So I recently got my hands on Fashawn & DJ Green Lantern’s ode to Nas’ Illmatic. At first, the thought of someone doing that made me cringe. I mean, Nas’ Illmatic is easily Top 5 on my “All Time Greatest Hip-Hop albums” of all time list. Every track on the original is classic and we all know that touching a classic album is a sin.

I didn’t like the way Fashawn flipped NY State of Mind, it wasn’t as rugged as the original. He tried using the same rhyme scheme BUT his tales of bullets, endo and ends weren’t as descriptive as Nas’ were. Track 2, Life’s a Bitch feat. Talib Kweli was definitely a step up from NY State of Mind but only because Talib flipped the flow. He certainly wasn’t up to par with AZ’s original verse but his presence was a breath of fresh air on such a rhythmic jazzy beat.

By the time I got to “World is Yours” I started getting a bit more acquainted with the idea of Fashawn rapping over Illmatic. He rips this track to shreds. He starts flipping’ his own stories and Nas’ old verse becomes an afterthought. “Halftime”, arguably one of the best tracks from the original was average. In my opinion Nas murdered that beat so BADLY that no one could ever touch that beat again, period.

“Memory Lane” was good. Wasn’t memorable but it was good. He rocked the beat well but the beat outshined him. “One Love” is another classic original that I didn’t expect much from. However, Fashawn impressed me with his gritty tales of life outside the cell. I’ve always loved the concept of “writing the homie in jail a letter” and Fashawn nailed it down to a “T” his flow was immaculate. I loved that track.

“One Time For Your Mind” was above average, however, by now his lyrics are redundant. That beat relies heavily on cadence and he lacked it on this track. “Represent” is another classic track from Nas but Fashawn spit on it nicely. Same rhyme scheme but he flipped the words. He ran down his past growing up before the glamour and glitz. “It Aint Hard to Tell” is basically a continuation of “Represent”, lyrics-wise. Track was just as good as “Represent” if not better.

Overall i’d have to give this album (if you’d call it that) a 7/10. Not because it wasn’t a great album but because, in comparison to “Illmatic” it’s ok. To Fashwan’s defense most album’s are peanuts compared to “Illmatic” and not to mention that he did as good as anyone could do in his shoes.