# Stillmatic
**Stillmatic** is the fifth studio album by the American rapper Nas, released on December 18, 2001, by Ill Will and [Columbia Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-records). It is framed as a comeback: after years in which critics saw him as falling short of his 1994 debut *Illmatic*, the album returned him to street-oriented rhyming, and it carried his response to Jay-Z in one of rap's most prominent diss wars.[1](https://evergreenvinyl.com/products/nas-stillmatic-black-vinyl?variant=67561146024094) • [2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/stillmatic/265104376) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-dec-17-et-1know17-story.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | December 18, 2001, on Ill Will/Columbia; Nas's fifth studio album[1](https://evergreenvinyl.com/products/nas-stillmatic-black-vinyl?variant=67561146024094) |
| Length | 14 songs, 56 minutes on the standard edition[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/stillmatic/265104376) |
| Producers | The Hitmen, Large Professor, DJ Premier, Salaam Remi, among New York collaborators[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/stillmatic/265104376) |
| Signature track | "Ether" (track 2), Nas's song-length diss at Jay-Z, which entered the slang lexicon as a verb for decimating an opponent[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/stillmatic/265104376) • [4](https://music.apple.com/us/album/rewind/868691176) |
| Chart standing | After release, in the Top 10 on both the Billboard 200 and Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop chart[5](https://news.pollstar.com/2002/02/16/nas-cant-sit-still/) |
| Critical scores | Metascore 69 from 12 critic reviews (8 positive, 4 mixed, 0 negative); user score 8.3 from 192 ratings[6](https://www.metacritic.com/music/stillmatic/nas/critic-reviews) |
## Background: the feud with Jay-Z
The conflict with Jay-Z began in the summer of 2000, when the two had a tense conversation at the birthday party of the music executive [Steve Stoute](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-stoute) in New York; older frictions included Nas's failure to appear on *[Reasonable Doubt](https://www.edgepedia.org/reasonable-doubt-album)*'s "Bring It On" despite scheduled sessions, although his voice remained on the album through a sample in the hook of "Dead Presidents II."[7](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/nas-stillmatic/)
The lyrical war opened in the summer of 2001, when Nas released a mixtape answer track titled "Stillmatic" responding to an on-stage dis by Jay-Z. A few months later Jay-Z countered with "Takeover" on his album *The Blueprint*, accusing Nas of having "one hot album every ten year average." Nas then released the single "Ether" and the full album; by the time *Stillmatic* reached stores, Jay-Z had already answered "Ether" with a track called "Super Ugly." Jay-Z had also stopped short of performing a verse about Nas at Summer Jam, and that verse was later revealed as one of the most scathing disses in rap history.[8](https://www.allmusic.com/album/stillmatic-mw0000016472) • [7](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/nas-stillmatic/) • [9](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/04/j-cole-kendrick-lamar-diss-apology/678015/)
The title was read as a direct signal of intent. As the Los Angeles Times put it at release, "Stillmatic" reminded fans and peers that Nas was the same gifted street rhymer who had energized hip-hop with his 1994 debut *Illmatic*, and retail observers noted that controversy did nothing but help rap album sales.[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-dec-17-et-1know17-story.html)
## Production and music
On *Stillmatic* Nas forgoes the pop concessions of his previous albums and assembles a team of New York producers including the Hitmen, Large Professor, DJ Premier, and [Salaam Remi](https://www.edgepedia.org/salaam-remi), returning to the moody, street-oriented soundscapes of his early work.[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/stillmatic/265104376) Most tracks were produced by either Large Professor or Nas himself, according to AllMusic.[8](https://www.allmusic.com/album/stillmatic-mw0000016472)
Several songs became touchstones of his catalog. "Ether" channels his pent-up fury at Jay-Z while returning to the fundamental battle raps of early hip-hop. "2nd Childhood" revisits his Queensbridge housing project to describe acquaintances stuck in arrested development, and "Rewind" recounts a shooting in reverse, line by line, from end to beginning. "One Mic," the album's centerpiece, builds from a quiet mantra, "All I need is one mic," to a frenzy of conspiratorial connections and shoot-up memories.[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/stillmatic/265104376) "You're da Man" carries one of the album's most discussed productions, Large Professor's sorrowful flip of an Ernest Gold sample, and treats Nas's celebrity as a new circle of hell.[7](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/nas-stillmatic/)
Twice in the album's first two songs Nas evokes his body coming out of a grave, an image Pitchfork reads as that of a man buried alive rather than, as in his 1990s writing, a Christ figure.[7](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/nas-stillmatic/)
## Release, versions, and chart performance
The standard streaming edition runs 14 songs in 56 minutes, opening with "Stillmatic (The Intro)" and "Ether." The Japanese edition listed by [Sony Music](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-music) adds bonus tracks including "No Idea's Original," "Everybody's Crazy," and "Black Zombie," alongside "Every Ghetto."[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/stillmatic/265104376) • [10](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/Nas/discography/SICP-1616) Early pressings included "Braveheart Party" featuring [Mary J. Blige](https://www.edgepedia.org/mary-j-blige), a song removed from later pressings at Blige's request.[1](https://evergreenvinyl.com/products/nas-stillmatic-black-vinyl?variant=67561146024094)
By February 2002 the album remained high on the charts, pulling rank in the Top 10 on both the [Billboard](https://www.edgepedia.org/billboard-magazine) 200 and Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop chart.[5](https://news.pollstar.com/2002/02/16/nas-cant-sit-still/) A "Stillmatic Tour" followed.[11](https://digital-collections.csun.edu/digital/api/collection/Sundial/id/74132/download)
## Critical reception
Professional reception was favorable on balance. The album's Metascore of 69 reflects 12 critic reviews, of which 8 were positive, 4 mixed, and none negative; readers gave it a user score of 8.3 based on 192 ratings. Among the individual scores, Stylus Magazine gave 91, RapReviews.com 90, Billboard 80 (calling it Nas's most complete album since *Illmatic*), [The A.V. Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-a-v-club) and NME 70, AllMusic 60, and Rolling Stone 50, saying the cuts that reveal Nas's depth get lost in a jumble of sloppy filler.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/music/stillmatic/nas/critic-reviews) Rough Trade's retrospective summary records that the album was hailed by critics as a stunning comeback and a brilliant return to form, earning rave reviews from outlets including The Source, HipHopDX, Rolling Stone, and [The Village Voice](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-village-voice).[12](https://www.roughtrade.com/product/nas/stillmatic)
Critics also found weak points. AllMusic singled out "Smokin'" as an odd G-funk track that would have sounded dated years before its release.[8](https://www.allmusic.com/album/stillmatic-mw0000016472)
## Afterlife and related releases
Outtakes from the *Stillmatic* sessions fed a separate Columbia project: *The Lost Tapes* (2002), a 12-song compilation that culled stellar outtakes from *I Am*, *[Nastradamus](https://www.edgepedia.org/nastradamus)*, and *Stillmatic*, created because the label, having spent millions in recording budget, wanted to find commercially viable material for the marketplace.[13](https://www.levelman.com/nas-the-lost-tapes-oral-history/) Bonus-era tracks such as "No Idea's Original" and "Black Zombie" are counted by fans among the songs recorded for the album period.[10](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/Nas/discography/SICP-1616)
The album has had a quiet vinyl history. It was never repressed on vinyl from its original 2001 release until Get On Down's deluxe 2019 reissue, remastered and pressed on silver-colored wax for Record Store Day Black Friday; Columbia and Legacy have since scheduled further 2LP reissues.[14](https://3345.nl/products/nas-stillmatic-lp) • [12](https://www.roughtrade.com/product/nas/stillmatic) In popular writing the album's reputation has grown with time: retrospectives describe it as an acclaimed project delivered while Nas's legacy was publicly in question, and contemporary critics still cite "Ether" alongside Jay-Z's "Takeover" as a benchmark of the 2001 beef.[9](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/04/j-cole-kendrick-lamar-diss-apology/678015/)
## References
1. [Nas, Stillmatic, Evergreen Vinyl](https://evergreenvinyl.com/products/nas-stillmatic-black-vinyl?variant=67561146024094)
2. [Stillmatic, Album by Nas, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/stillmatic/265104376)
3. [Nas Launches Volley With 'Stillmatic', Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-dec-17-et-1know17-story.html)
4. [Stillmatic - Album by Nas - Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/rewind/868691176)
5. [Nas Can't Sit Still, Pollstar News](https://news.pollstar.com/2002/02/16/nas-cant-sit-still/)
6. [Critic Reviews for Stillmatic, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/stillmatic/nas/critic-reviews)
7. [Nas: Stillmatic Album Review, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/nas-stillmatic/)
8. [Nas: Stillmatic Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/stillmatic-mw0000016472)
9. [When You Regret Starting a Rap Beef, The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/04/j-cole-kendrick-lamar-diss-apology/678015/)
10. [Stillmatic, Nas discography, Sony Music Japan](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/Nas/discography/SICP-1616)
11. [The Daily Sundial, CSU Northridge digital collections](https://digital-collections.csun.edu/digital/api/collection/Sundial/id/74132/download)
12. [Nas, Stillmatic, Rough Trade](https://www.roughtrade.com/product/nas/stillmatic)
13. [The Making of Nas' 'The Lost Tapes' Album, 20 Years Later, The Levelman](https://www.levelman.com/nas-the-lost-tapes-oral-history/)
14. [Nas, Stillmatic (LP), 3345 Record Store The Hague](https://3345.nl/products/nas-stillmatic-lp)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Hip hop albums › East Coast hip hop albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license