For many rap music is a way of life. A generation has grown
to accept it as a form of music that many at first refused to. While much of
rap can be passed over due to a sameness in quality and lyrical content, the
same can be said of much of pop music as well. Then there are the breakout
stars, those who have something different or who in the past presented
something different. Such was the case with Nas and his release of “Illmatic”,
the breakout album released in 1994 by the artist.
I will say up front that I was unfamiliar with Nas with the
exception of hearing a few things here and there. Then again my experience with
rap music has been limited as well. It’s ranged from feeling that in using
samples it wasn’t the creative experience that many claim it to be to it being
an artistic outlet for many who don’t have the means to make music otherwise.
In the end I’ve come to see that there is more to it creatively than many give
it credit for. And while some of the lyrical content has been copied time and again,
when you go back to those who elevated the art form and discover where they
came from those lyrics take on a whole new meaning. Such is the case here.
Rather than do little more than celebrate an anniversary for
Nas’ release, the film takes a look back at what formed him as a performer,
creator and man. Going back to the beginning with his family you learn that his
father was a musician who did his best to support and take care of his family.
But as with most things fell apart and Nas’ parents divorced. At the time they
were living in Queensbridge, New York, not the most savory of neighborhoods. It
was on these streets where his life could have gone so many different ways,
most of them not good.
As a young man he was exposed to the dangers of the streets,
the gangs and drugs easily available. In school he found himself bored and
unchallenged in a system that held little hope for most going there. At the
same time he found the creative outlet of rap music, starting with a hero
worship of sorts of the rappers from the neighborhood who were making it big.
They were not only being noticed but their locale was as well, with artists
like Roxanne Shante, MC Shan and Marley Marl being discovered. But this led to
competition between not just rap artists but neighborhoods as well. That street
fight mentality was taken to a new level between rap artists, not so much
violently but as in dissing each other’s success. It only inspired them to rise
to the challenge.
From this outpouring of ideas and music came Nas, a young
man with something to prove, with enough interest in what was happening to take
up the challenge to become the next big artist. His first foray into the
business in recorded form became “Illmatic”, a recording that took the life he
knew about and turned it into something for mass consumption. The songs on the
recording discussed the things he knew including gang warfare, urban
neighborhoods and the hopelessness many felt. But it also offered hope, talking
of finding a way out.
While much of this describes the earlier parts of the film
it also follows Nas now and his looking back on this achievement. He goes back
to the neighborhood where the life he led continues on in a new generation.
While he has elevated himself from these streets they look much today like they
did when he lived there. He looks back and the good, the bad and the ugly side
of life in the Queensbridge projects he grew up in. He recalls the best friend
killed on those streets, a life that could very well have been his own. He pays
respect to these same locations for forming him into the man he is today.
What could have been nothing more than a celebration of an
artist’s first groundbreaking record ends up being more of an in depth look at
the man behind it all and what made him who he was, who he is. The production
quality is top notch and holds your interest from start to finish. For those
who are not fans of rap music, it opens a door to understand what it means to a
different generation as well as the work that is involved in bringing it to
fruition. Most importantly it shows the positive effects that the music and
creative outlet can provide to someone with little hope and chance of success.
Nas has achieved all of those things, from escaping a life threatening location
to becoming a high powered player in the rap music business. This movie gives
the viewer a glimpse behind the scenes and offers hope that more can find the
success that he did.
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