The world premiere of Time is Illmatic followed by a performance by the hip-hop star will kick off the 13th Tribeca Film Festival on April 16.

The film charts the course of Nas’ landmark 1994 debut album, Illmatic. The artist will take to the stage after the screening to perform the entire album live.

Multimedia artist One9 directed Time Is Illmatic from a screenplay by Erik Parker and the pair produced with Anthony Saleh.

The Tribeca Film Festival presented by AT&T is scheduled to run through April 27.

“I want to thank the Tribeca Film Festival for supporting the film with the incredible platform they’ve built over the years,” said Nas. “It’s an honour to premiere this film in my hometown.

“I also want to thank One9 and Erik Parker for their persistence and hard work. Those guys and I come from the same place and era, which gives the doc an authenticity that is important to me. We wanted this film to represent the real, from the storyline all the way down to the directors and producers.”

“Like the festival itself, Time Is Illmatic and the groundbreaking body of work it recognises has roots grounded in New York City, but represents and reaches communities far beyond,” said Jane Rosenthal, CEO and co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival. “The film spotlights a musical journey with community and family at its core and we look forward to celebrating this pivotal moment in hip hop history as we open our 13th edition.”

The festival will announce its feature slate in the first week of March.

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