‘Illmatic’ is one of the totemic albums in American music. An iconic moment in rap history, it marked the emergence of Nas, a wordsmith whose reach seemed to far outstrip his peers. Moving from harsh critiques of the everyday grind through to eloquent depictions of is youthful ambition, it was pieced together with a true Avenger’s Assemble crew of East Coast producers.
Remarkably, it hasn’t aged a day. Taking ‘Illmatic’ back out on the road for its 30th birthday, Nas breathed fresh life into his songwriting, finding fresh resonance from the quite different perspective of a mature adult.
Hitting London’s Royal Albert Hall, Nas aligned to a full orchestra for a unique take on this iconic moment in hip-hop history. Shaking the walls of the historic venue to their foundations, it resulted in one of the year’s finest live performances.
CLASH photographer Ravi Sidhu caught the evening’s best moments.
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