Nas To Perform "Illmatic" With National Symphony Orchestra In New Documentary

Nas' "Illmatic" will be performed in it's entirety alongside the National Symphony Orchestra.

BYAron A.Jan 12, 20182.2K Views

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.

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Aron A.

Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.