Nas

1 album cover in our archive

Nas is featured in Behind the Covers' archive with 1 album cover from the 1990s. Released on Columbia, the artwork sits in the hip-hop tradition. Each cover is documented in our archive with design notes covering photography, double exposure, queensbridge, iconic, childhood. Below you'll find the full story behind each Nas cover — designers, photographers, label history, and the visual choices that defined the release.

Illmatic (1994)

A childhood photograph of seven-year-old Nas superimposed via double exposure over a nighttime shot of the Queensbridge Houses — the ghostly overlay captures the collision between childhood innocence and adult reality that defines the album.

Label: Columbia
Designer: Aimee Macauley
Photographer: Danny Clinch
Genre: Hip-Hop
Decade: 1990s

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