“Odds are, if you have any interest in Nas, you've already heard some wisecrack about *Illmatic* rendering a greatest hits collection redundant. That's bullshit; as one of the all-time great albums in rap history, failing to top it isn't so much a letdown as an inevitability, and from 1996 on, Nas' conflicts with commercialism, identity, and realness have provided more compelling moments on wax tha”
