"It Ain't Hard to Tell" is the second single and last track from American rapper

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

' debut album, ''

Illmatic ''Illmatic'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Nas. It was released on April 19, 1994, by Columbia Records. After signing with the label with the help of MC Serch, Nas recorded the album in 1992 and 1993 at Chung King Studios, D&D Re ...

''. Although the track was technically the second single on the album, it was the first single to be released after the album was pressed in 1994. The first single, "

Halftime In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in ...

," was released two years prior to ''Illmatic''s debut. "It Ain't Hard to Tell" was produced by

Large Professor William Paul Mitchell (born March 21, 1972), better known by the stage name of Large Professor (also Extra P. and Large Pro), is an American rapper and record producer. Based in New York City, he is known as a founding member of the underground ...

, and samples

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

's 1983 hit single "

Human Nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

", "N.T." by

Kool & the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. T ...

, "

Long Red "Long Red" is a song recorded by Leslie West for his first solo album ''Mountain'' (1969). He performed it with his band Mountain at Woodstock in 1969, which was later included on '' Live: The Road Goes Ever On'' (1972). The drum break In popu ...

" by

Mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

and "Slow Dance" by

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, film composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jaz ...

. The single reached number 91 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. In 1991, Nas recorded a demo tape for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, featuring the original version of "It Ain't Hard to Tell" named "Nas Will Prevail". This version is roughly 90 seconds longer, includes longer different verses, and has a more subdued, jazzier beat close to the album version. Pitchfork Media's included the song at number 28 on their ''Top 200 Tracks of the 90s''.Pitchfork Top 200 Tracks of the 90s
/ref>

Music video

The music video was directed by

Ralph McDaniels Ralph McDaniels (born February 27, 1959) is an American music video director, DJ and VJ. He co-created and co-hosts the music video program ''Video Music Box'' with Lionel C. Martin. Biography McDaniels was born in Brooklyn, New York. His p ...

. Nas created a homage to ''

Wild Style ''Wild Style'' is a 1983 American hip hop film directed and produced by Charlie Ahearn. Regarded as the first hip hop motion picture, it includes appearances by seminal figures such as Fab Five Freddy, Lee Quiñones, Lady Pink, The Rock Stea ...

'' (

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

), the first hip hop

motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, while shooting the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

, as he shot portions of the clip on the same stage used for the final scene of ''Wild Style''.

Single track listing

Austria Maxi-CD (COL 660470 2)

# "It Ain't Hard to Tell (Main Mix)" (3:25) # "It Ain't Hard to Tell (Remix)" (2:53) # "It Ain't Hard to Tell (Acapella)" (2:27) # "It Ain't Hard to Tell (Main Mix Instrumental)" (3:23)

Austria CD (COL 660302 2)

# "It Ain't Hard to Tell (Album Mix)" # "It Ain't Hard to Tell (Album Mix Instrumental)" # "It Ain't Hard to Tell (Remix)" # "It Ain't Hard to Tell (Remix Instrumental)" # "It Ain't Hard to Tell (A cappella)"

Charts

References

External links

It Ain't Hard to Tell Single
on

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

It Ain't Hard to Tell Lyrics
on

Genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabiliti ...

{{authority control 1994 singles Nas songs Song recordings produced by Large Professor Songs written by Large Professor Songs written by Nas Hardcore hip hop songs 1994 songs Columbia Records singles