How do you define an artist’s cultural significance? Is it through the lasting quality of one’s work? Is it by preserving the art in time through a documentary? Or perhaps it’s through actions? On Sunday at the , defined his own lasting influence on culture through all three. The unique night included a showing of his documentary film, “Time is Illmatic,” and a performance from the famed Queensbridge MC. But the most telling aspect of the show was the sold out crowd, who packed the house based on material released 20 years ago.
Concertgoers were ushered into their seats while images scrolled across the huge screen. The lights went down and just like a concert, the crowd went wild, except instead of Nas himself onstage, the film version of Nas appeared on screen being escorted to a blacked out town car while he explains with wonder, how an 8th grade dropout could achieve such fame.
A true question indeed, as the MC’s humble beginnings as a trumpet player patterned after his famous father Olu Dara were described in great detail. We get the story behind “Live at the Bar-B-Que,” the appearance with Main Source that would launch Esco’s career, the connection with MC Serch and the killing of Nas’ best friend Ill Will.
The nuts and bolts explanation comes from those who produced certain tracks. Q-Tip is positively brilliant in his explanation of the impact “One Love” has in relation to black American imprisonment, while Pete Rock is modest in the making of “The World is Yours.”
After a succinct exploration of the tracks that defined a generation of hip-hop, the documentary ended and Nas’ DJ warmed up the audience for the concert.
And finally, the legendary rapper exploded on stage in the flesh.
Keeping it simple, Nas wore army green jeans and a blue t-shirt with “Illmatic” emblazoned in yellow font that matches the album cover. Having spent 75 minutes hearing the music in the documentary, Nas says what we are all thinking when he opened up with “The Genesis.” Having just learned the context of Nas’ music, hearing and watching the MC perform live was moving — like experiencing it for the first time.
“The World is Yours” went off as a crowd favorite while “One Love” made everyone feel close and united while screaming the hook. Denver poet Bobby LeFebre was the lucky fan who got his album signed, a salute and a promise that if he held onto it for another 20 years LeFebre is welcome to hang out with Nas.
Clearly enjoying himself in the theater atmosphere, Nas was comfortable on stage. The break with scenes from Belly and the a capella version of Soul II Soul’s “However Do You Want Me” before he launched back into “Memories” seemed a bit anachronistic since it was an “Illmatic” show but it worked overall.
Both the performance and film of “Time is Illmatic” are about the evolution, not the reinvention of Nasir Jones. He still has the face of a young 20-year-old with nothing to lose and the stamina of a great and wise performer. We’ve heard the songs countless times (if you’re lucky, you’ve seen him perform as many times), but this segment of artistry turns Nas into even more than a griot.
As a bonus, he played tracks like, “Made You Look” and “One Mic” to deafening screams from the crowd. For “One Mic,” he brought out his brother Jungle and revealed it was Jungle who wrote the first line, inspiring Nas to write the verses that make the song classic.
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Ru Johnson is an arts and culture music writer living in Denver. You can follow her on
Nick Lyon is a Denver photographer and new contributor to Reverb.
