DJ SNS talks about leaking Illmatic and making it his mixtape before it was released, MC Serch responds

[Artificial Intelligence]

just think of it this way.. allot of songs wouldn’t exist if this didn’t happen.. if the whole chain of events was different would have changed the future releases

 

[Tommy Gibbs]

Selective recapping on Serch's part though.

Yeah, there was a lot of bootlegging back then. But the SNS tapes didn't kill Illmatic sales, Columbia did. They were notorious for not wanting to spend on promoting and marketing. They had Nas in broken down vans touring the country with underground groups like Yaggfu Front and The B.U.M.S.. Nas couldn't get them to invest in the album post-production, so the sales died after the hardcore fans went out and copped it.

Q-Tip said Nas told him he couldn't even move out of his mom's crib because Serch and Columbia wouldn't pay him or boost the album. SNS wasn't pushing tapes all over the country. Dude used to have a little dusty shop uptown where he would be selling all kinds of sh*t. That's not gonna hurt Nas's sales like that. Columbia f*cked Illmatic up, and Serch pocketed more than he should've because he didn't do sh*t to really help the album. Same thing he did with O.C.'s Word...Life. The same damn year.

I never had an one of his dj tapes in high school, but I had Illmatic. Bought it twice. Bought it on cassette, then bought it on cd a year later and gave the cassette to my neighbor. That cassette is worth over $100 today of the 1st pressing.

 

[nieman]

I never had the bootleg of Illmatic...and especially didn't have it before it dropped. But I had a dub of a dub of a dub. And that was the problem after it dropped. Plus, they didn't promote it. It was all word of mouth, combined with The World is Yours and One Love videos being major. It Ain't Hard to Tell to me was the opening crack as far as videos, but I remember The World is Yours being that one. Plus, they rarely played It Ain't Hard to Tell on the radio here in Philly.

And was SNS even that big?

 

[Da_Eggman]

it was actually a blessing in disguise. Had Illmatic went platinum, Nas stays doing that type of music and fizzles out. The fact that it didn't sell a lot forced him to go the route of singing on the hooks with a more mainstream approach and that's why he's still relevant 30 years later. Sometimes failure if the best thing to happen even if your album is great.

Nah he was going that route regardless that was just the trend of hip hop

 

[Da_Eggman]

Illmatic only sold 60,000 first week, why is Serch saying it sold 165,000?

I thought the same thing

 

[Metal Face]

why does Serch keep saying 165k first week

is that WORLDWIDE sales

 

[mson]

Stop this jiggy enablin breh.

Ya boi was with puff too nikka.
Sad that nas was affected by bootleggers just like brand nubian. Yet nas never did none of the draw building anything to aid illmatic. Then souled't out.

All that other shyt is excuses and jiggy enablin.


not giving no passes.

it is not happening.

you can act oblivious.
all you want.

I keep it real.






Art Barr

So what he was hanging out with Puff? What's that supposed to mean? And I know I'm going to regret replying to you.

 

[Art Barr]

So what he was hanging out with Puff? What's that supposed to mean? And I know I'm going to regret replying to yium.

You tweak'n.
You enablin selling out breh.

The willfully complicit allegiance to ruin hiphop tho.
You easily just a rap fan breh.
Anyone championing that bullshyt is the issue.

Plus complicit in the purposeful destruction of the hiphop culture.


Art Barr

 

[mson]

Selective recapping on Serch's part though.

Yeah, there was a lot of bootlegging back then. But the SNS tapes didn't kill Illmatic sales, Columbia did. They were notorious for not wanting to spend on promoting and marketing. They had Nas in broken down vans touring the country with underground groups like Yaggfu Front and The B.U.M.S.. Nas couldn't get them to invest in the album post-production, so the sales died after the hardcore fans went out and copped it.

Q-Tip said Nas told him he couldn't even move out of his mom's crib because Serch and Columbia wouldn't pay him or boost the album. SNS wasn't pushing tapes all over the country. Dude used to have a little dusty shop uptown where he would be selling all kinds of sh*t. That's not gonna hurt Nas's sales like that. Columbia f*cked Illmatic up, and Serch pocketed more than he should've because he didn't do sh*t to really help the album. Same thing he did with O.C.'s Word...Life. The same damn year.

You should reply to him. I would love to hear his response to this.

You tweak'n.
You enablin selling out breh.

The willfully complicit allegiance to ruin hiphop tho.
You easily just a rap fan breh.
Anyone championing that bullshyt is the issue.

Plus complicit in the purposeful destruction of the hiphop culture.


Art Barr

Stop it!

 

[Art Barr]

I never had an one of his dj tapes in high school, but I had Illmatic. Bought it twice. Bought it on cassette, then bought it on cd a year later and gave the cassette to my neighbor. That cassette is worth over $100 today of the 1st pressing.

Really!!???


Art Barr

 

[Art Barr]

You should reply to him. I would love to hear his response to this.



Stop it!

Ain't no stop it.
You never been bogus like that culturally from what I remember.

Sohh why now give this pass.

When it was known not to male this move.


Art Barr

 

[spliz]

Stop.

Nas ruined his own draw.

By no showing every performance.
That the bytch in yoo was debuted by common. To cover up nas no showing as a headliner. Where even AZ was there.

Yeah...bootleggers were a real thing. Plus directly responsible for low draws legit since the receipts for one for all by brand nubian.

Yet nas did himself no favors on rhe run during illmatic.

Plus he sold out on the vinyl to one love as a precursor.
That nas was already in rhe sellout bin before iww was released. Iww just cosigned what any original nas fan knew.
since the vinyl rnb remix to one love.

Nas ruined his own draw past the bootleggers. Then souled out even more.
While also being completely complicit with puff.
to ruin any credible draw culturall.
for rap moving forward since then as well. While also redoing and reusing the instrumental.
that ushered out the ol school way of thought before ll.
Plus setting up another fraudulent talent in the after school special Lauren Hill. Outside of the daytime after-school special enabled draw of Lauren hill's. explosion of the fugees. as top draws as well.
Nas literally enabled every sellout mantra in hiphop. Leading up to, during and after illmatic's bootlegger issue.
Plus if bootleggers ruined rhe album like one for all. Then back then culturally nas should have dug in deeper.
like brand nubian minus grand puba.
With punks jump up to get beat down style content. Instead of enablin rnb slash mca way sellout style records. Which were taboo and why rap is low quality. As kane said it himself. When you let rnb jnto rap. You take away rap's draw. By using an rnb artist. As they have a melodic artistic expression.
given higher draw over culturally taboo vocals in rap.

Kane said this and nas still followed the kane wack lane of making records.



Art Barr

U rambling my guy. U ignoring the FACTS of what happened for ur feelings. I dont care. Lol. One way Nas fukked up was having a bunch if hood nikkas everywhere he went so his album promotion and release parties always got shut down.

 

[spliz]

Its alotta grown emotional nikkas out here it's crazy to me. 2024 the year of revelation for sure.

 

[Art Barr]

U rambling my guy. U ignoring the FACTS of what happened for ur feelings. I dont care. Lol. One way Nas fukked up was having a bunch if hood nikkas everywhere he went so his album promotion and release parties always got shut down.

Deflection.


Nas used to no show.
Plus compound his issues.
Stop the pass giving.

You nikkaz give passes, stop it.

Now it is time to keep it real.

We see who is real and who is a complicit deflection artist.

You nikkaz really thought.

Oh this day never gonna be a reality.

Yet it is.

Now deal with it.


The nikka you stan is complicit. Now deal with it.


Art Barr

 

[spliz]

So what he was hanging out with Puff? What's that supposed to mean? And I know I'm going to regret replying to you.

Some hoe ass shyt. That's what it means.