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2014 is shaping up to be a big year for Nas. A new documentary, Time Is Illmatic, about the Queensbridge rapper’s debut album will be the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival‘s opening night film. 

The doc traces the creation of Nas’ seminal debut album, Illmatic, which was released 20 years ago. The TFF announced today (February 19) that it would be making the film’s world premiere on Wednesday, April 16.

Following the film’s debut will be a special performance by Nas of the entire Illmatic album, as he plans to do at Coachella, too. Time Is Illmatic was directed by One9, a multimedia artist, and written by well-respected journalist Erik Parker. Both, along with Anthony Saleh, are producers of the film, which came to fruition thanks to The Ford Foundation’s Just Films and Tribeca Film Institute’s Tribeca All Access program..

“I want to thank the Tribeca Film Festival for supporting the film with the incredible platform they’ve built over the years,” said Nas in a press statement. “It’s an honor to premiere this film in my hometown. I also want to thank One9 and Erik Parker for their persistence and hard work. Those guys and I come from the same place and era, which gives the doc an authenticity that is important to me. We wanted this film to represent the real, from the storyline all the way down to the directors and producers.”

Earlier this year, Nas told Hip-Hop Wired that he doesn’t listen to Illmatic.

A special 20th anniversary edition of Illmatic called Illmatic XX will be released on April 15 via SONY Legacy.

Photo: WENN