PBS Announces "Illmatic" Concert Special With Nas

Back in 2014, Nas performed his classic 1994 debut album Illmatic live for its 20th anniversary, backed by a the National Symphony Orchestra, at Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center. Now, the unique performance will be aired as part of PBS’ “Great Performances” series. Nas Live From the Kennedy Center: Classical Hip-Hop will premiere on February 2 on PBS,. In the concert special’s trailer, Nas explained his feelings about performing the album in a classical setting:

It’s crazy, you know, I wrote this in the projects in New York City. Here we are in the capital of America, Washington, DC, and, you know, a bunch of white people with strings and all that, playing this album, and they feeling it… I hope that you can look through the dream with me, and see the journey I took to be on a stage, with an orchestra. I knew it was bigger than just what was on the record. And it was like, this is what it’s about.

Watch the film’s trailer, which features a snippet of Nas performing “The World is Yours,” along with several fan-shot videos from the concert, below.

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