Nas is commemorating the 30th anniversary of Illmatic with a duo of behind-the-scenes photos.
The artist took to Instagram to unveil two images from that era, sharing a lengthy caption that sees him honoring the seminal record. “Grainy pictures for grainy times. I had a dream I could get my favorite producers to produce on my debut album. I knew exactly what I wanted and how it should be. But I didn’t know anyone except for Paul, so I asked him would he connect me to them all. The cool soul brother that he is helped me line it up. On April 19th we smashed shit,” he wrote.
“Even tho the album leaked months before the release date we still are apart of music history,” Nas continued. ” Thank you Large Professor (Paul) and Dj Premier who drove into the projects to pick me up a time or two. Qtip , Pete Rock , and my man from The Bridge DJ LES, and my guy AZ who was just coming up himself.”
“And thank you to everyone involved,” he concluded, “Friday is the albums 30th. 2 The Listeners- ONE LOVE.”
Illmatic marked Nas’ debut studio album and is often credited as one of the records that resurrected New York City’s rap scene. Despite its initial mediocre commercial performance, it was widely lauded by critics and is now recognized as one of the best hip-hop albums of all time. 20-year-old Nas was praised for both his lyrical and technical ability as he deconstructed the perspective of growing up as inner city kid.
