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There are very few records that can sum up a whole era, define a genre, or make an artist into an icon from the moment they are released. Illmatic is one such album, a miracle and a curse which would define Nas's career. Among the many re-releases to mark its 20th birthday in 2014, Nasir Jones offered a symphonic version of his classic. First released as a documentary with PBS, this single performance is now available on CD, vinyl and streaming, to mark Record Day 2018. Recorded at the Kennedy Center, a few blocks from the White House, this eagerly-awaited concert offers an epic, grandiloquent vision of productions from DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Q-Tip or Large Pro. The National Symphony Orchestra interprets each and every sample, every drumbeat, to bring fresh life and a unique resonance to the work. The new arrangements add a cinematic quality to Nas's vivacious writing, full of colourful characters and stories within stories. The Queensbridge rapper's performance is precise on every single line, in spite of the storm of strings and wind that blows around him. Special mention must go to the baroque opera "NY State of Mind", but also to the soaring vibraphone on "One Love", and the triumphant brass on the Jacksonian finale "It Ain't Hard to Tell". A successful celebration. © Aurélien Chapuis/ Qobuz
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National Symphony Orchestra, FeaturedArtist - Nas, Composer, MainArtist
(C) 2018 Mass Appeal Records / John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (P) 2018 Mass Appeal Records
National Symphony Orchestra, FeaturedArtist - Nas, Composer, MainArtist
(C) 2018 Mass Appeal Records / John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (P) 2018 Mass Appeal Records
National Symphony Orchestra, FeaturedArtist - Nas, Composer, MainArtist
(C) 2018 Mass Appeal Records / John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (P) 2018 Mass Appeal Records
National Symphony Orchestra, FeaturedArtist - Nas, Composer, MainArtist
(C) 2018 Mass Appeal Records / John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (P) 2018 Mass Appeal Records
National Symphony Orchestra, FeaturedArtist - Nas, Composer, MainArtist
(C) 2018 Mass Appeal Records / John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (P) 2018 Mass Appeal Records
National Symphony Orchestra, FeaturedArtist - Nas, Composer, MainArtist
(C) 2018 Mass Appeal Records / John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (P) 2018 Mass Appeal Records
National Symphony Orchestra, FeaturedArtist - Nas, Composer, MainArtist
(C) 2018 Mass Appeal Records / John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (P) 2018 Mass Appeal Records
National Symphony Orchestra, FeaturedArtist - Nas, Composer, MainArtist
(C) 2018 Mass Appeal Records / John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (P) 2018 Mass Appeal Records
National Symphony Orchestra, FeaturedArtist - Nas, Composer, MainArtist
(C) 2018 Mass Appeal Records / John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (P) 2018 Mass Appeal Records
National Symphony Orchestra, FeaturedArtist - Nas, Composer, MainArtist
(C) 2018 Mass Appeal Records / John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (P) 2018 Mass Appeal Records
Album review
There are very few records that can sum up a whole era, define a genre, or make an artist into an icon from the moment they are released. Illmatic is one such album, a miracle and a curse which would define Nas's career. Among the many re-releases to mark its 20th birthday in 2014, Nasir Jones offered a symphonic version of his classic. First released as a documentary with PBS, this single performance is now available on CD, vinyl and streaming, to mark Record Day 2018. Recorded at the Kennedy Center, a few blocks from the White House, this eagerly-awaited concert offers an epic, grandiloquent vision of productions from DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Q-Tip or Large Pro. The National Symphony Orchestra interprets each and every sample, every drumbeat, to bring fresh life and a unique resonance to the work. The new arrangements add a cinematic quality to Nas's vivacious writing, full of colourful characters and stories within stories. The Queensbridge rapper's performance is precise on every single line, in spite of the storm of strings and wind that blows around him. Special mention must go to the baroque opera "NY State of Mind", but also to the soaring vibraphone on "One Love", and the triumphant brass on the Jacksonian finale "It Ain't Hard to Tell". A successful celebration. © Aurélien Chapuis/ Qobuz
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 10 track(s)
- Total length: 00:47:40
- Main artists: Nas
- Composer: Nas
- Label: Mass Appeal Records
- Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
(C) 2018 Mass Appeal Records / John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (P) 2018 Mass Appeal Records
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