With documentary and concert, Nas kicks off a Tribeca Film Festival set to a hip-hop beat

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Tribeca Film Festival co-founder and actor Robert De Niro, left, with his wife Grace Hightower, attends the world premiere of "Time Is Illmatic" at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday, April 16, 2014, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The raw New York lyricism of Nas kicked off the 13th annual Tribeca Film Festival with an exuberant hip-hop beat.

Tribeca opened Wednesday night with the premiere of “Time Is Illmatic,” a documentary about the creation of Nas’ landmark 1994 debut album, “Illmatic.” The Queens native Nas followed the screening at New York’s Beacon Theatre with a performance of the nine-track album.

Tribeca co-founder Robert De Niro introduced the film as not just about the making of an album, but “about the making of an artist here in our hometown.”

The Tribeca Film Festival runs through May 27.

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