The rapper Nas brought a documentary and his lyrical skills to the 13th annual Tribeca Film Festival.
Illmatic is the classic 1994 hip-hop album that was the subject of the first film at the festival. The documentary, Time is Illmatic, is about the Queensbridge Housing Projects, according to The Wrap. Co-founder of the festival, Robert De Niro said that the documentary was “not just about the making of an album, but about the making of an artist here in our hometown."
"I was trying to make you experience my life," Nas says of the album in the film, according to the Associated Press. "It's still me."
Nas performed the entire album after Wednesday’s screening, and even pulled his brother, Jabari, up on stage for one of the songs. Nine tracks of the album were heard at New York's Beacon Theatre. He was accompanied by DJ, Green Lantern. Many looked at it as a 20 year retrospective. Hip-hop performers who were both onscreen and in the audience included Q-Tip, Pete Rock, DJ Premiere, MC Search, Large Professor, Kool Herc, and Eric B.
The Tribeca Film Festival runs through April 27.