Hip-Hop Classic #38: NaS - N.Y. State Of Mind (Chosen by Martelo)

'N.Y. State Of Mind' is the second track and first single from NaS' debut album, Illmatic, which was released in 1994 on Columbia Records. The track is produced by DJ Premier and contains two samples from 'Mind Rain' by Joe Chambers and 'Flight Time' by Donald Byrd - Preemo additionally scratches vocals from Eric B. & Rakim's 'Mahogany' for the chorus. Mr. Jones raps two verses on the song in which he talks about his rapping talent and describes the dangerous environment in which he lived in - he has attributed the song 'Streets of New York' by Kool G Rap as one of the song's primary influences (G Rap would later sample this song, plus give NaS a guest spot on his album '4,5,6').

Martelo: "What can i say, boom bap, the bassline that never stops, Preemo.. straight out the dungeons of rap came one of my favourite songs ever.. I learnt so much from this song!"