Wu-Tang Clan and Nas to Perform In 6 Canadian Cities On Co-Headlining Tour
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Nas Headlines Madison Square Garden with Set Highlighting His Entire Career
Nas delivered a high-energy performance at The World’s Most Famous Arena. It was his first headlining gig at Madison Square Garden. The event, produced by Live Nation, brought the sold-out crowd to their feet with a 34-song set that included songs from his King’s Disease Trilogy such as “27 Summers,” “Spicy,” and “Michael & Quincy.” In “Reminisce,” he was joined by Mary J. Blige, Slick Rick on “Hello Young World,” and AZ on “Life’s A Bitch.” Nas also sang iconic favorites such as “New York State of Mind,” “1 Mic,” and “If I Ruled the World.”
You can see images from the night below.
The post Nas Headlines Madison Square Garden with Set Highlighting His Entire Career appeared first on The Source.
Nas Lists Billy Joel & Bruce Springsteen As Dream Collaborators
In a recent interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Nas said that Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel are among his dream collaborators. Also, the hip-hop legend said that he’d love to work with Sade or Al Green one day, as well. When answering Colbert’s prompt about hopeful team-ups, he emphasized the sheer star power in that list and spoke on Joel’s particular showmanship. In fact, these dream collaborations aren’t just dreams, as the Queens MC tried to bring some of them to light.
“There’s a lot,” he remarked to the talk show host when asked about his feature wishlist. “From Sade to Al Green to Billy Joel to The Boss, Bruce. I tried that at Billy Joel’s concert. I went to his show and it was incredible. He’s the king of the Garden.” In fact, the “It Ain’t Hard To Tell” MC recently performed at Madison Square Garden for a one-night gig this Friday (February 24). From all accounts, the show was a wonderful spectacle and yet another point on Nas’ board in GOAT conversations. Given his incredible career trajectory over the past few years, maybe he himself will become the next king of the Garden.
Nas Names His Dream Collaborators
Elsewhere in the interview, the 49-year-old spoke on why he doesn’t feel inspired by rappers his own age anymore. Instead, he explained, he tries to stack himself up to what the current generation is doing, maintaining that hunger for creativity. “I’m really trying to figure out what my next move is, and I feel like a lot of Hip Hop artists my age are not putting out a lot of material, so I can’t look to them as reference,” he stated. “They kind of slowed down — for whatever reasons, I understand it’s a tough thing — but I got bit by the bug, man.”
However, that doesn’t mean that the Mass Appeal mogul’s completely forgotten about older artists. In fact, 50 Cent recently revealed he’ll assist Nas and Hit-Boy on King’s Disease IV, which should entice 50 fans and doubters alike. While it’s been a while since the TV mogul was known primarily for music, it’s very likely that a more long-standing legend like Nas and one of the best producers right now like Hit-Boy could inspire him by comparing themselves to the present, not the past. Regardless, come back to HNHH for the latest news and updates on the one and only Nas.
Nas Paid Tribute To The Late Trugoy of De La Soul During Sold-Out Madison Square Garden Tour Stop
Nas’ New York state of mind stretches far beyond his native Queensbridge neighborhood. While the “One Mic, One Gun” rapper recently revealed that he’d love to collaborate with Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen during his appearance on The Late Show hosted by Stephen Colbert, his love for New York musicians runs deep.
As the mogul’s tour made a stop at Madison Square Garden on Friday (February 24), Nas took a moment during his set to pay homage to Trugoy The Dove (real name David Jolicoeur) of De La Soul. The Long Island native passed away early this month.
The sold-out crowd joined us as Nas played the opening verse on De La Soul’s hit single “Buddy” before proclaiming, “Make some noise for Trugoy, De La Soul. Rest in Poetry!”
.@nas pays tribute to Trugoy the Dove during star-studded sold out show at Madison Square Garden
https://t.co/52WCdDrY0T pic.twitter.com/unkECKlErR
— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) February 25, 2023
When the news first broke of Trugoy’s death, Nas took to Instagram to share a touching note. In the now archived post, Nas wrote, “‘Trugoy The Dove. You showed us it’s ok to have fun, not sad or too too deep or fight the power, tho it was very much fight the power what u did so genuis. Thank you.’”
Nas isn’t the only figure in music to pay their respect to the late rap trailblazer. Quest Love, Busta Rhymes, Common, as well as Trugoy’s surviving groupmates Maseo And Posdnuos, also broke their silence with a heartfelt message on social media, writing, “You were the heart of our group. You brought so much creativity, energy, and passion to our music, and your influence will be felt for years to come.”
Nas Unpacked The Meaning Of ‘King’s Disease’ And Identified Some Unlikely Dream Collaborators On ‘Colbert’
Nas is working on King’s Disease IV, according to 50 Cent, but the New York rapper is still relishing in King’s Disease III. The album arrived in November, and Nas is set to bring the trilogy to Madison Square Garden for one night only on Friday, February 24.
Ahead of the epic performance, which will somehow be his first time playing MSG, Nas returned to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert for the first time since 2018 on Wednesday night, February 22.
“It’s sort of surreal. It’s like a dream. I never thought I would be there. I thought about it when I got into music, and I thought, like, ‘I gotta play that place when I make it,’” Nas told Colbert. “And all the years escaped me because I got busy doing so many other things, and then I started releasing music again, so I said, ‘Now’s the right time.’”
Nas first dropped King’s Disease in August 2020, and King’s Disease II quickly followed in August 2021. The former won Best Rap Album at the 2021 Grammys — Nas’ first career Grammy — while the latter was nominated in the same category at last year’s Grammys.
With Colbert, Nas unpacked what King’s Disease actually means.
“Over-indulgence,” he said. “[The king] gets what he wants, and too much of that is not good.”
Colbert wondered if Nas has “ever had the King’s Disease,” to which Nas said, “I guess some elements of it. Here and there, you know. It’s a wake-up call. You wake up before it’s too late. I read about a lot of artists that came up in our time or before our time, and some of them were wild people. And I learned a lot from them, and it kind of gave me some of the guidelines in this business.”
“How do you cure the King’s Disease?” Colbert asked.
Nas continued, “You kill the ego, and you make it about the music. Make it about the art. And live your life.”
Nas followed his own advice by squashing his beef with 21 Savage, which was possibly a publicity stunt to promote their collaborative single “One Mic, One Gun” last fall.
Nas’ conversation with Colbert also touched on the 50th anniversary of hip-hop and which artists Nas would like to collaborate with, including Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen. Watch it above.
Nas Says He’s Not Inspired By Rappers His Own Age Anymore
One of the greatest rappers ever still deserves the title, even over twenty years after his career shook the world. Nas recently opened up about how rappers his age don’t inspire him anymore when it comes to new material. Moreover, he spoke candidly on the subject while on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Wednesday (February 22). When Colbert asked him which artists keep the New York MC competitive, he had a very interesting answer. Since his generation of rappers don’t release music often, he expressed that he has to match the newer generation instead.
“I’m really trying to figure out what my next move is, and I feel like a lot of Hip Hop artists my age are not putting out a lot of material, so I can’t look to them as reference,” Nas remarked. “They kind of slowed down — for whatever reasons, I understand it’s a tough thing — but I got bit by the bug, man.” Of course, that bug resulted in four excellent collaborative albums with Hit-Boy (with a fifth on the way). In fact, the albums made such a mark that they nabbed the Mass Appeal mogul with his first-ever Grammy.
Nas Speaks On Rappers His Age
“I collaborated with this cat Hit-Boy who’s like the best, and he’s produced all of those albums — King’s Disease 1, 2, 3. [Don’t forget Magic!] We’re kind of inspiring ourselves at this point. It’s really interesting.” When asked what he sees in the producer that he doesn’t see in himself, he responded cheekily with “Youth.” Still, their relationship is rooted more deeply than that generational divide, as Nas described them as a “perfect match.”
While their latest effort King’s Disease III didn’t have any features, Nas said that wasn’t the plan in an Apple Music interview. “Honestly, it was once we got deeper into the album because I definitely was thinking and conceptualizing on who could be a part of it,” he expressed. “I even pulled up some features that I had in my computer from different artists and we tried stuff, but nothing really connected on a level of what we was doing solo. This is, I believe, Nas’ first album ever with no features so that’s an ill thing in itself.” As always, come back to HNHH for the latest news on Nas and the greatness he’ll bring us next.
Nas’ Song In The ‘John Wick 4’ Trailer Proves He Is Indeed Still Relevant, Despite Past Online Debates
Nas may encourage other rappers to get out of their comfort zones, but fans of his music are just fine with reminiscing along to his classic hits, which includes the music department behind John Wick: Chapter 4.
Although the legendary emcee has reconciled with 21 Savage after the “Rich Flex” rapper questioned whether or not the Queensbridge native remains a fixture in today’s music landscape, saying, “I don’t feel like he’s relevant.” The conversation flooded social media for days. After other musicians like Fivio Foreign took to social media to give Nas his flowers, 21 Savage seemingly walked his initial comments back, stating “he would never disrespect Nas.”
As Nas locks in to work on his next album, King’s Disease IV, in which 50 Cent will appear, his 2001 song “Got Ur Self A Gun” from Stillmatic is receiving love from the Peacock original series. The hype track is the perfect backdrop to the fictional action character John Wick’s fast-paced fight scene montage.
This isn’t the first time the beloved hip-hop icon’s music has been used in a television series or film. But with this track, considering how it samples The Sopranos’ theme song “Woke Up This Morning,” this is certainly a full circle moment.
Watch the trailer above.
Jonah Hill Chooses His Top Five Rappers In A Deleted ‘You People’ Scene And Gets Flak For His Eminem Pick
Jonah Hill and Eddie Murphy team up for You People, but in a scene that didn’t make the film’s final cut, more legends find their way into the movie. Specifically, a number of hip-hop icons, when Hill’s character makes his pick for the top five rappers ever and gets roasted for including Eminem.
In the clip, Ezra (Hill’s character) and Mo (played by Sam Jay) are hosting an episode of their The Mo & E-Z Show podcast when the topic of their top five rappers comes up. Ezra makes his picks: “1. Jay-Z, 2. Biggie, 3. 2Pac, 4. Nas, and 5. Eminem.”
Eminem’s Top 5 status defended by Jonah Hill in “You People” bonus cliphttps://t.co/52WCdDsvQr pic.twitter.com/f6RLnJy9uW
— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) February 12, 2023
Mo responds, “That’s in order? — Eminem though?” Ezra replies, “Why do I have to keep defending Shady? I mean, his sole purpose is to be on other people’s tracks and murder them. I mean, ‘Renegade?’ ‘Dead Wrong,’” he says in reference to tracks by Jay-Z and The Notorious B.I.G.
Mo then says, “Dog, he’s like, I don’t know the Larry Bird of rap, you know what I mean? He’s not great: He’s just great because he’s a white man in a Black man’s game.” Ezra retorts, “That is so stupid. That might be the dumbest sh*t you’ve ever said to me.”
Check out the clip above.
Dave East Raps Nas Verse Flawlessly When Asked About The First Verse He Memorized
Dave East perfectly rapped through a Nas verse when asked about the first verse he ever memorized. During an interview with HipHopDX at the Grammys red carpet, they spoke with the New York rapper about the first verse to live fully in his head- well, other than his own raps. Moreover, the 34-year-old recited the New York legend’s bars on “You Won’t See Me Tonight.” Furthermore, that track features the late Aaliyah and landed on Nas’s 1999 album I Am… A pretty deep cut for many fans, so props to East for the pick and for his memory.
“Caramel kisses of Jezebel’s sister,” he began. “I feel no guilt when I twist ya. Turn the other cheek when I see the next freak witcha. You got your name on his lease, copy his keys. That’s your lil’ spot where you rest your wig piece. Go ‘head and live baby, I know you his lady. You page me, when you got the day free. But I be out with my peeps in them system Jeeps. You wanna lay up in the sheets of presidential suites.
“You wont see me tonight” is such an underrated song. Nas & Aaliyah deserved this song to be more popular cause it’s one of their best pic.twitter.com/vNssB5YujQ
—
isa (@shesforgetful) April 19, 2022
“Like I’ll massage you while you massage me, mami,” he continued. “But can you hang with a young man who’s doing his thang? Speak up, I wanna know if you can keep up. Timberland boots for girls, with the tree stump. Baggy sweatsuits, mystery what’s underneath them. They for my eyes only, you call me when you lonely. But I like to make the baddest girls wait, I got G baby.”
Meanwhile, Nas wasn’t the only OG that Dave East shouted out at the Grammys red carpet. Also, he spoke excitedly about portraying Method Man again in the upcoming season of Hulu’s series Wu Tang: An American Saga. “It’s the best season,” he told Baller Alert. “I think this the season that the world’s going to be able to identify the most with. I feel like season one and two is, like, stuff you didn’t know about them. You know what I mean? Getting to know their stories. Season three, I’m, like, really Meth. I look like Meth for real, I got the fangs and all that. It’s dope the way RZA did it this season.” Let us know if you’re excited for the show in the comments, and return to HNHH for the latest on Nas and Dave East.