Stillmatic received generally positive reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic

Metacritic

Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...

, which assigns a normalized

Standard score

In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...

 rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average

Weighted mean

The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...

 score of 69, based on 12 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Stillmatic received 5 mics from The Source

The Source (magazine)

The Source is a United States-based, monthly full-color magazine covering hip-hop music, politics, and culture, founded in 1988. It is the world's second longest running rap periodical, behind United Kingdom-based publication Hip Hop Connection. The Source was founded as a newsletter in 1988...

magazine–a distinction set aside only for classic hip-hop albums. Despite finding its production "half-realised", Alex Needham of NME

NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

gave the album a 7/10 rating and wrote that "lyrically, Nas is pretty much back on form". Blender

Blender (magazine)

Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....

s Alex Pappademas called it "a surprising return to form" and stated "Even if it’s a fluke, Stillmatic still feels like a ren-Nas-sance". Elizabeth Mendez Berry of Vibe gave the album a 3½ out of 5 disc-rating and found it "infuriatingly inconsistent", but called it "an exercise in lyrical courage and musical might". It was on the 2005 list of Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

's top 100 albums and ranked 20th on Chris Rock

Chris Rock

Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...

's Top 25 Hip-Hop Albums of all time. The success of the album helped resurrect Nas's career, as he has since released several successful and critically acclaimed albums.

Track listing

#	Title	Length	Performer(s)	Producer(s)	Samples
1	"Stillmatic (The Intro)"	2:11	Nas	Hangmen 3	Contains samples from "Let Me Be Your Angel" by Stacy Lattisaw Stacy Lattisaw Stacy Lattisaw is an American R&B, dance, and gospel singer. Since the 1990s, she has exclusively sung gospel music, as a callback to her Christian roots.-Career:... , written by Narada Michael Walden Narada Michael Walden Narada Michael Walden is an American producer, drummer, singer, and songwriter. He was given the name Narada by guru Sri Chinmoy in the early 1970s and his musical career spans three decades, in which he was awarded several gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards...  and Benny Hull
2	"Ether Ether (song) Ether is the second track on hip hop artist Nas' 2001 album Stillmatic. The song was a response to Jay-Z's "Takeover" - a diss track from that rapper towards Nas which appears on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, during the Jay-Z vs. Nas feud... "	4:37	Nas	Ron Browz Ron Browz Rondell Turner, better known by his stage name Ron Browz, is an American record producer and rapper. He has his own record label called Ether Boy Records.-Biography/career:...	Contains the gunshot sample from "Knuckleheadz" by Raekwon Raekwon Corey Woods , better known by the stage name Raekwon, is an American rapper and a member of the Wu-Tang Clan. He released his solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... in 1995, and has since recorded four solo albums, as well as work with Wu-Tang and an extensive amount of guest contributions with... Contains samples from "Fuck Friendz" by 2Pac, written by Tupac Shakur Contains samples from "Who Shot Ya? Who Shot Ya? "Who Shot Ya?" is a controversial hip-hop song by The Notorious B.I.G., a B-side to his 1995 hit single, "Big Poppa". The track was later released on the posthumous Born Again, the remastered edition of Ready to Die, and The Greatest Hits.... " by The Notorious B.I.G. The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace , best known as The Notorious B.I.G., was an American rapper. He was also known as Biggie Smalls , Big Poppa, and The Black Frank White .Wallace was raised in the Brooklyn borough... , written by Christopher Wallace
3	"Got Ur Self A... Got Ur Self A... "Got Ur Self A..." is the second single from the 2001 album Stillmatic by the rapper Nas. The song samples "Woke Up This Morning" by Alabama 3. It reached #87 on the Billboard Hot 100.-Music video:... "	3:48	Nas	Megahertz Music Group	Contains samples from "Woke Up This Morning Woke Up This Morning "Woke Up This Morning" is a song by Alabama 3 from their 1997 album Exile on Coldharbour Lane. The song is best known as the opening theme music for the HBO drama series The Sopranos .Alabama 3 frontman Rob Spragg wrote the song after hearing about the 1996 murder case of Sara Thornton,... " by Alabama 3 Alabama 3 Alabama 3 are a British band mixing rock, dance, blues, country, and gospel styles, founded in Brixton, London, in 1995. In the United States, they are known as A3, allegedly to avoid any possible legal conflict with the country music band Alabama... , written by Chester Arthur Burnett, Simon Edwards, Piers Marsh, Rob Spragg and Jake Black
4	"Smokin'"	3:47	Nas	Nas & Precision
5	"You're Da Man"	3:26	Nas	Large Professor Large Professor Large Professor , also known as Large Pro and Xtra P, is a New York City-based hip hop record producer and emcee. He is also best known as a founding member of the influential underground hip hop group Main Source, and as a frequent collaborator with Nas...	Contains samples from "Sugar Man Cold Fact - Personnel :There were no musicians credited on the original album sleeve, but Rodriguez and Mike Theodore have filled in the gaps:* Rodriguez – vocals, acoustic guitar* Dennis Coffey – electric guitar* Mike Theodore – keyboards, brass and string arrangements... " by Sixto Diaz Rodriguez Sixto Diaz Rodriguez Sixto Diaz Rodriguez is an American folk musician, born in Detroit, Michigan on . He was named 'Sixto' because he was the sixth child in his family. Rodriguez's parents were middle-class immigrants from Mexico, who left in the 1920s... , sometimes misattributed to DJ David Holmes David Holmes (musician) David Holmes is a Northern Irish DJ, musician and composer.-Career:Holmes began djing in Belfast from the age of 15. His first hit was the song "DeNiro", with Ashley Beedle, in 1992. In the early to mid 1990s he ran two club nights in the Belfast Art College known as Sugar Sweet and Shake Yer Brain... Contains samples from "Theme from Exodus" as written by Pat Boone Pat Boone Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...  & Ernest Gold Contains samples from "Am Fenster" by the German band City
6	"Rewind"	2:13	Nas	Large Professor	Contains samples from "It's Yours" by T La Rock, written by Rick Rubin Rick Rubin Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...  and Kevin Keaton Treacherous Three The Treacherous Three was a pioneering hip hop group that was formed in 1978 and consisted of DJ Easy Lee, Kool Moe Dee, L.A. Sunshine, Special K and Spoonie Gee , with occasional contributions from DJ Dano B, DJ Reggie Reg and DJ Crazy Eddie... Contains samples from "Monkey Island" by The J. Geils Band Contains samples from "I'm Not Rough" by The J. Geils Band
7	"One Mic One Mic "One Mic" is a song by American hip hop rapper Nas, released April 16, 2002 on Columbia Records and distributed through Ill Will Records in the United States. It was issued as the third single from his fifth studio album, Stillmatic . The song samples a portion of Phil Collins's "In The Air Tonight"... "	4:28	Nas	Nas & Chucky Thompson Chucky Thompson Carl E. "Chucky" Thompson is a hip hop/R&B record producer. Thompson was a member of Bad Boy Entertainment's "Hitmen" team of in-house producers during the 1990s, and worked with Bad Boy mogul Sean Combs on material for artists such as The Notorious B.I.G. and Mase. He was responsible for album...  for The Hitmen The Hitmen (production team) The Hitmen is a production team formed by Sean "Diddy" Combs to produce hip hop and R&B records for his Bad Boy label's recording artists. Because of its great success, the group has also been hired for projects outside of Bad Boy-Production:...	Contains samples from "In the Air Tonight In the Air Tonight "In the Air Tonight" is a song by Phil Collins that first appeared on his 1981 album Face Value. It was recorded in 1979 and was the first single of Collins' solo career, and remains one of his best-known hits. The music video, directed by Stuart Orme, was released in 1981.-The song/recording:The... " by Phil Collins Phil Collins Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist.... Contains samples from "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby" is a song written, produced and recorded by Barry White. Considering how successful it would end up being, it would probably come as a surprise that, for many years, White had little to no interest in a recording career... " (Drums) by Barry White Barry White Barry White, born Barry Eugene Carter , was an American composer and singer-songwriter.A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring...
8	"2nd Childhood"	3:51	Nas	DJ Premier DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin , better known by his stage name DJ Premier , is an American record producer and DJ, and was the instrumental half of the hip hop duo Gang Starr, together with emcee Guru...	Contains samples from "Born to Love" by Peabo Bryson Peabo Bryson Peabo Bryson is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, born in Greenville, South Carolina...   & Roberta Flack Roberta Flack Roberta Flack is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is notable for jazz, soul, R&B, and folk music... , written by Peabo Bryson Contains samples from "Da Bridge 2001" by QB's Finest Nas and Ill Will Records Present QB's Finest Nas and Ill Will Records Present QB's Finest is a 2000 collaborative album; the second release from rapper Nas' new Ill Will Records imprint, distributed by Columbia Records... Contains samples from "N.Y. State of Mind Pt. II" by Nas
9	"Destroy & Rebuild"	5:24	Nas	Baby Paul Da Beatminerz Da Beatminerz are a hip-hop production crew from Bushwick, Brooklyn, and are known for their dark, gritty sound that is very popular with the underground hip-hop scene.-History:The crew, originally composed of brothers Mr...  & Mike Risko	Contains samples from "The Bridge is Over The Bridge Is Over "The Bridge Is Over" is a 1987 song by Boogie Down Productions from their debut album Criminal Minded, performed by rapper KRS-One and produced by DJ Scott LaRock and KRS-One.-History:... " by Boogie Down Productions Boogie Down Productions Boogie Down Productions was a hip hop group that was originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, months after the release of BDP's debut album, Criminal Minded. The name of the group, Boogie Down, derives from a nickname for the... , written by Lawrence Parker KRS-One Lawrence Krisna Parker , better known by his stage names KRS-One , and Teacha, is an American rapper...  and Scott La Rock Scott La Rock Scott "La Rock" Sterling was the original DJ of the hip hop group Boogie Down Productions.-BDP:Sterling, a social worker, met rapper KRS-One in 1986 at the Franklin Men's Shelter in the Bronx where KRS lived. The pair, together with DJ D-Nice, formed Boogie Down Productions...
10	"The Flyest"	4:38	Nas (feat. AZ AZ (rapper) Anthony Cruz , better known as AZ is a Grammy-nominated American rapper of Dominican & African American descent. He is known for being a long time and frequent rhyme partner of Nas, and also a member of hip-hop group The Firm alongside Nas, Foxy Brown, Cormega and Nature.In a countdown of the 10... )	L.E.S. L.E.S. (producer) Leshan David Lewis, better known as L.E.S., is a hip hop producer commonly associated with Nas. His first production credit was for Nas' popular song "Life's a Bitch" from the Illmatic album in 1994. He soon produced a single, "Sugar Hill", for AZ's album Doe Or Die...	Contains samples from "Night Moves" by Frank McDonald and Chris Rae Contains samples from "Child of Tomorrow" by Badder Than Evil
11	"Braveheart Party"	3:43	Nas (feat. Mary J. Blige Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has... , Jungle & Wiz)	Swizz Beatz Swizz Beatz Kasseem Dean , better known by his stage name, Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, DJ, rapper and painter. At the age of 17, he gained attention in the hip-hop world through his friendship with rapper DMX. Grady Spivey and rapper Cassidy helped launch his label Full Surface Records...
12	"Rule Rule (song) "Rule" is the first single from rapper Nas' 2001 album Stillmatic. It features a chorus sung by Amerie and production provided by Poke and Tone of Trackmasters Entertainment. The song is known for both sampling and interpolating "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears... "	4:32	Nas (feat. Amerie Amerie Amerie Mi Marie Rogers , known professionally as Amerie or Ameriie, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She debuted in 2002 with the album All I Have, primarily co-written and produced by Rich Harrison, and was well-received in the urban market... )	Trackmasters Trackmasters The Trackmasters are the successful production duo of Poke and Tone , sometimes credited as Poke & Tone, best known for their commercial hit records in the late 90s and early 2000s. Throughout their career they have worked with various hip-hop and R&B artists including R...	Contains samples from "Everybody Wants to Rule the World Everybody Wants to Rule the World "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is a song by the British New Wave band Tears for Fears.It was the band's ninth single release in the United Kingdom and seventh UK Top 40 chart hit, peaking at number two in April 1985... " by Tears for Fears Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into... , written by Chris Hughes Chris Hughes (record producer) Chris Hughes is a music producer and a former drummer for Adam and the Ants.... , Roland Orzabal Roland Orzabal Roland Jaime Orzabal de la Quintana is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is known mainly as a co-founding member of Tears for Fears, of which he is the main songwriter and joint vocalist, but he has also achieved success as a producer of other artists.- Early career :Orzabal... , and Ian Stanley Ian Stanley Ian Stanley is an English musician, songwriter and record producer...
13	"My Country"	5:12	Nas (feat. Millennium Thug)	Lofey
14	"What Goes Around"	4:59	Nas (feat. Keon Bryce)	Salaam Remi Salaam Remi Salaam Remi Gibbs, better known as Salaam Remi, is a hip hop producer and keyboard player, known for his association with Nas, Amy Winehouse, and his reggae-tinged approach to production...
15	"Every Ghetto"	3:28	Nas (feat. Blitz)	L.E.S. L.E.S. (producer) Leshan David Lewis, better known as L.E.S., is a hip hop producer commonly associated with Nas. His first production credit was for Nas' popular song "Life's a Bitch" from the Illmatic album in 1994. He soon produced a single, "Sugar Hill", for AZ's album Doe Or Die...	Contains samples from "Main Title" (The Eiger Sanction) by John Williams John Williams John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...
16	"No Idea's Original (Bonus Track)"	4:04	Nas	Alchemist The Alchemist (producer) Alan Daniel Maman , better known as The Alchemist, is an American hip hop producer, DJ and rapper. He hails from Beverly Hills, California...
17	"Everybody's Crazy (Bonus Track)"	3:40	Nas	Rockwilder Rockwilder Rockwilder is an American hip hop and R&B record producer, rapper, and R&B Singer. A long term friend of Def Jam rapper Redman, Rockwilder got his start producing for East Coast Hip Hop artists in the mid 1990s. In 1999 Rockwilder produced Method Man & Redman's hit single "Da Rockwilder"...

Notes

• In Track 13, "My Country", the second verse is by Millennium Thug, and the third verse is shared between Millennium Thug & Nas, though he is not mentioned on the track listing.
• The first pressing of Stillmatic contained "Braveheart Party", a Swizz Beatz
  Swizz Beatz
  Kasseem Dean , better known by his stage name, Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, DJ, rapper and painter. At the age of 17, he gained attention in the hip-hop world through his friendship with rapper DMX. Grady Spivey and rapper Cassidy helped launch his label Full Surface Records...
  
   production that featured Mary J. Blige
  Mary J. Blige
  Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
  
   and The Bravehearts
  The Bravehearts
  Bravehearts are an East Coast hip-hop group from the Queensbridge housing projects in New York City. The group's roster originally included Jungle , Wiz , and Horse . Horse left the group in 2002, and Jungle and Wiz carried on as a duo...
  
  . It was track eleven between "The Flyest" and "Rule". It was removed from future pressings of the album at Blige's request.
• The Japanese release of Stillmatic features three additional tracks: "No Idea's Original", "Everybody's Crazy" and "Black Zombies". Each can also be found on The Lost Tapes
  The Lost Tapes
  The Lost Tapes is a compilation album by American rapper Nas, released September 23, 2002, on Ill Will Records and Columbia Records. It follows his artistic comeback in 2001, which led to his record label's release of the album...
  
  , a 2002 Nas compilation album.
• A limited edition version of Stillmatic contains a bonus disc with snippets from five songs on The Lost Tapes.

Personnel

Credits for Stillmatic adapted from Allmusic.

• Pablo Arraya – assistant engineer
• AZ
  AZ (rapper)
  Anthony Cruz , better known as AZ is a Grammy-nominated American rapper of Dominican & African American descent. He is known for being a long time and frequent rhyme partner of Nas, and also a member of hip-hop group The Firm alongside Nas, Foxy Brown, Cormega and Nature.In a countdown of the 10...
  
   – performer
• Baby Paul – producer, instrumentation
• Mary J. Blige
  Mary J. Blige
  Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
  
   – performer
• Osie Bowe – engineer
• Ron Browz
  Ron Browz
  Rondell Turner, better known by his stage name Ron Browz, is an American record producer and rapper. He has his own record label called Ether Boy Records.-Biography/career:...
  
   – producer
• Keon Bryce – vocals (bckgr)
• Kevin Crouse – engineer, mixing
• Alex Dixon – assistant engineer
• DJ Premier
  DJ Premier
  Christopher Edward Martin , better known by his stage name DJ Premier , is an American record producer and DJ, and was the instrumental half of the hip hop duo Gang Starr, together with emcee Guru...
  
   – producer, mixing
• Chris Feldman – art direction, design
• Steve Fisher – assistant engineer
• Tameka Foster – stylist
• Chris Gehringer – mastering
• Malcolm Gold – A&R assistance
• Bryan Golder – engineer

• Jason Goldstein – mixing
• Paul Gregory – assistant engineer
• Dustin Jones – executive producer
• Will Kennedy – imaging
• Large Professor
  Large Professor
  Large Professor , also known as Large Pro and Xtra P, is a New York City-based hip hop record producer and emcee. He is also best known as a founding member of the influential underground hip hop group Main Source, and as a frequent collaborator with Nas...
  
   – producer
• Nas
  Nas
  Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
  
   – performer, producer
• Alex Ndione – assistant engineer
• Lenny "Linen" Nicholson – A&R
• Jake Ninan – assistant engineer
• James Porte – engineer
• Ismel Ramos – assistant engineer
• Salaam Remi
  Salaam Remi
  Salaam Remi Gibbs, better known as Salaam Remi, is a hip hop producer and keyboard player, known for his association with Nas, Amy Winehouse, and his reggae-tinged approach to production...
  
   – organ, bass, guitar, percussion, drums, producer, Fender rhodes
• Mike "Wrekka" Risko – producer, musician
• Eddie Sancho – mixing
• Chucky Thompson
  Chucky Thompson
  Carl E. "Chucky" Thompson is a hip hop/R&B record producer. Thompson was a member of Bad Boy Entertainment's "Hitmen" team of in-house producers during the 1990s, and worked with Bad Boy mogul Sean Combs on material for artists such as The Notorious B.I.G. and Mase. He was responsible for album...
  
   – producer
• Sacha Waldman – photography

Chart history

Album

Chart (2002)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...	5
U.S. Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums	1

Singles

Year	Song	Chart positions
		Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	Hot Rap Singles	UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
2002	"Got Ur Self A..."	87	37	2
	"Ether"	-	50	-	-
	"One Mic"	43	14	10	-
	"Rule"	-	67	-	-

External links

• Stillmatic at Discogs
  Discogs
  Discogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
  
  
• Stillmatic at Metacritic
  Metacritic
  Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
  
  
• Background on 5 mic rating — Straight from the Source