DJ Khaled surprised by rare photo of Nas ‘Illmatic’: ‘This is a classic’
DJ Khaled appears to be obsessed with a rare Nas shot from his Illmatic days.
On Wednesday (May 24), the We The Best mogul posted a black-and-white snapshot of a young Nas looking back at the camera at a crossroads in his Queensbridge housing projects.
“The photographer that took this picture for Nas’ Illmatic in ’93, signed this picture for me and gave me this,” Khaled added in the video. This is classic. It’s Hip Hop. This is classic.”
See the footage below:
Famous photographer Danny Clinch took the photo for Nas’ debut album package. He discussed the classic photoshoot in a 2014 Billboard interview.
“I captured him looking back at me guiding me,” Clinch added. He took me for a tour around his neighborhood, and I took photographs of him from behind. The two automobiles outside seem similar, which is ridiculous. They face the same way because it was a one-way street.”
He said Nas was a poet. Wise beyond his years. Hip Hop was about representing your roots and telling your story. Indeed, he did. That made ‘Illmatic’ special.”
Nas’s Illmatic, one of the greatest rap albums of all time, was added to the Library of Congress in 2021 by librarian Carla Hayden as a “audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.”
“The National Recording Registry will preserve our history through these vibrant recordings of music and voices that have reflected our humanity and shaped our culture from the past 143 years,” Hayden added. “We received nearly 900 public nominations for recordings to add to the registry this year, and we welcome public involvement as the Library of Congress and its partners preserve the unique sounds of history and culture.”
Illmatic debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 chart on April 19, 1994, selling over 63,000 copies in its first week. The RIAA certified the album 2x-platinum in February 2019, after selling a million copies by December 2001.
DJ Khaled and Nas have collaborated many times, most recently on “Sorry Not Sorry” with JAY-Z off Khaled Khaled’s 2021 project.
