In 2001 on this day, hip hop legend Nas released his fifth studio LP, Stillmatic by Ill Will and Columbia Records. The album contains philosophical and socially conscious themes similar to that of his 1994 debut studio album Illmatic.

Stillmatic was a commercial and critical triumph and helped rehabilitate Nas’ career. The album debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200 chart and sold approximately 350 thousand albums in its 1st week. On January 16, 2002 The album was certified platinum by Recording Industry Association of America. By July 2008, the album had sold more than 2 million copies.

As you know, Nas and Jay-Z were in the midst of one of the biggest feuds in rap, Jay-Z had previously dissed Nas in his single “Takeover”, On Stillmatic, Nas retaliated with the anticipated song, “Ether,” a response to “Takeover” which hinted that Jay-Z had stolen lyrics from The Notorious B.I.G. Several hip-hop artists believe Nas won the feud based on this track.

Stillmatic shows the cold and darker side to Hip Hop and New York City in general.