Still Ill

It ain't hard to tell that over 15 years after its release, Nas's debut Illmatic has an impenetrable hold over hip-hop culture as one of the finest albums to ever emerge. Recognizing its enduring influence, professor Michael Eric Dyson leads a heavyweight crew of cultural critics musing on its significance in Born to Use Mics: Reading Nas's Illmatic. Contributors tackle each tracks in order as a springboard for essays imbued with thought-provoking analysis. Wide-ranging topics include Nas as public intellectual, the complexities of fraternal and paternal relationships and the forging of self-definition, Born to Use Mics is a heady and eclectic foray into Nas's 19-year-old state of mind.