Chicagoans Have Two Chances To See Nas's 'Time Is Illmatic' Next Month

By Katie Karpowicz in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 25, 2014 7:15PM

Photo of Nas by Katie Karpowicz

The mid-'90s were a golden era for East Coast hip hop but few debut albums from that period (or since) have been critically studied and referenced as regularly as Nas's Illmatic. Straight out the dungeons of rap, those ten track were a gritty approach to chronicling a young man's journey through the Queensbridge projects. Now an elder statesman in rap music and far removed from his humble beginnings, Nas celebrates the album's 20th anniversary in 2014 with plenty of chances for fans to get in on the action.

Earlier this year, the New York MC brought Illmatic to life on stage at Lollapalooza, ripping through the songs with the same aggression and passion as the 19-year-old version of himself that originally penned the lyrics. Now Chicagoans have the opportunity to go beyond Illmatic's finished product. For one night only on Oct. 2, Nas's Time Is Illmatic documentary (produced by Tribeca Film) is coming to theaters across the country. The film, which follows Nas on a journey back to his childhood neighborhood to recount the making of Illmatic, will be screened at Lakeview's Music Box Theatre at 7:30 p.m. with tickets on sale for $10. (Suburbanites can also catch the flick at AMC Loews Crestwood 18.)

Time Is Illmatic also features interviews with all of the LP's producers—Large Professor, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, L.E.S. and DJ Premier—as well as conversations with some of Nas's more contemporary peers like Pharrell and Alicia Keys.

If you missed Nas's Lollapalooza set this summer, can't make the Oct. 2 screening, but are willing to journey to Hammond next month, you'll get the best of both worlds. Not content to let Illmatic's commemoration die out just yet, Nas is rounding out the year with a "Time Is Illmatic Tour" which will combine a screening of the film followed by a live performance of the album on each stop. The tour hits The Venue at the Horseshoe Casino on Oct. 11. Tickets start at $24.

In this day and age, when Macklemore is earning nearly five times as much as classic MCs like Nas and Chicago's Common—no matter where, when or how—we're happy to have any chance to celebrate hip hop's true roots.