NYC’s Tribeca Film Festival will welcome hometown rap icon Nas
when its 2014 edition opens with the world premiere of Time is Illmatic,
a documentary on the Queens-bred rapper and his seminal 1994 album
Illmatic. The multi-platinum-selling MC will also stage a special performance
of the entire album in order following the Tribeca premiere kicking off the fest
on April 16. Pic tracks the making of Illmatic and how Nas evolved from Nasty Nas
to Esco to Escobar and, later, to Nastradamus, examining the musical influences
that shaped Nas as a budding artist growing up in the Queensbridge projects with
a jazz musician father and brother Jabari “Jungle” Fret. Nas’s debut in Illmatic is
still regarded as a benchmark in hip hop history for its lyricism and socially conscious
inner city themes. The album’s 20th anniversary has been a hot property of late, with
Xbox plotting 1990s-set series Street Dreams based on Nas’s origins. Time is Illmatic
is directed by One9 and written by Erik Parker. One9, Parker, and Anthony Saleh are
producers. Pic was made with support from The Ford Foundation’s Just Films and
Tribeca Film Institute’s Tribeca All Access program. Nas Documentary IllmaticIn addition
to coming full circle as a Tribeca-affiliated project, Time is Illmatic has NYC roots in Nas,
One9, and Parker. “Those guys and I come from the same place and era, which gives
the doc an authenticity that is important to me,” said Nas. “We wanted this film to represent
the real, from the storyline all the way down to the directors and producers.” The timing
also coincides with the rlease of Illmatic XX, a 20th anniversary re-release of the landmark
album which Sony will put out on April 15. The full slate of Tribeca titles will be announced
in March.
Source: Deadline
when its 2014 edition opens with the world premiere of Time is Illmatic,
a documentary on the Queens-bred rapper and his seminal 1994 album
Illmatic. The multi-platinum-selling MC will also stage a special performance
of the entire album in order following the Tribeca premiere kicking off the fest
on April 16. Pic tracks the making of Illmatic and how Nas evolved from Nasty Nas
to Esco to Escobar and, later, to Nastradamus, examining the musical influences
that shaped Nas as a budding artist growing up in the Queensbridge projects with
a jazz musician father and brother Jabari “Jungle” Fret. Nas’s debut in Illmatic is
still regarded as a benchmark in hip hop history for its lyricism and socially conscious
inner city themes. The album’s 20th anniversary has been a hot property of late, with
Xbox plotting 1990s-set series Street Dreams based on Nas’s origins. Time is Illmatic
is directed by One9 and written by Erik Parker. One9, Parker, and Anthony Saleh are
producers. Pic was made with support from The Ford Foundation’s Just Films and
Tribeca Film Institute’s Tribeca All Access program. Nas Documentary IllmaticIn addition
to coming full circle as a Tribeca-affiliated project, Time is Illmatic has NYC roots in Nas,
One9, and Parker. “Those guys and I come from the same place and era, which gives
the doc an authenticity that is important to me,” said Nas. “We wanted this film to represent
the real, from the storyline all the way down to the directors and producers.” The timing
also coincides with the rlease of Illmatic XX, a 20th anniversary re-release of the landmark
album which Sony will put out on April 15. The full slate of Tribeca titles will be announced
in March.
Source: Deadline