Watch Trailer of Nas Performing ‘Illmatic’ With National Symphony Orchestra
“I wrote this in the projects in New York City.”
Nas linked up with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC to perform a symphonic rendition of his debut album Illmatic, which dropped in 1994. The Queensbridge rapper and the NSO perform some of his most popular songs including “N.Y. State of Mind,” “The World is Yours,” “Memory Lane (Sittin’ In Da Park)” and “It Ain’t Hard to Tell.”
“It’s crazy, you know, 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, you know, a bunch of white people with strings and all that, playing this album, and they feeling it.”
The new concert film, Great Performances — Nas Live From the Kennedy Center: Classical Hip-Hop, is directed by Jason Goldwatch and executive produced by Nas, Anthony Saleh and Peter Bittenbender. Produced by Mass Appeal, the film premieres nationwide on Friday, February 2 at 9PM EST on PBS.
Watch the trailer above.