The sixth and final season of “Snowfall” will return Feb. 22 at 10 p.m. Et on FX, and stream the next day on Hulu, the network announced. The premiere will include the first two episodes of the 10-episode final season.
The final season kicks off during October 1986, as a brewing civil war threatens to end the Saint family. After being wiped out by former CIA officer Teddy McDonald (Carter Hudson), Franklin (Damson Idris) becomes desperate and is forced to rob his own blood to get ahead. Now faced with losing everyone he loves and everything he built, Franklin has to out-maneuver the Kgb, the DEA and the CIA, along with the LAPD’s corrupt Crash units, to survive.
The drama series was created by John Singleton & Eric Amadio and Dave Andron, and is executive produced by Singleton, Andron, Thomas Schlamme, Amadio, Michael London, Trevor Engelson, Walter Mosley, Julie DeJoie and John Labrucherie.
The final season kicks off during October 1986, as a brewing civil war threatens to end the Saint family. After being wiped out by former CIA officer Teddy McDonald (Carter Hudson), Franklin (Damson Idris) becomes desperate and is forced to rob his own blood to get ahead. Now faced with losing everyone he loves and everything he built, Franklin has to out-maneuver the Kgb, the DEA and the CIA, along with the LAPD’s corrupt Crash units, to survive.
The drama series was created by John Singleton & Eric Amadio and Dave Andron, and is executive produced by Singleton, Andron, Thomas Schlamme, Amadio, Michael London, Trevor Engelson, Walter Mosley, Julie DeJoie and John Labrucherie.
- 12/21/2022
- by EJ Panaligan
- Variety Film + TV
As a Black man in America with admittedly preconceived notions about the seemingly insular world of NASCAR, I’ve had little interest in watching any of its annual competitions or even learning about the sport. However, when Netflix debuted the trailer for its docuseries “Race: Bubba Wallace,” it had my attention. The draw was its title character — a Black man thriving in, and disrupting the lily-white world of professional American auto racing, with its staunch Southern traditions, and all that the term historically implies. So if there’s any justification for “Race’s” existence, it’s that it has the potential to draw curious African American non-fans (and possibly others), who may then become new fans of a sport that has historically shut them out.
“I think for all accounts, it was a win in that regard,” director Erik Parker, also an African American, told IndieWire during a recent interview.
“I think for all accounts, it was a win in that regard,” director Erik Parker, also an African American, told IndieWire during a recent interview.
- 2/22/2022
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
Following the massive success of “Formula 1: Drive to Survive,” Netflix is turning its attention to American auto racing. The streamer has released a new trailer for “Race: Bubba Wallace,” a new documentary about NASCAR’s only full-time Black race car driver. The six-episode series premieres February 22.
Bubba Wallace recently gained notoriety for speaking out about racial injustices in the famously right-wing sport, and his activism is credited with pushing NASCAR towards banning Confederate flags at its events. In 2021, Wallace became the first driver to sign with Michael Jordan’s 23X1 Racing team, which the basketball legend founded to help promote the success of Black NASCAR drivers.
The official summary from Netflix says that “over the course of six-episodes Wallace reckons with who he is on and off the track, finding himself as both a driver and an activist. He confronts his mental health issues and permanently alters the notoriously...
Bubba Wallace recently gained notoriety for speaking out about racial injustices in the famously right-wing sport, and his activism is credited with pushing NASCAR towards banning Confederate flags at its events. In 2021, Wallace became the first driver to sign with Michael Jordan’s 23X1 Racing team, which the basketball legend founded to help promote the success of Black NASCAR drivers.
The official summary from Netflix says that “over the course of six-episodes Wallace reckons with who he is on and off the track, finding himself as both a driver and an activist. He confronts his mental health issues and permanently alters the notoriously...
- 1/27/2022
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Marijuana laws have disproportionately impacted African-Americans going back decades. Last year the ACLU issued a report that found, “on average, a Black person is 3.64 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than a white person, even though Black and white people use marijuana at similar rates.”
The report added, “[S]uch racial disparities in marijuana possession arrests exist across the country, in every state, in counties large and small, urban and rural, wealthy and poor, and with large and small Black populations.”
Unequal enforcement of pot laws and other issues are explored in the timely BET documentary Smoke: Marijuana + Black America, directed by Erik Parker.
“That was one of the key things that stands out as far as the treatment and the disparities is how much we are over-policed, over-sentenced for marijuana usage,” Parker said during Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted awards-season panel. “It was very important that...
The report added, “[S]uch racial disparities in marijuana possession arrests exist across the country, in every state, in counties large and small, urban and rural, wealthy and poor, and with large and small Black populations.”
Unequal enforcement of pot laws and other issues are explored in the timely BET documentary Smoke: Marijuana + Black America, directed by Erik Parker.
“That was one of the key things that stands out as far as the treatment and the disparities is how much we are over-policed, over-sentenced for marijuana usage,” Parker said during Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted awards-season panel. “It was very important that...
- 5/1/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s a couple more months until summer officially starts, but Saturday is shining bright with the new season of Deadline’s Contenders Television franchise. Padma Lakshmi, Demi Lovato, Stephen Colbert, Jameela Jamil, Amy Schumer and the Queer Eye guys are among the panelists in the lineup as we launch our newest TV award-season event.
Deadline’s first-ever Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted starts at 8 a.m. Pt with a full day spotlighting the most vital shows and top talent in the genres, packed with virtual presentations from almost 40 shows from 19 outlets.
To watch the livestream of today’s event, click here.
Starting with Starz’s rollicking Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip With Sam and Graham, today’s lineup features Hulu’s Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi, YouTube Originals’ Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil and Netflix’s Queer Eye, as well as Fox’s The Masked Singer and FX...
Deadline’s first-ever Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted starts at 8 a.m. Pt with a full day spotlighting the most vital shows and top talent in the genres, packed with virtual presentations from almost 40 shows from 19 outlets.
To watch the livestream of today’s event, click here.
Starting with Starz’s rollicking Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip With Sam and Graham, today’s lineup features Hulu’s Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi, YouTube Originals’ Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil and Netflix’s Queer Eye, as well as Fox’s The Masked Singer and FX...
- 5/1/2021
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
Bubba Wallace Documentary Series Ordered For Netflix — Netflix has ordered a documentary series about NASCAR Cup Series driver Darrell “Bubba” Wallace. The series is currently in production and will follow Wallace behind the scenes of the 2021 NASCAR season as he competes for the newly formed 23Xi Racing team, which was created by Wallace, Michael Jordan, and [...]
Continue reading: Erik Parker’s Bubba Wallace NASCAR Documentary TV Series is currently in Production at Netflix...
Continue reading: Erik Parker’s Bubba Wallace NASCAR Documentary TV Series is currently in Production at Netflix...
- 4/23/2021
- by Ean Marshall
- Film-Book
Netflix has ordered a documentary series about NASCAR Cup Series driver Darrell “Bubba” Wallace.
The series is currently in production and will follow Wallace behind the scenes of the 2021 NASCAR season as he competes for the newly formed 23Xi Racing team, which was created by Wallace, Michael Jordan, and Denny Hamlin. Wallace is currently the only Black driver at the top level of the sport. The show will explore Wallace, 23Xi Racing, and NASCAR’s efforts to advocate for inclusion and equality in racing and beyond.
Erik Parker, who is known for “LA Burning: The Riots 25 Years Later,” will direct and executive produce the series. Kevin Liles, Nolan Baynes, and Kelly G. Griffin will executive produce for 300 Studios. Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard, Jordan Wynn, and Sarina Roma will executive produce for Boardwalk Pictures. Tim Clark and Tally Hair are executive producers on behalf of NASCAR. Rob Ford serves as co-executive producer.
The series is currently in production and will follow Wallace behind the scenes of the 2021 NASCAR season as he competes for the newly formed 23Xi Racing team, which was created by Wallace, Michael Jordan, and Denny Hamlin. Wallace is currently the only Black driver at the top level of the sport. The show will explore Wallace, 23Xi Racing, and NASCAR’s efforts to advocate for inclusion and equality in racing and beyond.
Erik Parker, who is known for “LA Burning: The Riots 25 Years Later,” will direct and executive produce the series. Kevin Liles, Nolan Baynes, and Kelly G. Griffin will executive produce for 300 Studios. Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard, Jordan Wynn, and Sarina Roma will executive produce for Boardwalk Pictures. Tim Clark and Tally Hair are executive producers on behalf of NASCAR. Rob Ford serves as co-executive producer.
- 4/22/2021
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix is developing a docuseries following Bubba Wallace, NASCAR’s only Black full-time driver, as he competes for Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s 23Xi Racing team.
The untitled series, from 300 Studios and Boardwalk Pictures and directed and produced by Erik Parker, will take viewers behind the 2021 NASCAR season through Wallace’s eyes. The Netflix series will explore Wallace, Jordan and Hamlin’s newly-formed 23Xi Racing squad, and NASCAR’s efforts to advocate for inclusion and equality in racing and beyond.
Executive producers for the docuseries are Kevin Liles, Nolan Baynes, and Kelly G. Griffin for 300 Studios; Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard, Jordan Wynn, and Sarina Roma for Boardwalk Pictures; Matt Summers, Tim Clark, and Tally Hair for NASCAR. Rob Ford serves as co-executive producer.
In the 2020 summer, amid the George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Black Lives Matter protests, Wallace gained national attention after he claimed that he found a rope...
The untitled series, from 300 Studios and Boardwalk Pictures and directed and produced by Erik Parker, will take viewers behind the 2021 NASCAR season through Wallace’s eyes. The Netflix series will explore Wallace, Jordan and Hamlin’s newly-formed 23Xi Racing squad, and NASCAR’s efforts to advocate for inclusion and equality in racing and beyond.
Executive producers for the docuseries are Kevin Liles, Nolan Baynes, and Kelly G. Griffin for 300 Studios; Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard, Jordan Wynn, and Sarina Roma for Boardwalk Pictures; Matt Summers, Tim Clark, and Tally Hair for NASCAR. Rob Ford serves as co-executive producer.
In the 2020 summer, amid the George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Black Lives Matter protests, Wallace gained national attention after he claimed that he found a rope...
- 4/22/2021
- by Alexandra Del Rosario
- Deadline Film + TV
BET has announced a new original documentary, “Smoke: Marijuana + Black America,” executive-produced and narrated by Nas. The two-hour film will provide a closeup look at marijuana culture and its impact on both American society and especially the Black community. It’s set to air on Nov. 18.
“The world has finally begun opening up to the cannabis industry the way I feel it should have years ago,” says Nasir “Nas” Jones. “Even still, hate exists in this business for black people, and that is something that sickens me and should be recognized for its blatant evil. The people that have been locked up for marijuana should not only be freed but receive restitution for the damage done to them by outdated laws. It’s important to spread awareness on this, and that’s why everyone needs to make sure they tune in and watch the documentary ‘Smoke!’”
Among the notable pundits...
“The world has finally begun opening up to the cannabis industry the way I feel it should have years ago,” says Nasir “Nas” Jones. “Even still, hate exists in this business for black people, and that is something that sickens me and should be recognized for its blatant evil. The people that have been locked up for marijuana should not only be freed but receive restitution for the damage done to them by outdated laws. It’s important to spread awareness on this, and that’s why everyone needs to make sure they tune in and watch the documentary ‘Smoke!’”
Among the notable pundits...
- 10/27/2020
- by Shirley Ju
- Variety Film + TV
AMC Networks has rounded out its premiere dates for late-summer and fall including AMC’s documentary series Hip Hop: The Songs That Show America, which drops on October 13; its 23rd annual horror marathon FearFest (October 13); and new five-part true-crime series The Preppy Murder: Death in Central Park (November 13).
AMC’s previously announced summer and fall premiere dates include the fourth and final season of Preacher (August 4), the sophomore seasons of The Terror: Infamy and Lodge 49 (both August 12) and Season 10 of The Walking Dead (October 6).
Here is a list by network of upcoming premieres on AMC outlets, with synopses provided by AMC Networks; several already had been announced:
AMC
Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America
Sunday, October 13 at 12 a.m. Et/9 p.m. Pt
From Executive Producers Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, Alex Gibney and directors Erik Parker and One9, each episode of this new documentary series focuses...
AMC’s previously announced summer and fall premiere dates include the fourth and final season of Preacher (August 4), the sophomore seasons of The Terror: Infamy and Lodge 49 (both August 12) and Season 10 of The Walking Dead (October 6).
Here is a list by network of upcoming premieres on AMC outlets, with synopses provided by AMC Networks; several already had been announced:
AMC
Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America
Sunday, October 13 at 12 a.m. Et/9 p.m. Pt
From Executive Producers Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, Alex Gibney and directors Erik Parker and One9, each episode of this new documentary series focuses...
- 7/25/2019
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
There’s no question that Rodney King was brutally beaten by Los Angeles Police Department officers – video taken of the savage act proves it. Yet the four men seen clubbing King were acquitted by a Simi Valley jury in 1992, lighting a match for one of the deadliest and costliest civil unrests in U.S. history.
Read More: How Spike Lee, John Singleton and John Ridley Left Their Marks on the 25th Anniversary of the Los Angeles Riots
It’s 25 years later, and Los Angeles – and the Lapd – have changed. But has the rest of the country? Regular reports of police brutality, now well-documented in an age of phone cameras, makes it clear that we haven’t come all that far. Several new documentaries explore the L.A. riots, including the underlying reasons, the actual events, what happened next, and how it relates to today. Among the filmmakers putting their own...
Read More: How Spike Lee, John Singleton and John Ridley Left Their Marks on the 25th Anniversary of the Los Angeles Riots
It’s 25 years later, and Los Angeles – and the Lapd – have changed. But has the rest of the country? Regular reports of police brutality, now well-documented in an age of phone cameras, makes it clear that we haven’t come all that far. Several new documentaries explore the L.A. riots, including the underlying reasons, the actual events, what happened next, and how it relates to today. Among the filmmakers putting their own...
- 4/22/2017
- by Ben Travers, Hanh Nguyen, Liz Shannon Miller, Michael Schneider and Steve Greene
- Indiewire
This year, the April 29 anniversary of the Rodney King riots became a recognized event on the programming calendar. Over the next week, networks are releasing a half-dozen nonfiction narratives to commemorate the 25 years since the Los Angeles uprising, including three from some of our most compelling African-American filmmakers: Spike Lee, John Singleton, and John Ridley.
“Black directors have different viewpoints,” said Lee, who directed writer-actor Roger Guenveur Smith’s one-man show “Rodney King” for Netflix. “We don’t see the world all the same.”
Read More: L.A. Riots 25th Anniversary Documentaries, Ranked: Which Ones Best Explain the Unrest Now
Ridley and Singleton took a more traditional path to the material, digging into period video archives and interviewing many of the people directly involved in the riots that yielded 55 lives lost, 1,100 buildings destroyed by fire, and some $1 billion in property damage.
Lee came at the subject from another direction. Smith has...
“Black directors have different viewpoints,” said Lee, who directed writer-actor Roger Guenveur Smith’s one-man show “Rodney King” for Netflix. “We don’t see the world all the same.”
Read More: L.A. Riots 25th Anniversary Documentaries, Ranked: Which Ones Best Explain the Unrest Now
Ridley and Singleton took a more traditional path to the material, digging into period video archives and interviewing many of the people directly involved in the riots that yielded 55 lives lost, 1,100 buildings destroyed by fire, and some $1 billion in property damage.
Lee came at the subject from another direction. Smith has...
- 4/21/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
This year, the April 29 anniversary of the Rodney King riots became a recognized event on the programming calendar. Over the next week, networks are releasing a half-dozen nonfiction narratives to commemorate the 25 years since the Los Angeles uprising, including three from some of our most compelling African-American filmmakers: Spike Lee, John Singleton, and John Ridley.
“Black directors have different viewpoints,” said Lee, who directed writer-actor Roger Guenveur Smith’s one-man show “Rodney King” for Netflix. “We don’t see the world all the same.”
Ridley and Singleton took a more traditional path to the material, digging into period video archives and interviewing many of the people directly involved in the riots that yielded 55 lives lost, 1,100 buildings destroyed by fire, and some $1 billion in property damage.
Lee came at the subject from another direction. Smith has performed “Rodney King” for four years in small venues and when “Rodney King” hits Netflix on April 28 in 190 countries,...
“Black directors have different viewpoints,” said Lee, who directed writer-actor Roger Guenveur Smith’s one-man show “Rodney King” for Netflix. “We don’t see the world all the same.”
Ridley and Singleton took a more traditional path to the material, digging into period video archives and interviewing many of the people directly involved in the riots that yielded 55 lives lost, 1,100 buildings destroyed by fire, and some $1 billion in property damage.
Lee came at the subject from another direction. Smith has performed “Rodney King” for four years in small venues and when “Rodney King” hits Netflix on April 28 in 190 countries,...
- 4/21/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
The rapper is touring with a documentary about the making of his famous debut.
Twenty years after the release of Nas' classic debut, Illmatic -- widely considered one of the best and most influential rap albums ever made -- the rapper is making a victory lap tour with shows that are half movie premiere, half concert.
Directed by One9 and written by Erik Parker, the documentary Nas: Time is Illmatic is more than a look back at a famous moment in music -- it's a heartfelt look into Nasir Jones' family and New York City in the late 1980s.
Flashback: See 19-Year-Old Kanye West Freestyle Rap
A young, lyrical genius from Queensbridge, in 1994 Nas made an album filled with rage and longing for a better life, chronicling the conflicting emotions felt by a community rife with poverty, drugs and crime in the city's housing projects. Nas' rhymes didn't only paint a vivid picture of what...
Twenty years after the release of Nas' classic debut, Illmatic -- widely considered one of the best and most influential rap albums ever made -- the rapper is making a victory lap tour with shows that are half movie premiere, half concert.
Directed by One9 and written by Erik Parker, the documentary Nas: Time is Illmatic is more than a look back at a famous moment in music -- it's a heartfelt look into Nasir Jones' family and New York City in the late 1980s.
Flashback: See 19-Year-Old Kanye West Freestyle Rap
A young, lyrical genius from Queensbridge, in 1994 Nas made an album filled with rage and longing for a better life, chronicling the conflicting emotions felt by a community rife with poverty, drugs and crime in the city's housing projects. Nas' rhymes didn't only paint a vivid picture of what...
- 10/21/2014
- Entertainment Tonight
“Life’s a bitch and then you die,” rapper Nasir Jones spit on Illmatic, his groundbreaking 1994 debut album. A grim, cynical statement, Nas was simply following the tradition of hip-hop—reflecting your environment back to the audience. As Chuck D of Public Enemy once said, rap music was the “CNN for black people.” And so with Illmatic, Nas’ now-landmark record, the rapper changed the game, broadcasting his pains, frustrations, ugly truths and hardships to a nation of listeners through a filter of lyrically dense, angry, blunt rhymes and jazz-inflected boom-bap beats. “It was real. He spoke the truth,” Alicia Keys says in a new documentary, seemingly still taken aback by Nas’ unflinching approach. Directed by multimedia artist One9, written by Erik Parker and produced by One9, Parker, and Anthony Saleh, “Nas: Time Is Illmatic” is a look back on the now-cherished, seminal hip-hop record, but also focuses deeply on of the environment that created it.
- 10/3/2014
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
Excitement was mounting at New York City's Museum of Modern Art on Tuesday night, as celebrities took a trip down the red carpet and memory lane with the premiere of Time Is Illmatic, the Nas documentary from One9 and Erik Parker. "I actually have a tingling sensation, it's kind of weird." Today's Tamron Hall told The Hollywood Reporter. "I truly see this as a work of art. His creative process, what he delivered, what he continues to deliver. It's almost as if you want to talk into this cave of artistry and just be wrapped around it." The film,
read more...
read more...
- 10/1/2014
- by Ted Simmons
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Tribeca Film will release One9’s "Time Is Illmatic," which had its world premiere as the opening night film of the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, this fall. Written by Erik Parker and produced by One9, Parker, and Anthony Saleh, the film follows the trajectory of Nas’ 1994 landmark debut album, "Illmatic" - widely considered one of the most important and revolutionary albums in hip-hop. Tribeca Film is planning a simultaneous theatrical and VOD release in October, along with performances from Nas in select cities. Additionally an educational youth screening series will complement the release. "Time Is Illmatic" traces...
- 9/2/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Tribeca Film has announced its acquisition of North American rights to One9’s Time Is Illmatic, which had its world premiere as the opening night film of the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. The documentary is directed by multimedia artist, One9, written by Erik Parker and produced by One9, Parker, and Anthony Saleh. It follows the trajectory of Nas’ 1994 landmark debut album, Illmatic-- widely considered one of the most important and revolutionary albums in hip-hop. Tribeca Film is planning a simultaneous theatrical and VOD release in October, along with performances from Nas in select cities. Additionally an educational youth screening series will complement...
- 5/14/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Tribeca Film has acquired North American rights to "Time Is Illmatic," the Nas documentary which which had its world premiere as the opening night of the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. The documentary is directed by multimedia artist, One9, written by Erik Parker, and produced by One9, Parker, and Anthony Saleh. It follows the trajectory of Nas’ 1994 landmark debut album, "Illmatic," which is widely considered to be one of the most important albums in hip-hop. Tribeca Film is planning a day-and-date release in October along with performances by Nas in select cities. The company is also planning educational youth screening series to complement the release. In his review of the film when it premiered at Tribeca, Eric Kohn wrote, "The debut feature of multimedia artist One9 does justice to the record's significance for the hordes of fans that have consumed it over the course of a generation." "I want to thank Robert De Niro,...
- 5/13/2014
- by Paula Bernstein
- Indiewire
Tribeca Film has acquired North American rights to Time Is Illmatic, the documentary by the artist One9 which recounts the creation of Nas’ classic 1994 hip-hop album Illmatic. The film had its world premiere as the opening night selection at the recent Tribeca Film Festival. Tribeca Film is planning a simultaneous theatrical and VOD release in October along with performances by Nas in selected cities. Written by Erik Parker, the doc was produced by One9, Parker and Anthony Saleh. It received support from The Ford Foundation’s Just Films and Tribeca Film Institute’s Tribeca All Access program. Photos: Tribeca: Nas, Alicia
read more...
read more...
- 5/13/2014
- by Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Time is Illmatic
Written by Erik Parker
Directed by One9
USA, 2014
According to the tale told by the documentary Time is Illmatic, an 18-year-old New York rapper named Nasir Jones, calling himself Nasty Nas, changed hip-hop forever by going onstage at a local barbeque party in Queens in 1991 and delivering a verse that included the lyric “At the age of twelve, I went to hell for snuffing Jesus.” That line was noticed by local legend Mc Serch, who gave Nas a lyric on his next album, which got the attention of Columbia Records, who signed Nas to deliver a debut album that would eventually be called Illmatic. As Malcolm Gladwell might say, sometimes it’s all about being an outlier in full view of the right people.
However, Time is Illmatic succeeds as a documentary because it has almost zero focus on such oddities of the music business. Illmatic became...
Written by Erik Parker
Directed by One9
USA, 2014
According to the tale told by the documentary Time is Illmatic, an 18-year-old New York rapper named Nasir Jones, calling himself Nasty Nas, changed hip-hop forever by going onstage at a local barbeque party in Queens in 1991 and delivering a verse that included the lyric “At the age of twelve, I went to hell for snuffing Jesus.” That line was noticed by local legend Mc Serch, who gave Nas a lyric on his next album, which got the attention of Columbia Records, who signed Nas to deliver a debut album that would eventually be called Illmatic. As Malcolm Gladwell might say, sometimes it’s all about being an outlier in full view of the right people.
However, Time is Illmatic succeeds as a documentary because it has almost zero focus on such oddities of the music business. Illmatic became...
- 4/18/2014
- by Mark Young
- SoundOnSight
“Life’s a bitch and then you die,” rapper Nasir Jones spit on Illmatic, his groundbreaking 1994 debut album. A grim, cynical statement, Nas was simply following the tradition of hip-hop — reflecting your environment back to the audience. As Chuck D of Public Enemy once famously said, rap music was the “CNN for black people.” And so with Illmatic, Nas’ now-landmark ‘90s record, the rapper changed the game, broadcasting his pains, frustrations, ugly truths and hardships to a nation of listeners through a filter of lyrically dense, angry, blunt rhymes and jazz-inflected boom-bap beats. “It was real. He spoke the truth,” Alicia Keys says in the documentary, seemingly still taken aback now by Nas’ unflinching approach. Directed by multimedia artist One9, written by Erik Parker, and produced by One9, Parker, and Anthony Saleh, “Time Is Illmatic” is a look back on the now-cherished and seminal hip-hop record, but also focuses deeply...
- 4/17/2014
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
The 13th Tribeca Film Festival kicked off Wednesday with Nas documentary Time is Illmatic, directed by multimedia artist and first-time director One9.
The film — which premiered at New York’s Beacon Theater — chronicles the rapper’s journey from the Queens projects to the debut of his 1994 record Illmatic, widely considered one of the best rap albums of all time.
“The nature of the subject is about surviving and thriving,” said Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal. “That’s what New York did post-9/11,” when Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff held the first Tribeca fest. “And that’s what...
The film — which premiered at New York’s Beacon Theater — chronicles the rapper’s journey from the Queens projects to the debut of his 1994 record Illmatic, widely considered one of the best rap albums of all time.
“The nature of the subject is about surviving and thriving,” said Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal. “That’s what New York did post-9/11,” when Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff held the first Tribeca fest. “And that’s what...
- 4/17/2014
- by Nina Terrero
- EW - Inside Movies
It may have been the most New York moment in years.
Robert De Niro, onstage Wednesday night at the Beacon Theatre, introduced Time Is Illmatic, the new documentary on Nas' 1994 landmark debut Illmatic, to kick off the Tribeca Film Festival. "Twenty years ago, I would've been 20 years too old for this music," quipped the actor and festival co-founder to a boisterous crowd of fans, media and seemingly every important hip-hop figure in mid-Nineties New York.
Nas: My Life in 20 Songs
Unlike music docs that attempt to deify or elevate the obscure — Anvil,...
Robert De Niro, onstage Wednesday night at the Beacon Theatre, introduced Time Is Illmatic, the new documentary on Nas' 1994 landmark debut Illmatic, to kick off the Tribeca Film Festival. "Twenty years ago, I would've been 20 years too old for this music," quipped the actor and festival co-founder to a boisterous crowd of fans, media and seemingly every important hip-hop figure in mid-Nineties New York.
Nas: My Life in 20 Songs
Unlike music docs that attempt to deify or elevate the obscure — Anvil,...
- 4/17/2014
- Rollingstone.com
Time is Illmatic, a music documentary on Nas’ rise to fame and the release 20 years ago of his classic album, Illmatic, opened the Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday, April 16 at New York’s Beacon Theatre.
In 1994, Nas erupted on the music scene with his debut album, Illmatic, when he was only 20-years-old. Illmatic is associated with a movement that aims to focus rap music on powerful lyrics and wordplay, and Nas is, certainly, still considered one of the best. Illmatic celebrated its official 20th anniversary on Tuesday, April 15. For Nas and the Illmatic filmmaker, the 1994 album is still just as relevant today as it was 20 years ago.
“If you look at conditions then and now, not much has changed for the people Nas represented. But so much has changed in the world. What was important for us to tell is that Nas is a genius, but he’s one of...
In 1994, Nas erupted on the music scene with his debut album, Illmatic, when he was only 20-years-old. Illmatic is associated with a movement that aims to focus rap music on powerful lyrics and wordplay, and Nas is, certainly, still considered one of the best. Illmatic celebrated its official 20th anniversary on Tuesday, April 15. For Nas and the Illmatic filmmaker, the 1994 album is still just as relevant today as it was 20 years ago.
“If you look at conditions then and now, not much has changed for the people Nas represented. But so much has changed in the world. What was important for us to tell is that Nas is a genius, but he’s one of...
- 4/17/2014
- Uinterview
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