“The National Recording Registry will preserve our history through these vibrant recordings of music and voices that have reflected our humanity and shaped our culture from the past 143 years,” Hayden said. “We received about 900 public nominations this year for recordings to add to the registry, and we welcome the public’s input as the Library of Congress and its partners preserve the diverse sounds of history and culture.”
Speaking on the environment that shaped Illmatic, Nas said he “felt proud being from Queensbridge … we were dressed fly in Ballys and the whole building was like a family.”
He added, “Queensbridge is a housing project in New York City. You know the story, it’s the good, the bad, the ugly, and I was just trying to survive that.” Released on April 19, 1994, Illmatic debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 chart and sold over 63,000 copies in its first week. The album was certified 2x-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in February 2019, after initially selling a million copies by December 2001.
