Nas

Illmatic XX (Sony Legacy)

No rapper has spun the success of a single project quite like Nas has Illmatic, but then no rapper besides him has bottled hip-hop perfection into a cold, calculated 39 minutes. The Demos, Remixes & Live Radio half of Illmatic XX, the 20th-anniversary celebration of the Queensbridge rapper’s seminal debut, deviates the right direction from its 10-year predecessor. Rather than straight remixes, Nas delivers alternate takes, demos, and radio freestyles. There’s a Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito-facilitated run through “Memory Lane,” a truly primitive “N.Y. State of Mind,” and an even more smoothed out take on “The World Is Yours.” The final package lies closer to the adolescent Nasir Jones found on the cover of the iconic disc than the 41-year-old crafting the collection today. That’s good. That’s the kid who lived the lives recounted on Illmatic. (7:15pm, Blue stage)

***.5

This article appears in November 7 • 2014.

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