"As vultures, rapists, and savages from major corporations worldwide swarm around the mentally dead sea of would-be studio-invented rappers, greedily searching for a raw morsel to tame their perverted taste buds, a genuine lyrical B-boy by the name of Nas (formerly Nasty Nas) has emerged from behind the intellectual clouds left by weak artists, faked funk, and wasted radio airtime. Illmatic, his debut album is sending shock waves throughout the hip hop world, while pretenders stand still, trying to catch the beat and wondering which step they missed." - Nas, Vibe (April, 1994). Welp, that says it all, I have nothing more to add that you don't already know lol