When Kendrick Lamar dropped his 2012 major label debut, good kid, mAAd city, many fans and critics alike hailed it as hip-hop’s best debut album since Nas’ much heralded Illmatic.
Though Nas has counted K. Dot among his favorites new emcees on the scene, and while both have a knack for complex and introspective lyrics, according to Nas, the two bodies of work shouldn’t be compared.
In a recent interview with Complex magazine, the Queensbridge legend says one of the main reasons he doesn’t think comparing the two bodies of work is fair is the difference in the eras in which they were released:
No, it’s not a fair comparison to me because Illmatic represented a different time and a different expression for different reasons. The times inspired the sound of that—the climate of the music business, the rap game, the industry, the year, and life in itself. It’s not fair to Kendrick’s album either because his album is a brand new expression that represents these times, the sound represents what’s happening now, he’s changing things today.
