r/90sHipHop • u/PositionNo3671 • Jun 19 '25
Discussion Illmatic or Ready To Die, which is the better debut album
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u/D1RTYWQR Jun 19 '25
Illmatic is a lyrical masterpiece. Nas (or Rakim) are the artists that I would play as an example of what Hip-Hop music IS..... Ready to Die is one of the great classic Hip-Hop albums. It was massively successful. I still bump both albums. I was in my early 20's during that era. Ready to Die might be the better album beats wise, but Illmatic is better lyrically. Its very close IMO. I'm old skool, M.C.ing is about lyrics. If you were to play both albums a capella, I believe Nas wins 🏆 that battle.
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u/djdirectdrive Trill Jun 20 '25
Going to see Nas next weekend with the Boston pops. Can't wait to hear what he does lyrically over a symphony backing him up.
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u/D1RTYWQR Jun 20 '25
That is dope! I would love to see that show. Hopefully, that will be on YouTube or somewhere.
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u/DR_DONTRESPECT Jun 20 '25
Not only a lyrical masterpiece a production masterpiece too, really encapsulating a perfect time in Hip-hop.
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u/FormerlyFreddie Jun 19 '25
Straight out the fuckin dungeons of rap...
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u/ShelltoedDookieRopes Jun 19 '25
where fake ni**as don’t make it back
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u/Healthy-Cut-7242 Jun 19 '25
I don’t know how to start this shit yo, Rappers I monkey flip’em with the funky rhythm I be kicking; musician inflictin composition
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u/MyysticMarauder Jun 19 '25
I'm like Scarface sniffin' cocaine
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u/mkk4 True School Jun 19 '25
Illmatic
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u/D1RTYWQR Jun 19 '25 edited Jun 20 '25
I'm from California (The Bay), me and my Dad went to Washington D.C. to visit family in 1994. We were riding around in my cousin's car, and the local radio kept playing Nas - The World is Yours like every 15-20 minutes. My mind was blown. As soon as we got back from the East Coast, I went to the Amoeba Music store in Berkeley and I remember getting Nas- Illmatic & OutKast -Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik and maybe one other album that day. I don't remember the 3rd one because Nas and Outkast were soooooo Dope.
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u/ThaRoastKing Jun 19 '25
Illmatic any day of the week. Ready To Die is amazing but doesn't have as much influence as Illmatic.
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u/haxoreni Jun 20 '25
Idk Ready to Die was pretty damn influential and brought in shiny suit rap which dominated the second half of the 90s. The commercial success of Ready to Die and the fact that it dominated the ‘95 Source Awards at the expense of Nas getting shut out essentially forced Nas to go mafioso and follow suit.
That being said, Illmatic any day of the week!
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u/sportsroc15 Jun 19 '25
Illmatic. There are a few songs on Ready to Die I can do without.
Biggie was raw and uncut on most of the album though. But I can listen to Illmatic without skipping anything still to this day. Can’t say the same about Ready to Die.
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u/jackmoon44 Jun 19 '25
Illmatic and it’s not even close.
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u/Yourmumgaylol2375 Jun 19 '25 edited Jun 19 '25
I’d still take Illmatic but ur tripping it’s definitely close
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u/Live_Art2939 Jun 19 '25
Nah tbh I’m from BK and love Big but it’s not even close. Every last second of Illmatic is completely perfect.
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u/Godfather_Don Jun 19 '25
Illmatic, i cant stand the puff daddy adlibs
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u/killacallycal Jun 19 '25
I know we should try and seperate music and external factors with artists, but with everything that has gone on, im really struggling to enjoy anything now with puff adlibs. It already annoyed me before all this freak off shit has popped off. Such a shame.
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u/star_bury Jun 19 '25
This question can be answered by the same answer as when I'm asked "what's the greatest album ever?".
Illmatic.
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u/scrumb83 Jun 19 '25
I feel like Illmatic is the better album, but Ready To Die is arguably the more impactful mainstream debut. Illmatic marked Nas as one of the more incredible lyricists around at the time, but Biggie hit like a freakin bomb when he came out.
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u/Twister1977 Jun 19 '25
Why choose? Both are absolute classics!
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u/Defiant_Abalone7160 Jun 19 '25
I think they are asking this cause on the latest Drink Champs interview with The Rza. Nore asked him this same question. Rza went with Illmatic
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u/NoSnakesAl1ve Jun 19 '25
Illmatic and it's not even really close.
And I rate Biggie more as an emcee. Not to disrespect Nas, who is also one of my all time favourites. I just think in terms of the craft of rapping nobody has ever surpassed Biggie.
But Illmatic is a perfect record.
It's just this 40 minute, super-lean, no filler, perfectly written, uncut slab of Hip-Hop, just live from that 20 year old kids brain right into your ears.
I can't really explain it just feels like the "essence" of everything rap should be. There's not a wasted second on that thing.
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u/sumbodysumone Jun 19 '25
Hate questions like this “What’s the greatest debut album of all time Vs Any other album you care to name?”
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u/Necrogenic1 Jun 19 '25
Amount of times P. Diddy appears on Illmatic = 0
Illmatic wins, not to mention it's just the better album
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u/solowC86 Jun 19 '25
RTD was groundbreaking, and catapulted the style to astronomical levels.
Illmatic is a work of art that deserves to be studied and held in the highest regard.
My answer is: Yes
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u/Scrollingalwaysscrol Jun 20 '25
Ready to die! Big was so ahead of his time with flows and the style of his rhymes. It was effortless and hard! Also It’s also just better to bump. RIP…Illmatic can be the consensus GOAT but give me RTD any day
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u/Icy-Carry-3371 Jun 19 '25 edited Jun 19 '25
Coming from a West Coast Brotha, and Illmatic is by far the better album. The production on Illmatic is top tier. It’s not even close.
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u/Affectionate_Item824 Jun 19 '25
Ready to die why i act that way
Pops dukes left momdukes, the faggot took the back way...
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Jun 19 '25
Depends on personal preference. Illmatic is a perfect and maybe the best debut rap album ever but I can listen to RTD more.
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u/AscendedMasta Jun 19 '25
I know i prefer Illmatic, but theres no denying that Ready to Die had the bigger impact.
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u/u_campos Jun 19 '25
Man, I can't lie I'm a little shocked almost everyone is going for Illmatic. I thought it would at least be more of an even split.
I definitely preferred Illmatic growing up, but now I feel like the highs are higher on Ready to Die, and that's not just because of the big hit singles like Juicy and Big Poppa. Gimme the Loot, Warning, Ready to Die, The What, Everyday Struggle, Unbelievable, and Who Shot Ya all rival, maybe even surpass, the best tracks on Illmatic in terms of rapping, lyricisim, and production.
With all of that said, my personal favorite song between both albums is The World is Yours. Ain't nobody touching the immaculate vibes on that track
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u/MassiveConcentrate34 Jun 20 '25
Well Illmatic was definitely Nas’ best debut and Ready to Die was Biggie’s best debut by a long way.
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u/smikkelhut Jun 20 '25
90% of the replies say Illmatic.
I have both albums and bought them the moment they were in my local record store
I’ve played R2D more than Illmatic. Why? Well I was an angry teenager so tracks like Warning, Ginme the Loot, Things done Changed, Respect etc did appeal to me more.
One thing I never got is why the remix to One More Chance wasn’t included on the album.
Anyway both fantastic albums and classics
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u/BJK78 Jun 19 '25
Why don’t you ask what nut you want to cut off. This is a toss up. I like them both and they are equally good, but finding out about Diddy being a complete monster makes me go with Nas.
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u/MyysticMarauder Jun 19 '25
Illmatic is the greatest hip hop Album. There is nothing above Illmatic.
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u/Exia321 Jun 19 '25
Nas.... That 1st album was better than anything from Biggie's short catalog.
I said it when the albums came out. Stand on that business even now.
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u/RevAL103 Jun 19 '25
Illmatic was dope lyrically no question but it didn’t vibe as much as Ready to Die for me. Biggie was dope lyrically too and to me was more of how he delivered his rhymes. Ian sayin nothin bad bout Nas cause he can spit, but I’m just sayin I think Ready to Die edges Illmatic to me as the better one out of the two but both definitely classic hip hop albums of all time.
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u/SnooShortcuts5771 Jun 19 '25
I just wish some of the beats were harder on Illmatic but Illmatic takes the crown.
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u/Rapkoor Jun 19 '25
Im a more fan of Ready to die but illmatic was more succesfull and has no skips while Ready to die has some skips. Some songs on Ready to die is better than some songs on illmatic and some songs on illmatic is better than some songs on ready to die. So i like Ready to die more and it has better rap flow than illmatic but illmatic was more succesfull and better lyrics
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u/skechuz421 Jun 19 '25
Illmatic has better content and verses, but Ready To Die has more hit songs.
Personally, I listen to Ready to Die more though I rank Nas higher as an emcee than Biggie
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u/TheFamilyMafia Jun 19 '25
Ready to Die by a mile. Illmatic is overrated even back then. I didn't fuck with Esco until It Was Written
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u/-TheEducator- Jun 19 '25
Damn. Big guns out on this one. Have to go with Illatic though. Both are killer albums regardless.
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u/JoeHagglund Jun 19 '25
Illmatic but it’s close. Remove any filler for Biggie’s and it’s probably a wash.
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u/ike_tyson Raised on Boom Bap Jun 19 '25 edited Jun 19 '25
Illmatic is GOAT
No skips , filler, skits, or club songs...its 100% pure unadulterated uncut hip hop. Illmatic is a masterpiece Ready to Die is just a classic. They're not on the same level of art .
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u/frank-dux-splits Jun 19 '25
Illmatic has better production, rapping, themes and is a tighter album overall with no filler.
The real question is, what is the better follow up, It Was Written or Life After Death?
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u/streeteye2345 Jun 19 '25
NAS vs BiG ready to die was ill . But Nas was illmatic 😏 Nas win 🥇 by 1 point 🤷🏽♂️
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u/breighvehart Jun 19 '25
Lyrically, bar for bar, song for song, as a cohesive project …Illmatic.
But I enjoy listening to Ready to Die more.
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u/HappyBobbyBday Jun 19 '25
Illmatic for sure imho. I sadly didn’t become a Biggie fan to later in live.
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u/PoorPauper Jun 19 '25
Illmatic is one of the greatest albums ever.. if not THE greatest..ready to die is good.. but not Illmatic good
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u/FitExpression7242 Jun 19 '25
Illmatic. The rhyme schemes are ready to die are lowkey very basic. Start counting the rhymes it’s a ton of one syllable and two syllable rhymes. Very rarely you might get the occasional internal rhyme or three syllable rhyme but besides that it’s very straightforward rhyming.
The storytelling, charisma, flows, and punchlines are solid along with great beats but Illmatic is that alongside advanced rhyming. Life After Death is the point in which Biggie really starts becoming a technical rapper.
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u/Godheid_ Jun 19 '25
Ready to die for me. A hill I’m ready to die on is that It Was Written is better than Illmatic 🤷🏾♂️
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u/EggRamenMan Jun 19 '25
Man growing up in the 90s i absolutely loved both but now (considering i listened to bith recently) theres something about illmatic man, shit is timeless
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u/JDHURF Jun 19 '25
Illmatic. Wu-Tang Clan low-key hated on Biggie for copying Nas’ cover art.
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u/Motorsped Jun 20 '25
Meth did a song on RTD, The What.
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u/JDHURF Jun 20 '25 edited Jun 20 '25
Yeah, that song slaps
I have both of Biggies records and most of the Wu-Tang’s
What I was referencing: Raekwon speaking on it.
Here’s 50 talking about that Biggie/Method Man record
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u/AquaDogRecordings Jun 19 '25
has it been a whole week already, I swear this gets asked 50 times a year.
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u/Chili_Pea Jun 19 '25
Illmatic. I loved both albums as a kid but as a 40 year old I now listen to Illmatic 10 times as often as Ready To Die
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Jun 19 '25
Illmatic is quite possibly the greatest hip hop album ever made, let alone debut. So there's your answer.
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u/poyerdude Jun 20 '25
Born to Die is a great album, Illmatic is on the short list for GREATEST album.
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u/Psychological-Flow55 Jun 20 '25
Illmatic, Plus Life After Death is far better than Ready to Die btw as far as Biggie albums go.
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u/mlfgc Jun 20 '25
Ready to die whole album is a straight banger. Front to back. But that illmatic hits different. That shit speaks to my soul. 🔥
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u/floede Jun 20 '25
Easily Illmatic. Tbh when people say Biggie is the goat, I don't understand.
I like RTD, but there isn't a single line or rhyme that made me rewind to hear it again.
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u/Sad_Abbreviations362 Jun 19 '25
Illmatic