Nas successfully kicked off the 13th Tribeca Film Festival at New York City's Beacon Theater yesterday (April 16) with the documentary, Time Is Illmatic.

The annual spring event in Lower Manhattan was founded by actor Robert De Niro and film producer Jane Rosenthal back in 2002. "[It's been] 20 years since I was officially 20 years too old to admit I've listened to Hip Hop," said De Niro prior to the screening of the film.

This month actually marks 20 years since Nas released his highly praised debut album, Illmatic. Directed by One9 and written and produced by Eric Parker, Time Is Illmatic, which focuses on the world changing around the Queensbridge rapper since 1994, served as the night's opening.

"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," said Parker. "What was important for us to tell is that Nas is a genius, but he's one of just a few that made it out."

At one point of the film, which is described as both "a pure crowd pleaser" and "a passionate, thorough, and wholly entertaining triumph," the rapper's brother Jabari "Jungle" Jones details the photo shoot that provided the cover artwork for Illmatic. "N*ggas who'd wanted to kill each other came outside and it was all love," he said.

The documentary also includes appearances from several Illmatic collaborators, including Q-Tip, MC Serch and Large Professor. Entertainers like Michael K. Williams, Raekwon, and Wale also attended the special event.

It is currently unclear when the film will be released to the general public.