November 17, 2025
Serato Four-Point… Less?
After a few months in the public beta testing phase, Serato DJ Pro (and Lite) 4.0 is finally available for download as a full release. In the new episode o...
Thursday, December 21, 2017
The Samples Behind Nas’ ‘Stillmatic’
Following his iconic debut album, Illmatic, Nas took his next three projects in a more mainstream direction. The decision put him under heavy scrutiny and even brought upon JAY-Z‘s infamous 2001 diss track, “Takeover.”
Nas didn’t take long to respond to both his critics and JAY, however, dropping his fifth studio album Stillmatic on Dec. 18, 2001. The project, which is a nod to Illmatic, is widely considered as Nas’ comeback album. It also featured the track “Ether,” his epic response to Jigga.
Stillmatic peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum in January 2002. It featured production from the likes of DJ Premier and Large Professor and included the singles “Got Ur Self a Gun,” “One Mic,” and “Rule” featuring Amerie.
To honor its 16-year anniversary, Power 106 has examined some of the album’s classic samples on its Wax Only series.
Watch it above.
Related: The Samples Behind Black Star’s ‘Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star’
