Nas: Time Is Illmatic
A Film by one9 and Erik Parker
Time Is Illmatic is a feature length documentary film that delves deep into the making of Nas’ 1994 debut album, Illmatic, and the social conditions that influenced its creation.
Twenty years after its release, Illmatic has become a hip-hop benchmark that encapsulates the socio-political outlook, enduring spirit, and collective angst of a generation of young black men searching for their voice in America. Time is Illmatic tracks the musical legacy of the Jones family, handed down to Nas from his jazz musician father, Olu Dara. It also examines the social conditions and environmental influences that contributed to Nas’ worldview. Along the way, Time Is Illmatic shows how Nas—with the support of his Queensbridge neighborhood crew, the loyalty of his younger brother Jabari “Jungle” Jones, and sacrifices of his mother, Ann Jones—overcame insurmountable odds to create the greatest work of music from hip-hop’s second golden era.
One9 is an award-winning multimedia artist, director, producer and editor. His clients have included Google, PBS, Viacom, Sony Music, and several non-profit organizations. As an artist, One9 was selected by the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, to create an original series of artwork to present to selected music talent in 2013-2014. Time is Illimatic is One9’S feature length directorial debut. One9 was born in Washington DC and lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Erik Parker has worked as a music journalist for over fifteen years. He served as music editor for The Source and VIBE magazine where he covered hip-hop music culture and politics. He has written for XXL, Rolling Stones, The Village Voice and other print and outline outlets. Parker is a graduate of Kean University and the Columbia School of Journalism with a concentration in political reporting. He is always on the lookout for a good story to tell.
As CEO of Emagen Entertainment Group, Inc., and artist manager with C3 Management, Saleh oversees the career of multi-platinum rap legend, Nas. He booked Nas’ Hip-Hop Is Dead tour in Europe 2007, and was an executive-producer for Nas’ Untitled (2008) and Life is Good (2012) albums- both of which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Saleh is also an influential member and part-time resident of Silicon Valley, where he is an avid angel and seed investor and advisor to many of Americas top technology start-up companies. He currently serves as an advisor to the Fancy, Rap Genius, Trendabl, while his portfolio includes Prism Skylabs, Crowdtilt, DropBox, 500 Startups, DeviantArt, and many more. His uncanny ability to fuse the worlds of fashion, entertainment and business and finance makes him a strong asset in all of his ventures.
