Elzhi, former Slum Village member, dropped “Elmatic” May 10th, 2011. In 2010, Fashawn dropped “Ode to Illmatic” a tribute to Nas’s 1994 classic “Illmatic”. This year, Elzhi takes his turn in reinterpreting the classic Nas album with a twist. Live instruments.
Dead End Hip Hop takes a look at Elzhi’s remake of the classic Illmatic dropped back during the end of the Golden Era of Hip Hop.
Dead End Hip Hop breaks down the album the only way we know how…no politics, no BS.
Let us know what you think of this album. If you feeling the album, be sure to head over to Elzhi.com and pre order your copy today.
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what about a rELZHnable doubt???
Best song on the album is One Love
Elzhi is a better lyricist than Nas, HANDS DOWN! The original illmatic was the blueprint BUT the elmatic mixtape built on that to a point where it’s out of this world.
I think it’s dope & that Elzhi is the only emcee that could do it
feefo still learning, yall watch over him for me, give him that nas wu tang clan NWa
LOVE this show but I almost always disagree with feefo when it comes to classic albums lol. I think we’re around the same age. Not sure how he has the excuse of saying he wasn’t around then. I think i was 15 when I copped 36 chambers. He could be bit younger than me actually but still.
Beezy is tripping about it being on par and better than Illmatic, when it had ZERO impact on hip-hop. It was dope and one of the best of 2011 tho.
Throwback to when ken had hair
Old era 2pac, Biggie, Nas. 3000
New era Kendrick Lamar, Elizhi, J Cole
you guys should review The Preface album
I was 12 when I first heard Illmatic on the basketball courts, and hearing Elmatic damn near brought me to tears… The way Elzhi remade it and PERSONALIZED it to his stories… Insane. Love this album!
I still don’t understand how this album didn’t get the recognition it deserves! I understand that elzhi is not a known rapper! But any true hip hop fan should definitely give this a listen. One of the greatest rap albums ever that a lot of people have never listened to and that’s sad!
Fashawn is better than Elzhi man you guys must be sick or drunk, yall struck.
Hope Wright was actually the first person to do the remake of illmatic then Fashawn and Elzhi.
yee one of the best albums of all time
@PolishPwner1 Fashawn is better than Elzhi,But elmatic is better than ode to illmatic. go listen to the ecology off boy meets world.
No 1’s better than elzhi . . .
I liked this project, but half the time I was just urging to go back and hear Illmatic. It’s just toooooo fucking classic
lmao Kinge always is quiet for the first conversation and then says something like “let me tell you about this album” or “the thing about this dude is this”
These comments need to end. Elzhi, Fashawn and Nas are all their own kind of lyrical Hulks, stop dickriding.
elmatic was an ode to a classic hip hop masterpiece. that shit is fire,period.that’s just my opinion, but he killed every track and put his own spin on it and it resonated with me in a way to where it made me respect and love illmatic even more than I ever have.elzhi is a beast, regardless.
This album is dope as hell, even though it’s a remake.
Missed this review but yeah his album was super dope
“The hood is like a glass house the devil throws stones through”- Elzhi. All you need to hear to know this album snaps hard as fuck.
NOONE FORGOT HE WAS REDOING ILLMATIC THESE BOYS BEEN DRINKIN LEAD PAINT. ELZHI KILLS IT, FASHAWN IS GARBAGE, BUT BRO. NOONE FORGOT HE WAS REDOING ILLMATIC BRO ITS CALLED ELMATIC IM CRYING
dats cool!!
Will anyone ever redo Nas – It Was Written …..Can Elzhi redo I Gave You Power!
updated all of the songs ( except One Time 4 Your Mind) and made most of them better than the original. Nas was one of the founders of the punchline game we enjoy listening to today, and as El said himself on Genesis “my punchlines knock niggas the fuck out.” Recognizing improvement is why ppl started saying nas was better than Rakim, so with that said, i gotta say Elmatic over Illmatic
I think Elmatic speaks to Elzhi’s artistry and bravery…doing a remake of such a classic? that takes a lot of guts…it’s a hit or miss thing, no middle ground..Elzhi pulled it off…I love the album…it wouldn’t surprise me if, 20 years from now, people will be talking about this album, if for no other reason than to show what it means to do a remake properly.
I still rock ALL the tracks til this day. Top 5 Albums of all time on my list.
I ain’t gonna lie, ‘Memory Lane’ made me cry a little bit. So much soul and passion in his verse.
Elzhi is so underestimated that it’s crazy. I hope he gets his shine on worldwide one day.
Illmatic is my favorite album of all time. Nas is my favorite rapper of all time. I thought Elmatic was an AMAZING project. BUT every time I hear elmatic I always compare it to, in my opinion, the best album ever. Because of that I’m a bit jaded but I can still give it credit that is due. I agree 100% with Myke C. I had no idea it was made with a live band though, even more credit for that.
Elzhi killed this shit, but I think The Preface was better. There was never a point where Illmatic wasn’t present in my mind. Nevertheless, it does have it’s own personality, and Elzhi is such a spitter. He does it justice, but it never made me forget Illmatic. If anything, it made me love Illmatic more, especially through the use of live instrumentation.
5:15 LMFAO DETROIT DICKRIDER SAID ILLMATIC WASNT AS GOOD AS ELMATIC OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD OBAMA DROP A NUCLEAR BOMB ON DETROIT AND CHICAGO PLEASE. DOG WHAT. HE REALLY SAID ELMATIC WAS BETTER THAN ILLMATIC.
“takes somebody track” that ends it for me. the cd was good but come on u copy a whole fucking album..
Just come back to an oldie as I was just listening to El today. And it’s a moment in Hip Hop history this is. Because when take a certified classic and not just any classic a classic that is widely regarded by Hip Hop heads world wide and 99% of publications as the benchmark Hip Hop album of all time and then make another classic out of it then….. Well what else can or needs to be said?!?!? Just a truly inspiring moment. Elzhi is the only dude that could of pulled this off. And imo he could well be the greatest lyricist that Hip Hop as ever seen. His concepts and song structures are out of this world. Sorry had a Beezy moment.
I came back to watch this review, and there’s so many switches between black and white and color, what, i never noticed
well, maybe, but that’s a terrible name for an album, have you tried saying that out loud? also, illmatic is honestly a far better album than reasonable doubt, not to call it bad, but illmatic is on a whole other level.
only thing tht is BETTER!!!? Is the SOUND QUALITY of the music-PERIOD!
this is DEHH at its best! when these guys start defending their taste passionately and go at each other for 10 minutes straight (or in this case feefo cause he’s got it coming)
I love this album, great job with the remake Elzhi