If you condense ‘Reasonable Doubt’ down to an ‘Illmatic’ size track list … what tracks would you take off and would it be better than Illmatic?

[Art Barr]

RD sounds sonically more modern

While IM sounds more classically boom bap and reflects something we almost lost in 1994-1995 as Hip-Hop production began to evolve sonically, what we lost has reemerged in recent times as like a throwback boom bap movement from acts like Griselda and those associated

This is probably a topic for @Art Barr

By I am right now @‘ing his crib and he didn’t even give me his number

This is a great post.

Art Barr

 

[Art Barr]

It is no way to really have this discussion. As rd is rooted in a discoveryzone of illmatic and trying to purposefully and blatantly use commercial pop taboo rnb loops. To achieve what illmatic achieved by keeping it true.

If Nas never souled't out.

We would not even be talembout jayz in this manner.
Nor am.i gonna ratchet up jayz in revision. To this level.
Dmx and Jay you can do.because they are distinctly rooted in pop context as artist through and through. Illmatic is an actual point in history that created the technical Renaissance in all of rap. Plus ushered out jayz's original styles war rap style. That Jay was forced to learn to re-rhyme.

So.you really can not downplay illmatic for reasonable doubt. As no song on reasonable doubt is made to be a hiphop cultural submission.
So trying to reprocess a jiggy sellout record purposefully meant to subvert an entire Renaissance movement.
Is an areas of misappropriation.
I do not delve in.
This is just like 4:44.
How is the sellout gonna try to kick knowledge.

Same here.

Art Barr

 

[Tommy Sheppard]

No, it wouldn't be better

RD is a product of revisionist history...classic albums are received as that in real time...if Jigga had a brighter star at the time, I think RD would be as revered in real time and after like OB4CL...but the fact is Jigga was an afterthought when he dropped

Objectively, the 9 best songs on RD are: D'Evils, Dead Presidents, Feelin It, Can I Live, Politics As Usual, Can't Knock The Hustle, Friend or Foe, 22 Twos & Bring It On

No, that's not better than Illmatic...Nas style birthed RD

how I know you would be one of the 1st to respond to this thread

 

[Tommy Sheppard]

Nas was bigger in 94 than Big and Pac

Illmatic sold more 1st week
Biggie didn't blow until he hopped on remixes

More revisionist history

this is 100% pure bullshyt it took illmatic over 6 years to go platinum you know that right?

one more chance and juicy was literally everywhere, your really sitting here saying big didn’t blow up until he hopped on remixes?

 

[Surreal]

this is 100% pure bullshyt it took illmatic over 6 years to go platinum you know that right?

one more chance and juicy was literally everywhere, your really sitting here saying big didn’t blow up until he hopped on remixes?

RTD didn't go plat until Biggie died

It was those Diddy remixes that got him fame

 

[Thanos]

RD has more tracks I like than Illumatic

 

[ThirdAct]

Toss It Up would go off at a wedding, even with the Dre disses

 

[Art Barr]

this is 100% pure bullshyt it took illmatic over 6 years to go platinum you know that right?

one more chance and juicy was literally everywhere, your really sitting here saying big didn’t blow up until he hopped on remixes?

Culturally in hiphop.
Nas was bigger.

You talembout pop permeating. Of which hiphop should not even be subject to. Yet you bringing up big and juicy is all that needs to be said.
Of which the real explosion for big started. After the reprocessed big L mvp loop on big poppa.
made its rounds. During big l worst record delay in the history of rap for a debut rap album.
In sonic landscape timeline one mo chamce was a long time away from the release of illmatic and the debut of rtd. So trying to lump all of big singles and rtd against illmatic culturally. Is a firm indicator.
To know you were not cognitive or culturally aware.
nor prescient about hiphop culture.


Art Barr

 

[Tommy Sheppard]

RTD didn't go plat until Biggie died

It was those Diddy remixes that got him fame

and none of nas songs on illmatic were bigger than either of them.

 

[FunkDoc1112]

Cashmere Thoughts, Friend or Foe, and Ain't No can go and even Ain't No has value as his first real hit so that probably has to stay anyway...I can't imagine cutting anything else beyond that though. That album has at least 7 tracks that are 10/10

 

[seemorecizzy]

Memory lane can be played at a funeral...Beautiful record...the instrumental alone would have ppl shredding extra tears

 

[FunkDoc1112]

Nas was bigger in 94 than Big and Pac

Illmatic sold more 1st week
Biggie didn't blow until he hopped on remixes

More revisionist history

Illmatic fizzled because of a lack of hit singles while Ready to Die was a slow burn...which was the case with pretty much every album back then that wasn't from established artists. Back then album sales weren't frontloaded. So yeah, they both started with 56K sales the first week but Biggie had hits that made him bigger and that's why it was platinum by early '95 while Illmatic didn't even go gold until '96.

And Pac...c'mon man. Pac already had several hit records and a gold album (Strictly) to his name by then Plus his acting and fukkery constantly kept him in the news.

 

[Surreal]

Illmatic fizzled because of a lack of hit singles while Ready to Die was a slow burn...which was the case with pretty much every album back then that wasn't from established artists. Back then album sales weren't frontloaded. So yeah, they both started with 56K sales the first week but Biggie had hits that made him bigger and that's why it was platinum by early '95 while Illmatic didn't even go gold until '96.

And Pac...c'mon man. Pac already had several hit records and a gold album (Strictly) to his name by then Plus his acting and fukkery constantly kept him in the news.

I'm talking in terms of music, Pac and Biggie weren't bigger than Nas in 94 and I'm in Texas senior year in high school then

Big? Nope not until the Flava In Yo Ear remix

Pac? Nice try but not until he got locked up and Temptations video dropped

And Illmatic slow burned because Nas stayed in street shyt and didn't do his performances and cancelled shows and didn't promote it

 

[FunkDoc1112]

I'm talking in terms of music, Pac and Biggie weren't bigger than Nas in 94 and I'm in Texas senior year in high school then

Big? Nope not until the Flava In Yo Ear remix

Pac? Nice try but not until he got locked up and Temptations video dropped

Pac had TWO top twenty hits and a gold album by 1994 breh, ain't no fukking way Nas was a bigger star

 

[JoelB]