This remix album was released at the busiest point of Nas's career, where he had been releasing so much relevant and mainstream music that a remix album was almost inevitable, especially during 2002, when almost every big rapper was putting out one of these. The remixes here are new takes on some of his most classic songs, and most of them don't really improve on them any. The only people considering buying this probably know the originals anyway, so they wouldn't buy it to hear Nas's lyrical power, and they would most likely be disappointed. Another thing that will deter many listeners is that the tracks are all edited, and the censorship is done poorly. "From Illmatic to Stillmatic: The Remixes" does well for what it is, but don't be expecting anything too much.

The only remix here that really significantly improves over the original is the "Life's a B**ch" Arsenal mix on this EP. Nas and AZ's verses are left unchanged, and instead of the toned down, slow beat on the original, there is a faster, saxophone laced beat. The "One Love" mix has a more defined bassline and vocals during the chorus, it's actually nice to hear. "It Ain't Hard to Tell" sounds very different than the original and is not worth listening to because it's not even close to as good. The "Street Dreams" remix is a little better than the original, but I didn't like the original that much anyway, and it still reflects that awkward period of Nas's career. The "Affirmative Action" remix is very unimpressive, replacing the original beat with a very tired and played-out old school piano line that we've all heard before. The "One Mic" remix isn't good either because except for the slightly sped-up drum pattern, it's virtually indistinguishable from the original.

The bottom line is that if you're a die hard Nas fan, you might find value to having these remixes in your collection, but otherwise I would not recommend it. That said, Nas is maybe the greatest hip hop lyricist ever and any music that is graced with his verses is worth listening to at least once. Newer fans should buy any one of his classic LPs before this.

Duh!

Most EPs are 5-8 tracks long, so I don't understand why people are saying this CD is too short. The remixes on here are pretty decent, they're much better than the crap remixes on the Illmatic 10th Anniversary album. The "Life's a B****" arsenal remix is on-point and the "Affirmative Action" remix is nicely done as well. Hardcore Nas fans won't be dissappointed, and should be willing to dish out 9 bucks for these decent remixes of classic Nas joints.

these remixes dont even compare to the original. if you haven't heard the songs from the og version of illmatic yet then you better wake up, 'cuz illmatic is still one of the best hiphop albums to date.

I don't care what everybody says but THIS is thight ...! These are some CLASSIC Nas lyrics like "Life's a B*tch", "It ain't hard to tell"... (actually all the songs on this album are classics but with other beats! And I got to admitt... they are SUPERB, really! Everybody will love this album! There are 2 negative things that I got to say though, WHY are there only 6 songs on it!? If it would contain at least 15 tracks it would be perfect! And second, I don't like the censoring much, way too hypocryt! Anyway, it's thight and everybody should have it so BUY IT!

Great Music! The beats are amazing and fit well with the songs. A must hear for true Nas fans. Good music.