It's been 30 years since Nas debuted his classic hit "It Ain't Hard To Tell," and it still hits harder than ever. The Queensbridge native and Large Professor actually made the original version of the song, which samples Michael Jackson's "Human Nature," three years earlier in 1991. In 1992, Nas was furious when he heard SWV sample the same track on their hit "Right Here."
"When the SWV record came out, I was pissed," he said according to Genius. "because if I was to have a record for the radio, that was the perfect one. And when SWV took the shine, it was like, “Oh no!” Of course, it was my first album.'"
"It Ain't Hard To Tell" served as the lead single for his debut album Illmatic, which finally dropped on April 19, 1994. Nas' breakthrough single remains one of several iconic records that made the 10-track LP one of the greatest rap albums of all time. The 50-year-old's first album comes with other groundbreaking tracks like "Life's a B*tch" with AZ, "NY State of Mind," "Represent" and more.
Nas' first LP arrived the same year as other revered debut rap albums like Outkast's Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, Da Brat's Funkdafied and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's first-ever project Creepin' on ah Come Up. Their albums went on to establish the foundation of their iconic careers and influence generations of MC's.
Take a trip down memory lane and relive other classic albums that turn 30 in 2024 below.
Fugees, Blunted on Reality (Feb. 1)
MC Hammer, The Funky Headhunter (Mar. 1)
Gang Starr, Hard to Earn (Mar. 8)
Kool G Rap, Killer Kuts (Mar. 29)
The Roots, From the Ground Up (Apr. 5)
M.O.P., To The Death (Apr. 5)
Outkast, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik (Apr. 26)
8Ball & MJG, On the Outside Looking In (May 24)
Heavy D & the Boyz, Nuttin' but Love (May 24)
Master P, The Ghettos Tryin' to Kill Me! (May 24)
Beastie Boys, Ill Communication (May 31)
Warren G, Regulate... G Funk Era (Jun. 7)
Arrested Development, Zingalamaduni (Jun. 14)
The Beatnuts, Street Level (Jun. 21)
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Creepin' on ah Come Up (Jun. 21)
Da Brat, Funkdafied (Jun. 28)
Coolio, It Takes a Thief (July 29)
Public Enemy, Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age (Aug. 23)
UGK, Super Tight (Aug. 30)
The Notorious B.I.G., Ready To Die (Sept. 13)
Rappin' 4-Tay, Don't Fight the Feelin' (Sept. 13)
Craig Mack, Project: Funk da World (Sept. 20)
Keith Murray, The Most Beautifullest Thing in This World (Sept. 20)
Common Sense, Resurrection (Oct. 4)
Death Row Records, Murder Was The Case (Oct. 18)
Twista, Resurrection (Oct. 18)
Scarface, The Diary (Oct. 18)
Method Man, Tical (Nov. 15)
Three 6 Mafia, Smoked Out, Loced Out (Nov. 25)