Nas joined BBC Radio 1’s Zane Lowe for an in-depth interview about the making of and the impact of Illmatic, as it nears its 20th anniversary. During the sit-down, Nas discussed the changes in New York City over the last 20 years and how the crack epidemic and poor economic state of the City in the 80’s fueled Illmatic.

Nas also broke down how Large Professor introduced him to Q-Tip and how the two developed the idea behind “One Love”, the pressure he felt while making It Was Written…, and doing “New York State of Mind” with Premier in one take. -Peter Walsh

Check the full interview here:

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