Twenty years after the release of Nas’s groundbreaking debut album ‘Illmatic,’ NAS: TIME IS ILLMATIC takes us into the heart of his creative process. Returning to his childhood home in Queensbridge, Nas shares stories of his upbringing, his influences — from the music of his jazz musician father Olu Dara to the burgeoning hip-hop scene in New York City — and the obstacles he faced before his major label signing at age 20. Featuring interviews with his ‘Illmatic’ producers (Large Professor, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, L.E.S., and DJ Premier) and musical peers (including Pharrell Williams and Alicia Keys), NAS: TIME IS ILLMATIC is a thrilling account of Nas’s evolution from a young street poet to a visionary MC.
Tag: IllmaticXX
Nas – Represent (Video)
Nas’ debut, “Illmatic,” dropped when I was 10 years old. I wasn’t old enough to REALLY appreciate music yet, so that album flew right over my head and I didn’t really appreciate it until I was in high school. During my high school years, the DJ Premier produced “Represent” was DEFINITELY one of my favorites off the album. 20 years later, it FINALLY has a video.
NAHRIGHT & UPNORTHTRIPS Present: #Illmatic20 Tribute (Mixtape)
NAHRIGHT & UPNORTHTRIPS put together a pretty dope tribute tape for the 20 year anniversary of Illmatic over the weekend. Everything is below.
Twenty years ago today, a 20 year-old kid from the Queensbridge projects released what now stands as one of the most important albums in Hip-Hop history. An instant classic, Illmatic would be studied and celebrated over the next two decades, held aloft as the standard for everything Rap music was and had the potential to be. It’s one of the most flawless bodies of work ever recorded, in any genre, and it is widely recognized as the defining work of an entire era of Rap. The impact of this 10 track masterpiece is almost immeasurable, yet you can still hear it bleeding through in the bars of artists the world over to this very day.
And so we wanted to pay tribute to this remarkable record in a manner befitting a piece of art that has meant so much to all of us and to so many others for so long. We reached out to the new generation of New York MCs and asked them to join us in paying homage to Nas and his magnum opus over the same timeless tracks that underscored his historic bars back in 1994 (plus a few of the remixes). Needless to say, if you were born or raised in the boroughs, Nas’ music has touched you in one way or another, and an amazingly talented array of artists stepped up to honor Esco.
Featuring contributions from Al-Doe, Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire, Troy Ave, Bodega Bamz, YC The Cynic, Denzil Porter, Smoke DZA, Doley Bernays, Timeless Truth, Euro League, Pete from Bitches Is Crazy, The Incomparable Shakespeare and SHIRT, this project is as much a showcase of the homegrown talent that has been reinvigorating the NY Rap scene over the last couple of years as it is a thank you letter to Nasir Jones. And really, what higher praise is there than that which comes from a generation of artists that cite you as a direct influence?
Nas x L.A. Leakers – Skillmatic (Mixtape)
Tomorrow is the 20 year anniversary of possibly the BEST Hip-Hop album (depending who you ask) EVER recorded, Illmatic. With that, we wanted to re-release a tape we did with Nas back in 2008, before we were the “L.A. Leakers,” before we had Twitter or Instagram, and before we had any sense of what a good intro sounded like…. Haha! This was what first gave us the idea to do our audio-biographies that we do. We didn’t fully have the idea down yet, but going back and listening made us want to know stories more in detail and that’s when we did our first REAL audio-biography. Pass this along to all the Nas fans you know, they’ll enjoy it for sure. Congrats to Nas on 20 years! By the way, if you got a hard copy of this, you’re a SUPER O.G.
Download: Nas x L.A. Leakers – Skillmatic