Pollstar (07/29/24) King, Ariel
Hip-hop legend Nas is celebrating the 30th anniversary of his classic "Illmatic" dropping, an album that the Library of Congress recently selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry. He recently embarked on a 28-date symphony tour, which is presently touring across 11 countries. This isn’t his first time orchestrating "Illmatic." Of last year's similar tour, he recalls, "I remember feeling like I was the star of a theater show, and it was like hip-hop 'Phantom of the Opera' meets Sinatra meets Michael Jackson, with a splash of Stephen King with the storytelling elements." For his current tour with the symphony, the question was posed: "How did you decide on playing these cities?" His reply: "I tried to play places that I didn’t get to the year before. I try to go to cities that I love; I try to go to places that love hip-hop because I appreciate them."
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