Illmatic vs 36 Chambers

Controller_7Controller_7 4,052 Posts
edited April 2010 in Strut Central
Obviously not up for a side by side comparison because that isn't a fair comparison, but chomp on these:Nas or Wu?1) Better album2) Most influence (in terms of industry as a whole)3) Resulting follow up albums4) better production5) quotables6) continued playabilityadd on if you will.Yes, I know it's 2010, but I listened to 36 chambers in the car yesterday. I was wearing a Fozzie the Bear chain if that makes it any better.
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  • tripledoubletripledouble 7,636 Posts
    1)wu, by a hair
    3)wu again, cause they had rae and ghost and odb.besides that, both fell off a lil bit
    4)tie. both ridiculous.illmatic just ultra classic classic shit, wu was its own f*cking thing. it broke the mold on most of those songs
    5)tie again. if i had to choose, maybe wu
    6)neither have lost any flavor over time. i guess that means timeless

    not to take anything away from illmatic.but 36 chambers was damn near perfect. its like 99.9 vs.99.8

  • Controller_7Controller_7 4,052 Posts
    much agreed.

    1) Wu. The diversity helps. Illmatic has some home runs and a couple triples (maybe a double) on it. Wu is almost all home runs and maybe a triple.

    2) Hard to say. I haven't seen a 9th Wonder lecture on 36 chambers yet.

    3) Wu all the way. I enjoy many songs that Nas did after Illmatic, but Rae and Ghost's first solo albums are better than all of Nas' post Illmatic catalog. ODB, Meth, and Gza albums are good too.

    4) Illmatic has more singles/classics in a sense, but not all tracks live up to the standard. 36 chambers is unique and bumpin from beginning to end. Even the skits are something you sing/talk along to.

    5) More "wow" type quotes from Nas, but wu's got the skits too. Ain't no Chapelle show sketch on Illmatic lyrics.

    6) tie, but I'll probably bump 36 chambers more.

  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,902 Posts
    Nas or Wu?

    1) Illmatic
    2) 36 Chambers
    3) 36 Chambers
    4) Illmatic
    5) 36 Chambers
    6) Illmatic


    7) Album cover - Tough one, but I'll give it to 36 Chambers by a hair

  • UnherdUnherd 1,880 Posts
    I like Cuban Linx better than Enter, tho Enter's definitely more influential than Rae...

    Anyway, I give Illmatic all 6 other than follow up albums, since Enter started a streak that's arguably never been matched, and Nas never really followed up Illmatic, although I think It Was Written has aged reasonably well.

    Enter was pretty influential, but it seems like Illmatic maybe was the first album assembled front-to-back with super producer-type dudes, which changed the game, and also kinda killed rap. Enter does have some heavy ass quotables, but I gotta give it to Nasir on that one..

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Fusk Illmatic

  • SoulhawkSoulhawk 3,197 Posts
    Fusk Illmatic

    you sound white

  • 1) Better album- 36 Chambers. From top to bottom, there was this unusual vibe you got from listening to it. Illmatic, although a great album, tended to seem overrated to me.
    2) Most influence (in terms of industry as a whole- Illmatic. Because it's blasphemy if any artist doesn't acknkowledge Illmatic as "the perfect album."
    3) Resulting follow up albums- 36 Chambers. From each members solo efforts to even some of the failed group efforts, you know that there was a growing process. Nas is still somehow trying to live up to Illmatic.
    4) better production- it would seem a tie, but I give the tiebreak to 36 Chambers. The skits, I tell you. If you have Pete Rock, Large Professor, and a slew of top-notch producers, it's expected that your production is going to be great.
    5) quotables- 36 Chambers. The skits, I tell you. Although I would think that Illmatic would be used more since it's "the perfect album."
    6) continued playability- I'd say both. But I recently listened to 36 Chambers a while ago, so I owe Illmatic another listen. Again.

    And for album cover, I'd go with 36 Chambers. The whole child's face on the album cover has been done and done and done until I feel as if it shouldn't be done anymore. 36 Chambers kind of reminded me of a Shaw Brothers film poster or something.

  • Fusk Illmatic

    you sound white
    beat me to it. dammit.

  • CraigCraig 269 Posts
    Nas for me, as I don't like the WU.

    Shame Nas went down hill after his debut.

  • dwyhajlodwyhajlo 420 Posts
    I gotta go with 36 Chambers, because I can listen to it all the way through, skits and all, on nearly any day of the week. There's usually a couple songs on Illmatic that I skip over, though.

    "Represent" is probably my favorite song from either album.

  • jleejlee 1,539 Posts
    Nas or Wu?

    1) Illmatic
    2) 36 Chambers
    3) 36 Chambers
    4) Illmatic
    5) 36 Chambers
    6) Illmatic


    7) Album cover - Tough one, but I'll give it to 36 Chambers by a hair

    same here.

    i'll go so far as to say that 36 chambers doesn't have them same shelf life for me. when i listen to them know, illmatic seems pretty timeless while 36 definitely makes me think back to a specific point in time (if that makes any sense).

    8) Suburban Street Cred - illmatic as 36 had a remarkable following in the burbs that transcended a lot more people than necessarily your avg hip-hop heads. i think 36 chamber skits and quotables had a large appeal to your random music fan (even if they weren't that much into hip-hop).

  • jjfad027jjfad027 1,594 Posts
    Illmatic

  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    Air vs. Water

  • your trying to pit a solo mc's lp with one guest on lifes a bitch, against a group with x amount of members ?

    ====


    illmatic vs favorite wu members solo lp.

  • your trying to pit a solo mc's lp with one guest on lifes a bitch, against a group with x amount of members ?

    Well, that solo MC's LP had X amount of producers, whereas the group with X amount of MC's had just one producer. But all in all, they're both classic albums that took hip hop to a place where it hadn't been previously. Illmatic brought insight and intellect, while 36 Chambers brought about a new sound in regards to the usage of samples and production. With Wu Tang, it made you more receptive to finding new and different sounds in order to do something creative with it. With Illmatic, it made you want to pick up a book. While listening to it.

  • BreezBreez 1,706 Posts
    1) WU
    2) WU
    3) Nas (Also IMO, It Was Written better than Illmatic)
    4) MAJOR TIE
    5) again, MAJOR TIE
    6) Both are timeless classics that made all MC's & DJ's/Producer rethink their shit.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    your trying to pit a solo mc's lp with one guest on lifes a bitch, against a group with x amount of members ?

    Well, that solo MC's LP had X amount of producers, whereas the group with X amount of MC's had just one producer. But all in all, they're both classic albums that took hip hop to a place where it hadn't been previously. Illmatic brought insight and intellect, while 36 Chambers brought about a new sound in regards to the usage of samples and production. With Wu Tang, it made you more receptive to finding new and different sounds in order to do something creative with it. With Illmatic, it made you want to pick up a book. While listening to it.

    BAN

  • BreezBreez 1,706 Posts
    your trying to pit a solo mc's lp with one guest on lifes a bitch, against a group with x amount of members ?

    Well, that solo MC's LP had X amount of producers, whereas the group with X amount of MC's had just one producer. But all in all, they're both classic albums that took hip hop to a place where it hadn't been previously. Illmatic brought insight and intellect, while 36 Chambers brought about a new sound in regards to the usage of samples and production. With Wu Tang, it made you more receptive to finding new and different sounds in order to do something creative with it. With Illmatic, it made you want to pick up a book. While listening to it.

    It sounds like someone just discovered hip-hop,,,,, you like it?

  • your trying to pit a solo mc's lp with one guest on lifes a bitch, against a group with x amount of members ?

    Well, that solo MC's LP had X amount of producers, whereas the group with X amount of MC's had just one producer. But all in all, they're both classic albums that took hip hop to a place where it hadn't been previously. Illmatic brought insight and intellect, while 36 Chambers brought about a new sound in regards to the usage of samples and production. With Wu Tang, it made you more receptive to finding new and different sounds in order to do something creative with it. With Illmatic, it made you want to pick up a book. While listening to it.

    It sounds like someone just discovered hip-hop,,,,, you like it?

    I'm most definitely

  • Mike_BellMike_Bell 5,736 Posts

    (Also IMO, It Was Written better than Illmatic)

  • deejdeej 5,125 Posts
    i pull out illmatic more often than 36 these days. but cuban linx more than either

  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
    Illmatic all day

    No contest

    36 Chambers, while important, sounds really dated

  • deejdeej 5,125 Posts
    i mostly agree. 'cream' has aged well to me tho

  • haze25haze25 759 Posts
    Illmatic all day

    No contest

    36 Chambers, while important, sounds really dated
















    peace,xavier

  • bull_oxbull_ox 5,056 Posts
    I've been noticing over the past couple years that young folk that don't really listen to rap around here are REALLY into early Wu

  • jaymackjaymack 5,199 Posts
    THEY ARE DATED!
    when people say that old stuff is dated i wanna jump out a window. almost 20 years old these songs are! of course they sound fukkin dated. how will waka flaka sound in 20 years?

  • bull_oxbull_ox 5,056 Posts
    THEY ARE DATED!
    when people say that old stuff is dated i wanna jump out a window. almost 20 years old these songs are! of course they sound fukkin dated. how will waka flaka sound in 20 years?

    How scared are you of the idea that in 20 years Lil Jon could be considered more prescient/classic than RZA?

  • Illmatic is the best hip hop album ever next to Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

  • jaymackjaymack 5,199 Posts
    THEY ARE DATED!
    when people say that old stuff is dated i wanna jump out a window. almost 20 years old these songs are! of course they sound fukkin dated. how will waka flaka sound in 20 years?

    How scared are you of the idea that in 20 years Lil Jon could be considered more prescient/classic than RZA?


    grapes and peanuts. one makes hip hop one makes party music

  • Dated sounding hip hop
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