Song · Nas
“N.Y. State of Mind” by Nas
From the album Illmatic (1994)
“N.Y. State of Mind” by Nas appears on 2 radio countdowns from 2 stations between 2023 and 2025. It was first released in 1994 on the album Illmatic. Its best result is #176 on the WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #461 of the '90s.
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Video from YouTube (NasVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
Nas made his debut with Illmatic on Columbia in 1994, and "N.Y. State of Mind" is the album at its coldest and most vivid. DJ Premier built the beat from two jazz records, Joe Chambers' "Mind Rain" and Donald Byrd's "Flight Time", laid over a drum break from Kool & the Gang's "N.T.", then scratched in pieces of Eric B. & Rakim's "Mahogany" and Nas's own voice from Main Source's "Live at the Barbeque". Eddie Sancho recorded it.
Across two verses Nas does double duty, crowing about his gifts on the mic while mapping out just how dangerous New York could be. He has pointed to Kool G Rap's "Streets of New York" as a major influence, and he kept coming back to this one, with sequels on I Am... in 1999 and on Light-Years, his 2025 album with Premier. The RIAA certified it gold in 2019.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 437 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
| 2025 | 176 | WFPK | WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s | 500 |
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