The soundtrack
The music from Time Is Illmatic is what made the cypher complete. In chronological order, starting from his father and the music Nas grew up with, he explained what the vibe was in Queensbridge when he was a kid, before crack hit the streets. He detailed how the MC Shan and KRS-One beef impacted him as a teenager and told stories about his come up in the game, leading to his signing to Columbia Records. Even the fact he came from a long list of musicians played a huge role into him as an artist. He was influenced by so much, musically, and it all culminated to one album, Illmatic.