How Nas Redefined the “NY State of Mind”

Nas’ debut album, 1994’s “Illmatic” is a masterpiece, and the song “N.Y. State of Mind” has become iconic. And, in typical DJ Premier fashion, the music matches the lyrics perfectly, so much so that we HAVE to talk about it. Today we’re going to break this song all the way down, get into the samples, that iconic bassline, and see how this song is a complete re-definition of the term “New York State of Mind”

After initially recording this video, I had a few other things to add, but had already left for NY, so don’t mind the hand held shots. Also, watch to the end to see why I went to NY in the first place.

► STREAM THE SPOTIFY LISTENING GUIDE: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6GQlokMqLgnpkuKG6bsEgy?si=b13569ab83064e54

Thank you to Markay Fairley adding the info about the chord – check him out here: https://www.instagram.com/markayfairley/
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SOURCES
DJ Premier Discussing How The Song was made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbKs6Q2Kyac

Another Good Premier interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5JRwGIZ7WQ

Nas in conversation with Harvard Professor Elisa New: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJbNtLOefpA

Awesome interactive map of the history of hip hop labels: https://pudding.cool/2017/03/labels/index.html

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TOPICS COVERED
Nas
DJ Premier
New York State of Mind
NY State of Mind
Illmatic
Hip Hop
History
Production
Lyrics
Frank Sinatra
Billy Joel
Bass line
Music History
Madison Square Garden
King’s Disease

Written by 92.9 The Torch