N.Y. State of Mind is a song by American hip hop recording artist Nas, taken from his debut studio album Illmatic (1994). The song's production was handled by DJ Premier who sampled two jazz songs: "Mind Rain" by Joe Chambers and "Flight Time" by Donald Byrd. Premier additionally scratches vocals from Eric B. & Rakim's "Mahogany" for the song's chorus. Nas raps two verses on the song in which he talks about his rapping talent and describes the dangerous environment that is the city of New York.