flip Bizmarkie’s “Highly recognized as the king of disco and” line from “Nobody Beats the Biz.” The rest is history.

Nas – Stillmatic Intro (Soul Supreme)

Fantastic usage of The Moments’ “What Is Your Name” sample. Any beat that can go up against the Hangmen 3 original should be applauded.

Nas – It Aint Hard to Tell (Nick Fury)

Fury takes us to the Bridge and back complete with Bizmarkie and Shante samples. So fresh, so fresh. Especially for a remix made a decade late. If that wasn’t enough reason to check it, the alternate verses (including a never before heard Illmatic-era rhyme) should lock it. “I’m blessed with the finesse to express like Shakespeare/ The block’s “Cape Fear,” drop metaphors when the breaks clear.” Word.

Nas – Life’s a Bitch (Arsenal)

This high octane mix breathes new life into the rather melancholy Illmatic original.

Nas – Ghetto Prisoners (45 King)

Peace to Vaporized from Philaflava who concocted the brilliant idea that since I Am was infested with garbage beats courtesy of the usually dependable (if not predictable) Dame Grease and Trackmasters, then maybe adding some Tuff City grit might revitalize the record. The album beat for “Ghetto Prisoners” represents everything that was wrong with 1999 New York production. In other words it was a piece of shit. Which was a rotten shame because the lyricism on the track is some of Nas’ best work. Thanks to this blend, the song is finally listenable and unlike the ridiculously overrated off-rhythm noise that is Nastradoomus, it actually sounds pretty fucking great.

Nas – The World Is Yours (Q-Tip)

Dirty basement jazz courtesy of Kamaal. Some Nas fans will tell you his 2nd verse on here might just be one of his best. “Switch the flow speed, I’m gettin’ vexed/ Guiliani is 6-6-6.” Can’t hate on that.

Nas – Take it In Blood (Alterante lyrics)

“Italiano motto, train like Cus D’amato.” Who knew that an even better version of this cult classic existed? Peace to Justice from Soundcircuit for the blend. DJ Whoo Kid shut the fuck up.

Nas – Street Dreams (K-Def)

MPC wiz and protégé of Marley Marl, K-Def’s jazzy mix quickens the pace and throws in his trademark drum patterns. Not only a fantastic remix, it’s notable if only for K being the antithesis of Trackmasters. Wasn’t it great when a producer could flip an original and make you feel like you were listening to an entirely different song?

Nas – Halftime (Butcher)

DJ Bubie sticks fairly close to the script on this one opting to maintain the original drum rhythms while fusing in a latin feel.

Nas – The World Is Yours (DJ Hollywood)

Popped up on DJ Mike Nice’s Please Listen To My Demo mixtape from 2008. The second verse is Nas at his finest, it’s a shame he never revisited these unused lyrics.

Nas – Bridging the Gap (Marley Marl)

Queensbridge’s finest producer and emcee on the same track. Nice horns.

Nas – Memory Lane (DJ Premier)

Drudging, heavy beat. A dope effort, but I can’t help feeling slightly underwhelmed. It’s Primo after all.

Nas – One Love (LG)

Smooths the edges of one of Nas’ sharper efforts. The LG Experience layer the hook with an R&B refrain without it soundin’ corny.

Nas – 2nd Childhood (Soul Supreme)

Supreme provides some sultry soul for Nas’ classic meandering hood tale. A criminally underused producer, loved his Saturday Night Agenda album.

Nas – Surviving the Times (Cool & Dre)

Taken from the Green Lantern and Nas “Nigger Tape,” this mix runs with an eerie ’95 ATLiens vibe. Love the hook, especially the “cause it ain’t hard to tell” link-up. Some people believe this to actually be the original version of the track that appeared on his Greatest Hits compilation. I don’t know about all that, but it definitely holds its weight against the Chris Webber mix.

Nas – Life’s a Bitch (Buckwild)

DITC crate-master gives Q-Tip a run for his money with this jazzed out piece of wonderful.

Nas – Ether (Soul Supreme)

Victory music only slightly hampered by the fact that it uses the clean acapella. Falls off a little on the last verse too.

Nas – Self Conscience (Tony Mahoney)

London, UK up and comer Tony Mahoney flips this QB’s Finest gem into an internet classic.

Nas – Family (Cloudkickers)

Cloudkickers are DJ Eli and Shan Boogs, perhaps best known for their self titled Fondle ‘Em EP that dropped back in ’99. An assortment of strings and keys lace this one up nicely.

Nas – Street Dreams (R Kelly)

Released a month or so after the original, this mix featured completely different lyrics and production. Armed with a superb mini-story in the third verse, the lyricism is much more introspective with its note of caution for wannabe ballers. “But what’s the purpose, only the gods can watch the Earth twist/ I’m physically trapped down on the surface/ with all the crack merchants, snakes and serpents.” The R Kelly hook melds perfectly with the new beat making it one of the more memorable Nas joints to run some R&B.

Nas – The Cross (9th Wonder)

Oozes soul. Why he departed this formula for the forgettable tripe he produces these days boggles the mind.

Nas – 2nd Childhood (Cookin Soul)

Spanish production outfit Cookin’ Soul serve up some 70s sounds over a Stillmatic classic. The horns and pipes combo is a definite winner and fairly reminiscent of DJ Quik and Pete Rock’s styles. In true PR fashion, there’s a little outro bonus remix of “Last Real Nigga Alive” too. This track is taken from Cookin Soul’s Streets Most Wanted Vol 2 tape.

Nas – Made You Look

Luda and Jadakiss join Nas to remix the song of the year. I need it from the top, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Kiss steals the show as usual. File Nas’s verse alongside his rhyme on “We Major” under ‘really? That’s the best you could come up with?’

Nas – NY State of Mind 2 (45 King)

Water dripping from rust-punctured pipes lining abandoned inner-city tenements. If ever there was a successor to the “Come Clean” beat, it’s this. The fact that it instantly gives Nas’ verses new life is a mere bonus. Again, peace to Vaporized from Philaflava for the blend.

Nas – Hope (Wyldfyer)

Nas at his best and his worst. In other words, A microcosm of his career post-2003. We’re given a glimpse of his lyricism at its vivid apex, a reminder that after all these years he’s still arguably hip-hop’s best storyteller – only to have it ripped away after a minute and a half so he can launch into some nonsensical tirade about the album title. And oh yeah, rather than pay to use the sample for his album mix, did he opt to run with some shitbag acapella version instead? Of course he fucking did.

Nas – Thief’s Theme (Cookin Soul)

Maybe the last strong street single from Nas, this mix injects some 70s flavor. Can we get a Nas album half produced by these guys and the other half Soul Supreme? The only thing iller would be the sample clearance budget.

Number 10

Number 9

Number 8

Number 7

Number 6

Number 5

Number 4

Number 3

Number 2

Honorable Mentions

The other day someone on the boards, I think it was Thun, said something along the lines that I should own up to being just another 30 something boom bap dinosaur. Which of course I am, I am in my 30s and I do feel that hip hop’s best years have come and gone. I don’t long so much for a return to the sound as I do for a return the ethics and creativity of the day. I miss the spirit of originality that was brought to the table by the artists we still love and admire some 20 plus years after the fact.

I get that the music of our youth is always going to resonate more and that there will always be ebbs and flows with the quality of a genre. The problem is that we are now pushing 15 years of the same album, style, video, and albums. The music is horribly stagnant from a creative and artistic point of view.

It is a giant game of follow the follower, where everyone is hanging on to some ideal that they think the music is all about whether it is the underground artist who wants you to believe it has always been about the art and that materialism is a new phenomenon or the newest pop sensation that thinks they are paying homage to the old school ideals by being the hyper success of the week and being hot in the streets. And you know what both of those points of view are fine, they are limiting and wrong but they are fine. Hip Hop has moved to a place where the idea of fitting a prototype is more important than the idea of being unique and therefore fresh. The creative spirit, the idea that the art is a manifestation of the artist’s personality, beliefs, and experience is seriously lacking in today’s music. Where other genres got fat and hit a lull, causing a groundswell of outsiders to reclaim the music in their image and ideals, rap has remained the same entity for the past decade and a half. The saddest part is that now you got 40 year olds trying to appeal to 15 year old girls. There is something incredibly creepy and sad about it.

That was really the point of this exercise, it was not to say “Hey Paid in Full is a classic because it has some classic songs” or “Straight Outta Compton is a classic because of its impact” or even “Ready to Die matters because it changed the game” no, the goal was to look at the album as an artistic expression both in itself and of the artists.

So I guess it is no surprise that Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back is our number one album. Not only is it an artistic masterpiece, but it is single most important album of the past 30 years. I don’t think I am speaking hyperbolically here. The impact it had on the culture as a whole is undeniable. But like I said I am not here to argue the impact the album had but the artistic merit.

The combination of Chuck D and Flavor Flav is a brilliant pairing that has been discussed ad nauseam and I have no desire to force that on you again. We get it, the combo worked. I want to talk about the Bomb Squad. I feel they just have not gotten their due. The production work on this album has yet to be touched by any producer or production team in the 22 years since it’s release. You can take your Premo’s, Dre’s, Large Professor’s, Pete Rock’s, Rza’s, etc and they are all production midgets when compared to the work on this album. Not only did they set the mood for the bombast that was Chuck D, they built a sonic canvas that is pure genius.

To this day, with the right set of headphones I am still picking up on things I haven’t heard, and I have been listening to this record for 22 years. It is a maddening jenga puzzle of production, if there was one false move the whole project would crumble, but they didn’t miss a beat. The Bomb Squad is the most ahead of their time visionaries in the history of hip hop. I know sample laws have changed and an album like this could never be created today, but I think that is bullshit. The samples while helpful were only tools that helped them build a wall of sound that defined Public Enemy and eventually early Ice Cube. I think they would have done it no matter the tools they had. It was in them and of them. And it is because of them that Nation of Millions is Timlaska’s Top album of all time.

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On Illmatic Nas shows a level of self awareness that may have never before or since been matched on a rap record. It is the ghost that Nas himself and rap as a whole have been chasing since it dropped. It may have been the last really important album in rap. Sure there have been plenty of great albums, some that may even be better since illmatic was released, but none have captured its depth or resonated in the same way.

For years I have wondered what set this album apart from all the others. What was it about the 10 songs so perfectly crafted that made this record so special. We have certainly seen better records before and since, but they tend to be over the top sonic productions. Illmatic in its entirety is understated. It is an every-man approach to rap music. The music oozes with the time and place it was constructed and Nas delivers a performance often saved for the greatest authors. It helps that he is a technically proficient rapper but what was most important about this album is that he told his story, in the simplest terms that when combined with the music was nothing less than elegant.

Elegant isn’t a word usually associated with rap music, especially rap music that matters. Illmatic contains none of the bombast of say an NWA or PE; it doesn’t go the arty conscious route that so many critics and college age white kids seem to cream over. It is simply the inner workings of a young man defining his place in a world that is often alienating, cruel and dark. In many ways it is the most mature rap album ever made, and could be a perfect companion piece with the number 7 entry Buhloone Mindstate in that they are deeply personal albums that deal with internal issues and emotions without being maudlin. Where Buhloone Mindstate presents this for the artist in their later 20s, Illmatic does so for the artist in their late teens, early 20s. The sad thing is that we still haven’t found an artist that can take this dynamic and make a good album for the 30 or 40 year old set the way say a Tom Waits or Will Oldham can.

I originally had this album at number six. I have played it so much over the years that it is just completely played out to me. I needed to step outside of myself and take in the album for what it was, as well as ignore what Nas has become. There was so much potential for Nas after this album, sadly he has never lived up to any of it.

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So today we go back to our weekly series dedicated to naming the top ten-est rap albums of all time.  I picked the ten albums I wanted to feature in advance.  Since then I have been listening to them pretty non-stop which has lead to many of them being second guessed, removed, and shuffled around.  Today’s record was originally slated in the number two spot, but the more I listened there was just no way I could justify putting it above the albums to follow. 

A Tribe Called Quest was one of the best groups of the 90s.  THey have also become one of the groups that annoying white people that want to discuss hip hop but have no real grasp of the culture cling to.  They are like Cypress Hill minus the weed or the Beastie Boys minus the nasally NY jewish voices.  Additionally Tribe reached a creative zenith that neither of these groups came close too….fuck anyone who says Paul’s Boutique was this or that.  The MCing sucked so the album isnt good.  It would have been better suited as an instrumental album, but sadly that trend didnt really take off till years later. 

Midnight Marauders was the high water mark of creativity and artistry for the group from Queens.  It also marked the first time that Phife Dawg wasnt a complete liability.  That said Phife is also the reason for the albums drop from number two to number 5.  There was just no way i could put an album that he shared lead vocal duties above say, Illmatic, which was originally in this slot. 

Midnight Marauders is the most complete work from the group, it was the moment all the key elements came into their own, with the exception of Jarobi who came into his own by no longer appearing after the groups first album.  The scope of their content moved from very hip hop centric concepts like Buggin Out and having The Jazz to more universal topics like romance,  the experience of a young man in the city and even just everyday problems one faces in their life.  Ali Shaheed Muhammad’s production was cohesive throughout and wasnt limited to just the obscure jazz samples that made Low End Theory a landmark album that has ultimately aged poorly.  The production is thick and lavish and creates a mood that ties the album together from start to finish.  Q-Tip while not displaying the same level of craftmanship in Low End Theory offers a more complete performance combining content, flow, voice and lyrics to help him reach even greater heights as an mc.  The guest appearances are not frivolous and include a top notch performance from Large Professor, getting booth guest vocal and guest production credits on Keep It Rollin and chorus appearances from Trugoy and Busta Rhymes on Award Tour and Oh My God respectively.  The album also spawned two undeniable hip hop classics the aforementioned Award Tour and Electric Relaxation which ended up on every mixtape I made for my lady friend that year. 

I think most would agree that Midnight Marauders is the magnum opus for one of the genre’s most creative acts and remains as poigient and fresh sounding today as it did back in 1993.

Personal note: I went to SUNY New Paltz and this album circulated the campus for about two months before its actual release.  Albums that also leaked that school year and made the rounds were Black Moon’s debut and Nas’ Illmatic.  So I guess leaked records were not just a symptom of the internet age. 

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Links for the previous entries:

Number 10:

Number 9

Number 8

Number 7

I don’t believe in none of that shit ya facts is backwards. Day Three.

Nas – NY State of Mind 2 (45 King)

Water dripping from rust-punctured pipes lining abandoned inner-city tenements. If ever there was a successor to the “Come Clean” beat, it’s this. The fact that it instantly gives Nas’ verses new life is a mere bonus. Again, peace to Vaporized from Philaflava for the blend.

Nas – The Cross (9th Wonder)

Oozes soul. Why he departed this formula for the forgettable tripe he produces these days boggles the mind.

Nas – It Ain’t Hard to Tell (Large Pro)

LP decides to flip Bizmarkie’s “Highly recognized as the king of disco and” line from “Nobody Beats the Biz.” The rest is history.

Nas – Ether (Soul Supreme)

Victory music only slightly hampered by the fact that it uses the clean acapella. Falls off a little on the last verse too.

Nas – One Love (LG)

Smooths the edges of one of Nas’ sharper efforts. The LG Experience even manage to layer the hook with an R&B refrain without it soundin’ corny.

— Snoop Bloggy Blogg