We do a series here at AllHipHop.com called Top 5 Dead Or Alive. We ask artist who are their top 5 rappers, ever. After Biggie and Tupac’s gets chosen, a great number of artist pay homage to East Coast rap ,and when they move down their list, Nas shows up in a majority of lists. Nas has become a legend in the genre of Hip-Hop and Illmatic was the album that put him on the road to infamy.
20 years later, Illmatic has done for Nas what the iPhone has done for Apple. On many tastemakers top 10 Hip-Hop albums of all time, the story of Illmatic has never really been told until One9 and Erik Parker created Nas: Time is Illmatic. This film takes you to Nas’ beginnings in Queensbridge. It shows the conditions thath birth one of the greatest emcee to touch a mic. Complete with a star studded cast from Pharrell, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, Alicia Keys, DJ Premier and more, to testify to this modern day poets creative prowess.
We sat down with Erik and One9 to discuss how they tackled a project like Nas: Time is Illmatic and what the album Illmatic meant to them.
Nas: Time is Illmatic will be opening theatrically in NY (Empire 25) and LA (Burbank, CA) October 1, 2014. Available on iTunes on Oct. 3rd. Special one-night-only screenings across the country. Theatrical expansion in DC, Philly, Detroit, Phoenix, and more on Oct. 10th 2014. Nas will also be touring with the film and performing following screenings throughout October.