“Back in 2014, Nas performed his classic 1994 debut album Illmatic live for its 20th anniversary, backed by the National Symphony Orchestra, at Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center,” writes Jeremy Nifras in Friday’s (1/12) Brooklyn Vegan (Brooklyn, N.Y.). “Now, the unique performance will be aired as part of PBS’ ‘Great Performances’ series. Nas Live From the Kennedy Center: Classical Hip-Hop will premiere on February 2 on PBS. In the concert special’s trailer, Nas explained his feelings about performing the album in a classical setting: ‘It’s crazy, you know, I wrote this in the projects in New York City. Here we are in the capital of America, Washington, DC … I hope that you can look through the dream with me, and see the journey I took to be on a stage, with an orchestra. I knew it was bigger than just what was on the record. And it was like, this is what it’s about.’ … The film’s trailer … features a snippet of Nas performing ‘The World is Yours,’ along with several fan-shot videos from the concert.”
Posted January 17, 2018
