Words: David Kane, originally published in Patta Magazine Volume 6
Isimeme “Easy” Otabor selects Nas’ timeless classic as his ‘cover story’, a long-running collaborative column between Wax Poetics and Patta. Illmatic is a fitting first in the series to feature in Patta Magazine.
At this point, there’s little we can say about Nas’ Illmatic that hasn’t already been said. Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones aka Nasty Nas, aka Escobar, was aged just 20 when he released his musical masterpiece to an unsuspecting world with a little help from his producer friends — DJ Premier, L.E.S., Pete Rock, Q-Tip, and Large Professor (who must be kicking himself for turning down the opportunity to executive produce the record) — which has gone on to transform hip-hop, modern music and the wider pop culture canon.
Yet despite more than 30 years of lore-building, there are still some lesser-known aspects of the album and the greater cultural fabric it is woven into — and the millions of people's stories it continues to soundtrack.
Otabor is a Chicago-born curator and gallerist whose work bridges contemporary art, fashion, and community-forward programming. “Born and raised in Hazel Crest in the south suburbs. My parents are both from Nigeria — first generation — they came here in their early twenties and tried their best to make a way for us. I started in sneakers, working at all the sneaker stores as soon as I could get a work permit.
“I went to school for fashion, worked at RSVP Gallery with Don C and Virgil (Abloh), and learned by doing whatever needed to be done. That led to (the clothing brand) Infinite Archives and then Anthony Gallery, named after my dad,” he explains over a call from Florida. He’s often on the move, listing off Amsterdam (where he recently launched the second Anthony Gallery), Berlin, London, and Tokyo as recent destinations.
Something of a Japanophile, Easy’s initial touchpoints into art came through anime like Akira, Fist of the North Star, and then Takashi Murakami, thanks to his work on the cover art for fellow Chicagoan Kanye West’s Graduation album. Easy credits his brother Ade for his omnivorous approach to culture.
“He introduced me to Illmatic — really, all the music I know came through him. I was lucky to have a brother who knew what was happening, who was open to different sounds and always tuned into what was next.”
The Illmatic cover operates as a kind of cultural Rorschach — the same image, endlessly reinterpreted. For some, it’s a portrait of lost innocence; for others, a map of inevitability, where place and identity are already fused. What you see says as much about you as it does about Nas.
“Honestly, whenever I think of Illmatic, I think of that cover first. There’s a quote I can’t fully remember, but it’s about true genius being found in simplicity. You see where Nas grew up, merged with a childhood photo, those piercing eyes — but also this sense of knowing what he was about to do. Even the background, driving through his neighborhood, all comes together. It’s a perfect blend. You feel like you see yourself in it. No matter where you’re from, you can relate to that feeling of reflecting on your past while being ready for the future, and the present.”
The 30th anniversary of Illmatic in 2024 coincided with a global tour, a 7” boxset release, and the publication of a cluster of new and archived content celebrating the record, including a musty interview recording with Nas’ father. In one video, Olu Dara, a successful jazz musician in his own right, recalled the moment the photo was taken. It was when he returned to the States after a long tour in Europe, found Nas and his brother in Queensbridge, who both excitedly ran towards him. Olu said he saw it in Nas’s eye — “his mind was saying, wow, what a world.”
In addition to Olu — who in the same recording mentions a “man with a camera” rather than explicitly claiming to have taken the photo himself, as is popular belief — the artwork was part of a cross-generational collaboration that included photographer Danny Clinch, with art direction by Jo DiDonato, and design by Aimée Macauley — the latter two, employees of Columbia Records. Clinch photographed Nas and his crew in Queensbridge, the largest housing project in the US. Six images appeared across the original vinyl and CD releases.
According to Large Professor, speaking to DJ Vlad, the portrait of Nas, in which his hand obscures his face — complete with a small rip — was always meant to be the cover. The tear was accidental. “He had it under a piece of glass, and I guess when he went to grab it, the glass must’ve stuck right there, so that’s the rip right there.” It stayed because it felt right.
Illmatic is widely considered to be the first of many hip-hop album covers to feature a child — from Biggie through to Lil Wayne, and Kendrick Lamar. Ghostface would later infamously call out rappers (supposedly Big) for biting the cover art during a skit on Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Link. Though Nas later dismissed the critique — but it’s not the first outside the genre.
When I send Easy a Discogs link to A Child Is Born (1972) by The Howard Hanger Trio, he chuckles at the artwork. “If I had to guess,” he says, “it’s probably a record his dad had in his collection.” The resemblance to Illmatic is uncanny: a child’s face, roughly the same age, gazing directly at the viewer, superimposed over a crumbling city street. Musically, it’s a deep, almost spiritual modal jazz record, featuring eerie interpretations of Simon and Garfunkel’s Scarborough Fair, and Eleanor Rigby, by The Beatles.
When it surfaces, A Child Is Born now sells for three figures, likely inflated by its accidental proximity to one of hip-hop’s most revered LPs. The trio released just three albums between 1970 and 1977 before quietly disappearing. Howard Hanger himself came from a lineage of principled Methodist ministers; a family history marked by civil rights activism, anti–Vietnam War protest, and the defence of same-sex unions.
No official link has ever been acknowledged between the two covers. Which only reinforces the point: the difference isn’t what you take — it’s whether you make it yours.
The red thread here might just be family. As Easy explains, “My older brother changed my life. I probably wouldn’t be where I am without him. Even recently, with a Jordan release, I made sure it landed on his birthday.” Easy’s referring to the 2025 release of the Infinite Archives x Air Jordan 17 Low, inspired by the OG model by Wilson Smith, the first Black sneaker designer for the Jordan brand.
Long before culture was flattened into clicks and stories, Easy Otabor was dedicating himself to moments — overlooked and era-defining — that once felt abundant and now feel increasingly rare. As for Illmatic today?
“I go back to it all the time. There are just so many records on there — ‘Life’s a Bitch’, ‘The World Is Yours’, ‘Halftime’, ‘It Ain’t Hard to Tell’. The whole album stays in rotation. So when the question came up about album covers and what they mean, it was a no-brainer.
“It’s as timeless as the record itself. It taught me not to overdo it — that less really can be more, and sometimes more powerful than anything complicated. Every time I look at it, everything stands still for a moment.”
