“This is an old ass theater, but thing again, Hip-Hop was created on some old ass equipment,” Nas joked to an uproarious L.A. audience. The air was thick with excitement following the L.A. Time Is Illmatic tour stop presented by Hennessy V.S, yet there were some literal technical difficulties to be dealt with.
The Orpheum Theatre–one of L.A.’s most sturdy landmarks–simply didn’t have the proper sound system to keep up with DJ Green Lantern’s indefinite playlist of Illmatic tracks. After getting through “N.Y. State of Mind’s” West Coast remix, Nas began to notice a lull in crowd participation and knew the jig was in full effect. Being the ever-resourceful, living legend MC that he is, he broke his classic album’s stride and jilted the venue’s speakers with some of other hits, including “Hate Me Now”, “Made You Look” and even little brother Jungle’s sexual concoction, “Oochie Wally.”
See, the live Nas performance was simply the fondant on the cake for a crowd who had just witnessed directors Erik Parker and One9’s 10-year-old newborn baby, Time Is Illmatic. The documentary is like a storied album in itself; moving past a lot of the bludgeoned topics regarding Nas’ debut as it gradually morphs into a lifestyle piece about coming up those infamous Queensbridge housing projects. The same projects that claimed to the life of Nas’ childhood friend, which in turn, propelled the then 19-year-old to become the music icon you see this very day.
Scroll through the pages below to see the highlights of the evening provided by Hennessy V.S and the after party that followed. Even if you weren’t in the building, Time Is Illmatic is currently available on iTunes for purchase.
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Photos: Noel Vasquez/Hennessy
