Eminem Once Dropped Almost $600 For Nas’ Illmatic Tape
While Eminem is one of the most highly regarded MCs of all time, one of his other passions is his memorabilia collection. He recently shared that one of his most prized possessions is a sealed cassette tape of Nas’ classic debut album "Illmatic." Em recalled spending around $600 to buy it. The rapper recently hopped on Clubhouse to talk about his upcoming NFT drop Shady Con and his manager Paul Rosenburg and DJ Whoo Kid, where he spoke about his vast collection.
When asked about one of the most loved items in his collection, Em didn’t hesitate with his answer. “It’s opened but I got it unopened; I just opened it. And my most coveted would have to be Illmatic, by Nas, because that f**king thing — man, I couldn’t find that sh*t nowhere,” he answered. “I finally found one and it cost like 500, 600 dollars…for a sealed copy of Illmatic. Because who the f**k had a copy of Illmatic and didn’t open it? Nobody.”
When asked about one of the most loved items in his collection, Em didn’t hesitate with his answer. “It’s opened but I got it unopened; I just opened it. And my most coveted would have to be Illmatic, by Nas, because that f**king thing — man, I couldn’t find that sh*t nowhere,” he answered. “I finally found one and it cost like 500, 600 dollars…for a sealed copy of Illmatic. Because who the f**k had a copy of Illmatic and didn’t open it? Nobody.”
going to have a fucking Illmatic tape and not open it.”
In a statement in promotion of Shady Con, the hip hop legend revealed that he’d been a collector since he was a kid.
“I’ve been collecting since I was a kid, everything from comic books to baseball cards to toys, as well as every rap album on cassette I could get my hands on,” Em explained. “Not much has changed for me as an adult. I’ve attempted to re-create some of those collections from that time in my life, and I know I’m not alone. I wanted to give this drop the same vibe of, ‘Oh, man I gotta get just that one or maybe even the whole set!’ It’s been a lot of fun coming up with ideas from my own collecting passion.”
When Em was asked how much he thinks an unopened cassette copy of his debut album, The Slim Shady LP, would go for, he said “twelve cents.”
