Nas is celebrating 30 years since his classic album Illmatic was released, and he’s offering multiple ways for fans to celebrate with him.
April 19 marks the LP’s official anniversary, and the Queensbridge legend commemorated it with the announcement of both new merch and a new tour. Unfortunately for fans hoping to participate in the latter, it’s only hitting Europe for now.
The merch collection includes tee-shirts, crewnecks, hoodies, sweats and a leather jacket, as well as an air freshener, a button pack and a postcard set – all individually painted and hand drawn by artists Andrew Agutos, Esteban Whiteside, Rushad Kolah and Samborghini. They can all be purchased here.
As for the Illmatic 30 year anniversary tour, the trek kicks off in Finland in October and will include a total of 15 stops that concludes in London in November. Tickets go on sale Thursday (April 25) at 10 a.m. local time.
Earlier this week, Nas celebrated Illmatic‘s major milestone by paying tribute to all who helped him along the way.
Taking to Instagram on Tuesday (April 16), Nas noted that the well-worn nature of his throwback photos was a sign of the times.
“Grainy pictures for grainy times. I had a dream I could get my favorite producers to produce on my debut album,” he wrote in the caption. “I knew exactly what I wanted and how it should be. But I didn’t know anyone except for Paul, so I asked him would he connect me to them all.
“The cool soul brother that he is helped me line it up. On April 19th we smashed shit. Even tho the album leaked months before the release date we still are apart of music history. Thank you Large Professor (Paul) and Dj Premier who drove into the projects to pick me up a time or two.”
He continued: “Qtip , Pete Rock , and my man from The Bridge DJ LES, and my guy AZ who was just coming up himself. And thank you to everyone involved. Friday is the albums 30th. 2 The Listeners- ONE LOVE”
Last week, Nasty Nas returned to the place where it all began to prepare for the 30th anniversary of the groundbreaking album.
On April 7, the rap legend posted a picture on Instagram of himself on a bench outside the housing projects along with the caption: “Humble origins. 30 yrs. Grateful.”
The photo appears to be taken in the same location as the images seen in the Illmatic booklet.
Nas’ trip down memory lane was well received by some of his rap peers, with DJ Premier — who contributed to the classic album — commenting: “QB’s Finest!”
Busta Rhymes, Ghostface Killah, De La Soul‘s Posdnuos and Esco’s current production partner Hit-Boy also left celebratory emojis.
