Nas's Illmatic by Matthew Gasteier Page A

many records as possible up front. But the authenticity afforded Nas by his experience makes his despair ring so much truer. Rather than dabble in it, however, Nas is much more concerned with his own condition, or more specifically, how to improve it. With his verse on “Life’s a Bitch,” he seems to be asking for a way out, hoping for redemption and putting his faith in the remote odds that he will be able to escape the reality that surrounds him.
    Hope for Nas, unlike many of his more religious peers, doesn’t seem to come from God. Though he occasionally mentions God on
Illmatic
, most of the time he is referring to his friends, and the rest is nonspecific or occasionally blasphemous. Nas, who it was reported had originally wanted the cover of the record to be a picture of him holding Jesus in a headlock, did not affiliate himself with any religion at the time of release. “It’s good to do research and study what the ancient Muslims or the ancient Christians were about and how the religion came about,” he told interviewer Bobbito.
    It’s good to look at the lessons and see how they tried to educate each other . I studied lessons. I have knowledge of self. I don’t have no religion, but I studied my Black Africanhistory…Right here in America, it’s all about living and doing the right thing. Do the right thing, and that’s righteous right there.
    On “Life’s a Bitch,” Nas does say he’s “some Godly like thing created.” But while this might call to a higher power, it might also play into Nas’s self-positioning as the savior of his people. This is the same man who had “God’s Son” tattooed on his chest, whose first words on record were “street’s disciple,” and who has posed as Jesus on more than one occasion. In fact, through most of
Illmatic
, Nas isn’t expecting religion to save him; he’s expecting to take the place of religion. This is most obvious on “Memory Lane,” where Nas speaks of his own capacity for miracles.
    My intellect prevails from a hangin’ cross with nails
    I reinforce the frail, with lyrics that’s real
    Word to Christ, a disciple of streets, trifle on beats
    I decipher prophecies through a mic and say “peace.”
    His powers seem to stem not from himself, but from a higher power. It’s just not the one you’d expect. Earlier in the song, he claims to “drop the ancient manifested hip hop straight off the block.” He is celebrating his birthday on “Life’s a Bitch,” not because he was created by God, but because he is thankful for having “rhymes 365 days annual plus some.” Nas is “straight out the fuckin’ dungeons of rap,” and this public figure that he has created is doomed to “carry the cross” not for the sins of man, but for the sins of hip hop. The first track, called “The Genesis,” positions Nas as the savior from the beginning.
    Nas puts his faith in hip hop. In “The World is Yours,” he ridicules the alternative, labeling it irrelevant and defeatist:
    There’s no days, for broke days, we sell it, smoke pays
    While all the old folks pray to Jesus soakin’ they sins in trays
    Of holy water, odds against Nas are slaughter
    Despite or perhaps because of this rejection, “The World Is Yours” tosses off the weight of poverty and responsibility in order to revel in its opposite. It would be surprising if Nas didn’t purposefully place the song directly after “Life’s a Bitch.” That song’s quiet defiance of despair is fully realized with the later track, which features the most hopeful and optimistic Nas on the album, the one where he resolves to clear his path towards redemption:
    I need a new nigga for this black cloud to follow
    ‘Cause while it’s over me it’s too dark to see tomorrow..
    Illmatic
, like a great deal of hip hop, has been called nihilistic. A large part of this comes from most rappers’ refusal to judge their subjects, as a common (and lazy) assumption is that if you do not take a stand on