“NY State of Mind” is a song on Nas’s debut album, Illmatic, which has time and time again been praised as a hip-hop classic. Originally from Queens, Nas was an aspiring artist in 1994, when the album released. The album cover is a baby picture of himself, which only exemplifies the content of Illmatic; for the most part, the album focused on who Nas was and his life story. Remarkably, Nas was only 20 years old when he first released the album.
“NY State of Mind” looks at New York City from the perspective of someone growing up there. Nas frequently criticizes the city in his rhymes, often commenting on his financial instability growing up and how that changed the world around him. In the song Nas says:
I never sleep, ‘cause sleep is the cousin of death
Beyond the walls of intelligence, life is defined
I think of crime when I’m in a New York state of mind
There’s a lot to these lines. To begin, Nas claims he never sleeps. He’s commenting on the “one-eyed open” sense of paranoia that people living in a slum exhibit. On top of that, New York City is known as the city that never sleeps; thus, claiming he never sleeps is Nas’s way of representing New York City. In the following line, Nas claims that rather than fueling imagination and creativity, intelligence limits one’s perspective on life. Lastly, Nas critiques his city. As someone growing up in Queensbridge Houses, the largest public housing development in North America, during the 80s and 90s, Nas was likely to be exposed to crime. At the time, the crack epidemic in inner-city neighborhoods was at its peak. In his line, it is clear that Nas isn’t necessarily fond of the city. It is interesting to note that in “The World is Yours,” another track on Illmatic, Nas describes New York City as “The Rotten Apple.”
I like this song because Nas is able to flow and express himself. It’s a classic hip-hop song and has thus gone down in history as such. Nas is unique in his rhymes and instrumental. On top of that, he is clever and delivers meaningful lines weaved with metaphors. Overall, Nas is one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time.
December 22, 2017 at 2:45 am
This is definitely a unique song with a unique twist on it that you have pointed out exists on it. In most of the songs that the class has offered about New York City, the City is seen as a positive force that helps more than harms its denizens. However, here, you point to a song that sees the City in a more negative viewpoint, which is ultimately just as accurate as the more positive outlooks that other songs about the City provide. Additionally, the flow definitely live up to the standards I’d put up to the legendary figure of Nas. Great music video selection!