Nasir Jones, better known legendary rap superstar Nas, is set to drop a series of projects to celebrate the 20th anniversary of classic hip-hop album Illmatic this April 14th. Included will be a reissued anniversary edition of the hugely influential record and a bonus disc containing rarities and unreleased remixes.
The special edition will be entitled Illmatic XX and include each of the ten original classics on the album including the likes of 'NY State Of Mind', 'The World Is Yours' and 'One Love', while Nas has already exclusively provided a tracklist to Pitchfork detailing the extra material available on Disc 2:
01 I'm a Villain (previously unreleased)
02 The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show on WKCR October 28, 1993 (previously unreleased freestyle)
03 Halftime (Butcher Remix)
04 It Ain't Hard to Tell (Remix) (promo single)
05 One Love (LG Main Mix)
06 Life's a Bitch (Arsenal Mix) (promo single)
07 One Love (One L Main Mix)
08 The World Is Yours (Tip Mix)
09 It Ain't Hard to Tell (The Stink Mix) (UK single)
10 It Ain't Hard to Tell (The Laidback Remix) (UK single)
In addition to all of this, a documentary entitled Time Is Illmatic (www.timeisillmatic.com) will be released this year, which the website states will track 'the musical legacy of the Jones family, handed down to Nas' while also examining 'the social conditions and environmental influences that contributed to Nas’ worldview.'
For many, Illmatic is the ultimate hip-hop/rap recording of the 1990's if not all time, having been named the greatest album of the genre in numerous publications and best-of lists since its release in 1994. Last year Nas was crowned the greatest rapper of all time by NME, while he is cited as perhaps the most predominant influence on modern rap today by many artists, most notably Kendrick Lamar, who was subject to comparisons with the rapper following the release of good kid, m.A.A.d city in 2012.
Nas will be touring the US throughout 2014, including two major festival dates at Coachella.
Words by Andrew Lambert