Michael Eric Dyson Narrates Nas’ Illmatic with “Born To Use Mics”

Article written by: Andre Sanchez
Posted on: November 10, 2009

“It’s like that, you know it’s like that, I got it hemmed now you never get the mic back…”

-Nas, “Halftime”

Imagine a teenager making a classic album in the closing months of 2009…it’d make best of decade lists immediately, people would hail a new savior in hip hop, and somewhere Soulja Boy, the New Boyz, and every little boy who ever thought of rapping on his iPhone would be hiding in a bomb shelter!

But back in the glory days of 90’s hip hop, with albums from artists such as Notorious B.I.G, Bone Thugs and  Harmony, GangStarr, Outkast, Jeru the Damaja, Aaliyah, Pete Rock & CL Smooth and more, I would imagine it be a lot harder to get noticed with so much talent putting out albums like what all came out then.

However, if your name was Nasir Jones aka Nas, eff  the odds: give him a beat and move out the way!

Take a trip down memory lane and peep this EPK (Electronic Press Kit) for Nas’ debut album Illmatic (huge nostalgia warning):

This was around a time I wish I had put down The Lion King hype and my love for the then new Sega Genesis I got for Christmas, and watched more Yo MTV Raps for the realness (ok maybe not the Genesis, my grandma spent all day getting me that thing for Christmas).

There wasn’t a record store in the town of Atwater, CA as far as I knew, but to my ignorance, one album would change the what hip hop defined (and Rakim benchmarked) as lyricism. It was a quiet buzz, wafting through the streets of Queensbridge, New York as word would move get out of a young MC that was holding his own on guest spots with Large Professor, MC Serch (who originally discovered him), and eventually getting his soundtrack spot on the film “Zebrahead”, landing him a mention in Hip Hop magazine The Source:

Little did they know he’d also take the holy grail of ratings in ‘94. On Tuesday, October 13, 1992, the first single, “Halftime” was released.

Then on a Tuesday, April 19, 1994, it arrived.

In The Source April 1994 issue (#55), co-founder of The Source, Jon Shecter, wrote a piece on the forming of the album and Nas’ work with an all star lineup of producers. I could get in depth about the production process with the legends Nas worked with, but I’m sure you’d enjoy reading it yourself. You can download the issue (and many more) in PDF form from here. Some quality lunch break reading!

After all was said and done, the rating arrived. And it went down as one of the most memorable reviews in hip hop history.

Now being that the lyrics to this album were so celebrated, it’s only fitting that 15 years later someone breaks down what then 21 year old Nas (at the time of writing these songs as young as 19), really contributed to the Hip Hop community.

Author Michael Eric Dyson is currently a Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University and a celebrated author of the urban community, deftly tackling issues of the black woman, Malcolm X, Tupac Shakur, and more. In “Born To Use Mics”, Dyson and Sohail Daulatzai will be reflecting on the issues covered in Illmatic.

 

 

Whether you are a seasoned Hip Hop fan, or a newcomer from Generation Y, it doesn’t matter. I implore you, pick up a copy of the album if you haven’t already, and get this book when it comes out December 28th, 2009.  This book is SoJones approved to the fullest!