{
  "slug": "nas",
  "name": "Nas",
  "description": "Nas appears 3 times in our Golden Age Hip-Hop, 1994, and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred lists, placing as high as No. 2. Hand-curated, with a reason for every pick.",
  "updated": "2026-08-29",
  "url": "https://waxonia.com/artist/nas/",
  "appearanceCount": 3,
  "distinctRecordings": 1,
  "years": {
    "first": 1994,
    "last": 1994
  },
  "highestPlacing": {
    "rank": 2,
    "list": "Golden Age Hip-Hop"
  },
  "appearsOn": [
    {
      "kind": "genre",
      "slug": "golden-age-hip-hop",
      "name": "Golden Age Hip-Hop",
      "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/golden-age-hip-hop/",
      "entries": 1
    },
    {
      "kind": "curator",
      "slug": "nineteen-ninety-four",
      "name": "1994",
      "url": "https://waxonia.com/theme/nineteen-ninety-four/",
      "entries": 1
    },
    {
      "kind": "curator",
      "slug": "the-desk-the-hundred",
      "name": "The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred",
      "url": "https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/",
      "entries": 1
    }
  ],
  "tracks": [
    {
      "trackKey": "nas--n-y-state-of-mind",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/nas--n-y-state-of-mind/",
      "title": "N.Y. State of Mind",
      "year": 1994,
      "label": "Columbia",
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "A twenty-year-old writing with the density of a novelist over a DJ Premier loop. The bar for lyrical technique moved here and arguably has not moved since.",
      "alsoOn": [
        {
          "kind": "curator",
          "slug": "nineteen-ninety-four",
          "name": "1994",
          "url": "https://waxonia.com/theme/nineteen-ninety-four/"
        },
        {
          "kind": "curator",
          "slug": "the-desk-the-hundred",
          "name": "The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred",
          "url": "https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/"
        }
      ],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/Nas%20N.Y.%20State%20of%20Mind",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=hI8A14Qcv68",
          "exact": true
        }
      },
      "rank": 2,
      "on": {
        "kind": "genre",
        "slug": "golden-age-hip-hop",
        "name": "Golden Age Hip-Hop",
        "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/golden-age-hip-hop/"
      },
      "artist": "Nas"
    },
    {
      "trackKey": "nas--n-y-state-of-mind",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/nas--n-y-state-of-mind/",
      "title": "N.Y. State of Mind",
      "year": 1994,
      "label": "Columbia",
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "Illmatic reset what a rap album was allowed to be, and this is the track people quote when they explain why. Every East Coast record for five years afterwards is measured against it, usually by its own maker.",
      "alsoOn": [
        {
          "kind": "genre",
          "slug": "golden-age-hip-hop",
          "name": "Golden Age Hip-Hop",
          "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/golden-age-hip-hop/"
        },
        {
          "kind": "curator",
          "slug": "the-desk-the-hundred",
          "name": "The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred",
          "url": "https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/"
        }
      ],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/Nas%20N.Y.%20State%20of%20Mind",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=hI8A14Qcv68",
          "exact": true
        }
      },
      "rank": null,
      "on": {
        "kind": "curator",
        "slug": "nineteen-ninety-four",
        "name": "1994",
        "url": "https://waxonia.com/theme/nineteen-ninety-four/"
      },
      "artist": "Nas"
    },
    {
      "trackKey": "nas--n-y-state-of-mind",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/nas--n-y-state-of-mind/",
      "title": "N.Y. State of Mind",
      "year": 1994,
      "label": "Columbia",
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "A twenty-year-old writing at a level most novelists never reach, over a piano loop that never resolves. The best-written record in this list.",
      "alsoOn": [
        {
          "kind": "genre",
          "slug": "golden-age-hip-hop",
          "name": "Golden Age Hip-Hop",
          "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/golden-age-hip-hop/"
        },
        {
          "kind": "curator",
          "slug": "nineteen-ninety-four",
          "name": "1994",
          "url": "https://waxonia.com/theme/nineteen-ninety-four/"
        }
      ],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/Nas%20N.Y.%20State%20of%20Mind",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=hI8A14Qcv68",
          "exact": true
        }
      },
      "rank": null,
      "on": {
        "kind": "curator",
        "slug": "the-desk-the-hundred",
        "name": "The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred",
        "url": "https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/"
      },
      "artist": "Nas"
    }
  ],
  "curates": null
}