Ask most hip-hop heads, and they’ll tell you that Nas‘ Illmatic is the greatest rap album of all time. Well, this Saturday is its 20-year anniversary, and sites and publications have been finding different ways to honor the classic LP.
One of the cooler pieces of content we saw is courtesy of VIBE; the publication rolled with Nas’ little brother, Jungle, to the infamous projects that birthed the rapper: Queensbridge Houses in NYC. In the two-part video, Jungle shows off the apartment they grew up in, the bench where their childhood friend Ill Will was shot and killed, and the block that’s featured on the back of Illmatic.
If you’re a fan of hip-hop, this is a dope watch.
You know what else we heard was a dope watch: Time Is Illmatic, a documentary dedicated to the making of the album. Last night at the Beacon Theater, the documentary opened up the 13th Tribeca Film Festival. Of course, Nas was in the building and after the doc aired, the iconic rapper performed a short concert.
The Tribeca Film Festival is Robert De Niro’s baby and the legendary actor introduced the film, even though he’s not the biggest Nas fan in the world: When Variety asked De Niro if he knew any Nas songs, the actor said, “No.”
Then he put his finger to his lips.
