Illmatic originally came out in April 1994 on Columbia, when Nas was twenty. Ten tracks about the Queensbridge projects in New York where he grew up, produced by DJ Premier, Large Professor, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, and L.E.S., who laid a tight, jazz-tinged boom bap sound underneath. Nas writes in scenes and details: "N.Y. State of Mind", "The World Is Yours", "Life's a Bitch" with AZ and his father Olu Dara on cornet, and "One Love" as a letter to a friend in prison. Sales started slowly while the press was positive from the start; NME called the music "rhythmic perfection" at the time. This edition is an LP, the 20th Anniversary Edition.