In 1994, New York rapper Nas released his critically acclaimed debut album Illmatic, a prophetic tale of street stories boasting a relentlessly gifted lyricism that would cement the record as one of the greatest debuts in hip-hop history. The son of Mississippi blues musician Ola Daru, Nas was a teenage high-school dropout when he was discovered by Columbia Records A&R rep Faith Newman, who spent over a year and a half tracking down the prodigious vocalist after hearing a guest verse on park party anthem, “Live at the Barbecue” by Main Source: "Verbal assassin, my architect pleases," went the stand-out one two punch. "When I was 12, I went to hell for snuffing Jesus"

Ten years in the making, Nas: Time is Illmatic is the feature-length documentary as seen in our teaser by director One9 and music journalist Erik Parker celebrating the rap classic’s 20th anniversary. Featuring the elusive, multimillion-selling artist’s early days on the Queensbridge Housing Projects, New York with his brother Jungle, the film captures a moment in time when the rapper took his Queens-bred hip-hop to the top of the Billboard charts, while still in his adolescence.

Terence Teh is Editor of NOWNESS.

Nas: Time is Illmatic is out on DVD December 15. Illmatic is out now on Columbia.