Nas Says He's Tired of Celebrating 'Illmatic'

Nas is over it.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Illmatic, but don’t expect more festivities. During an interview with Haute Living, Nas says he’s done celebrating the groundbreaking album once and for all.

“I’m tired of celebrating it,” he told the magazine. “I’m grateful, but it has started to take on a life of its own.”

He commemorated the 20th anniversary in 2014, but now it’s time to move on. “I just did the 20th anniversary with the National Symphony Orchestra five years ago and, the next thing you know, five years go by and it’s a calendar that I didn’t ask for showing me how fast time moves,” he added.

Nas, who’s released 12 solo albums throughout his iconic career, thinks Illmatic receives too much attention. “Twenty-five years is a lifetime,” he said. “I’m very grateful–it’s so crazy–but to celebrate one album when I’ve made over 10, all the things I’ve worked on–and I’ve been working for so long–to celebrate one album over all else is corny to me. I don’t want to celebrate another Illmatic anything. I’m done. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for appreciating that record, but it’s over.”

In July, Nas released The Lost Tapes 2 featuring unreleased tracks, and more installments could be on the way. “As you can imagine, I’ve piled up a lot of songs since then,” he said. “So I got enough for a Lost Tapes 2 now. And a Lost Tapes 3 and a Lost Tapes 4.”