Vocabulary spills I'm Ill plus Matic

from Nas – It Ain't Hard to Tell Lyrics on Rap Genius

This is one of the two lines on the album that actually mentions the word “Illmatic”. Here’s the other.

In an early promotional interview, Nas claimed that the name “Illmatic” (meaning “beyond ill” or “the ultimate”) was a reference to his incarcerated Queensbridge friend, Illmatic Ice.

He also recently explained this to Rap Genius while going Inside the Lines.

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