The Architects Of “Illmatic”: DJ Premier, Large Professor & Jungle [Video]

Catch up with Mass Appeal’s ‘The Architects of Illmatic’ series.

“Not the one that’s on the album. The one on the album is a remix.” During the making of Illmatic, DJ Premier made one version of “Represent,” then he heard what L.E.S. and Q-Tip did on “Life’s a B*tch” and “One Love” respectively. It sent him right back into the lab.
“We’re rocking off the same energy, and it stood the test of time.” Large Professor reflects on God’s Son’s transformation from rugged youth to internationally renowned writer… and how the two aren’t mutually exclusive.
Nas lost a backpack full of Illmatic rhymes in the midst of the recording process on the way to DJ Premier’s studio. His biological brother and collaborator, Jungle, remembers the bizarre sequence of events that followed—and much more—with Hennessy as part of our celebration of #IllmaticXXV.
Faith Newman signed Nas to Columbia Records in the fall of 1991, but even she couldn’t predict the heights he’d be taken to after the release of Illmatic. Heights that “probably none of us could imagine.”

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