Nas' Illmatic will forever mark a shift in not only hip hop music but the culture in its entirety. Nearly a quarter of a century after its release and it still stands as one of the best, if not the best hip hop album of all time. In 2014, the rapper celebrated its 20th anniversary with a full tour, documentary and an additional 10 songs added to the re-release. Today, Mass Appeal unveils the trailer for their upcoming Nas' documentary where he'll also be performing his timeless album from start to finish alongside the National Symphony Orchestra.
"Nas Live From The Kennedy Center - Classical Hip Hop" documentary is on the way. The upcoming documentary will provide a detailed account of Nas' come up while featuring footage and photos of his formative years. Along with that, the rapper will be performing Illmatic along with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
"I wrote this in the projects in New York City," Nas says in the trailer, "Here we are in the capital of America, Washington, DC, and playing this album, and they feeling it."
The documentary is set to feature Nas recreating songs like “N.Y. State of Mind,” “The World is Yours,” “Memory Lane (Sittin’ In Da Park)” and “It Ain’t Hard to Tell” alongside the symphony.
The documentary is directed by Jason Goldwatch and executive produced by Nas, Anthony Saleh and Peter Bittenbender. The documentary will premiere on PBS on February 2nd at 9 p.m. and will be available for streaming on PBS' website the next day.
Check out the trailer below.