Nas changed the New York hip hop landscape when Illmatic hit the streets in 1994. Three decades later, Escobar wants to party like the '90s while celebrating his iconic debut album.
With Illmatic turning 30 on Friday (April 19), Nas is teasing something on the horizon in honor of the landmark LP.
The Queensbridge legend hinted at an upcoming collaboration with DJ Premier, who produced records such as 'NY State of Mind' among others on Illmatic in addition to project sequenceposting a grainy photo of the dynamic duo together from the 90s when they were trying to make their mark on the game and another that appears to be from much more recently.
Giddy fans speculated that a Preemo and Nas project could be in the works for his 30th anniversary Illmatic just days away.
“Then vs Now. What is it,” Nas teased while producers Hit-Boy and The Alchemist gave their stamp of approval in the comments section.
“I'll be vindicated after all these years,” wrote journalist Gerry Barrow, apparently referring to the much-discussed album between the “Represent” collaborators.
One fan said: “Don't play with my feelings like that!”
The “One Love” rapper took a trip down memory lane earlier this week when he posted a series of photos from around the time Illmatic arrived and went on to thank the likes of Preemo who played a part in the acclaimed debut.
“Grainy images for grainy times. I had a dream that I could get my favorite producers to produce my debut album. I knew exactly what I wanted and how it should be. But I didn't know anyone except Paul, so I asked him if he would put me in touch with everyone. The cool soulmate that he is helped me line it up. On April 19, we broke the shit,” he recalled.
“Even if the album was leaked months before the release date, we're still out of music history. Thanks to Large Professor (Paul) and Dj Premier for driving to the works 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 thanks to everyone who participated. Friday is album 30. 2 The Listeners- ONE LOVE.”
DJ Premier thought to be in all the Illmatic sessions from start to finish. “It's a fun journey every session to see it come together and meet all your friends from QB.”
In 2022, Nas sparked speculation that the long-awaited Preemo-Escobar joint album could still be in the works. Nas touched on the legendary work on King's Disease 3 track “30.” “The first album might still happen,” he raps.
Premier made three records Illmatic (“NY State of Mind”, “Memory Lane (Sittin' in da Park)” and “Represent”). The duo went on to collaborate on tracks like “Nas Is Like” and “NY State of Mind Pt. II” as well as 2022's “Beat Breaks.”
Illmatic arrived on April 19, 1994 and debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 with 63,000 albums sold in its first week.
Find Nas posts around Illmatic below.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/nas-dj-premier-collab-illmatic-30th-anniversary-1235659358/
