Nas marks the 20th anniversary of his groundbreaking debut albumIllmatic, a half-hour series project loosely based on his life as a hip hop artist in the 1990s is getting off the ground with a deal atXBox Entertainment Studios. Titled Street Dreams, the project, from Jamie Patricof and Lynette Howell’s Electric City Entertainment (The Place Beyond The Pines), is set in the 1990s in Long Island’s Queensbridge housing complex, where Nas grew up, and takes a look at music, family and the tribulations of the rap game. Street Dreams is being written/directed by Jonathan Levine, who also grew up in New York, spending his formative years in the 1990s. New York in the 90s was the backdrop for his coming of age feature The Wackness, winner of the Audience Award at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Street Dreams is now being developed, with Nas involved in the writing and music. His manager, Anthony Seleh, executive produces with Patricof, Howell and Levine. Patricof and Howellrecently developed bodybuilding half-hour Muscle for HBO. Xbox has been actively buying scripted projects though it is yet to launch its first series. It also has in the works a pro skaters comedy series from writer Ian Edelman.

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