Nas:
The king of Madison Square Garden
A look inside what happened at Nas's first ever headlining show that took place in Madison Square Garden on February 24, 2023, as well as his ‘King's Disease’ trilogy, His three decade spanning rap legacy, and second performance at Hip Hop 50 Live: Yankee Stadium concert on August 11, 2023.
By Da’shan “Nightshawn101” Smith
Around 8PM on a brisk Friday night (February 24, 2023), the marquee outside the right entrance of Madison Square Garden– and the building’s unsightly scaffolding– lit up: “King’s Disease Trilogy.” Underneath those small white letters, existed two rows of big red letters, the first reading “NAS” and the second with “NYC” separated from “MSG”. Underneath that the white returns: ONE NIGHT ONLY. The bottom line made sure to note, “Tonight Sold Out.”
Outside the arena, you see the hustlers and shot callers. Well at least the ones selling nutcracker alcoholic drinks from their coolers they probably lugged on the MTA subway from Harlem, the Bronx, Brooklyn, or Queens. Next to them were more selling kung fu styled headbands with Nas’s name imprinted.
Inside the corridors of Madison Square Garden, the calmest hip hop fans one could ever imagine walked up the stairs and rode the escalators. Walking past the security ticket checkpoint, the music of “Hate Me Now” blasts as fans are dapping each other up. Decked out in minks, Yankee fitted hats, long Mets jerseys, white Forces and yellow Timbs, the fans of Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones listened to commands and followed suit. Usually when there is a concert (of really any artist, of any genre), there’s a hectic feel of rushing and bombardment to locate either seats or a $20 cup of Michelob Ultra.
But Nas’s crowd was not like that. It was an all New York affair, and no one was going to kill the vibes. Nas would have more than likely been disappointed if word got back to him.
“Everyone in a single line!” shouted the security guards once we passed the ticket gate.
People stepped aside to make sure those lines were formed. The buzz was minimal– aka “inside voices” of a classroom after the teacher barks. It had already set the tone of how important the moment would be.
By one of the concession stand lines, as I walked to my seat on the first level, a fan broke that calmness. “This the championship!” For the first time in his legendary career spanning 32 years, Nas would be headlining a solo concert at Madison Square Garden, the king of all New York City metro arenas.
To warm up the crowd as an opening act, DJ Premier steps to his turntables. Both him and Nas have been rumored for years to be working on an EP. While more news for that hasn’t surfaced yet, the moment seemed important. DJ Premier’s setlist had been laid out to showcase the different generations of fans that sat in the arena. The ‘70’s babies represented the hardest during the portion where they had to scream. It made sense since they were the ones born alongside Nas, who came into this world on September 14, 1973.
In the middle of DJ Premier’s set, which featured NYC classics like Black Rob’s “Whoa,” he mentions “the Tunnel,” a nightclub that ran in the Chelsea district from 1986 to 2001. He reminisced about the hip hop nightclub, and particularly how the joint was jumping on a Sunday night. On Sundays, the most famous hip hop acts would roll through to perform. For Premier, he specifically shouted out 1998– the year the South Jamaica Queens hip hop group, Onyx, promoted their third studio album, Shut ‘Em Down. Premier had been very vague– or maybe the noise from the audience enjoying his set had become overwhelming– but I assume through research, that Onyx brought out Nas in ‘98 as a guest performer at the Tunnel.
“This year is the 50th birthday of hip hop,” announces Premier. That gets the loudest roar as everyone knows that. If not, their hip hop cards need to be revoked. But then it starts to become a moment of questioning what exactly will our legends have in store for us the remainder of the year. If this is already how Nas is kicking off the milestone year, what will he provide us next to celebrate a genre he’s been indebted to since the very start?
Finally DJ Premier’s set closes down. Nas walks out on stage at 9:14 PM– decked out in a mink– to the first track that starts the entire King’s Disease trilogy, the titular beginner of the first album.
“I made the fade famous, the chain famous
QB on my chest match the stainless
Amazing Grace, I'm gracefully aging”
Nas says that to a roaring crowd, who knows the story at this point. A young man living in the Queensbridge housing projects of Long Island City, Queens, New York went from corner boy to a battle rapper that was mentored by the likes of Rakim and Kool G Rap. He went from being nicknamed “Kid Wave” to “Nasty Nas,” because he was just that on the mic: NASTY. At the end of the opener, like his album, he commands with authority “Real kings everywhere, stand up!” It was a little odd on the fact that everyone in the building was already standing with their phones out documenting the moment. But the show must go on.
And it did.
From there he would transition into “Blue Benz,” ripping off his coat when he shouted out “Original Don Dada,” indicating at that moment he was truly the Top Dog. It started to become clear that Nas’s setlist would go in chronological order of his trilogy. Or maybe, the true case is that King’s Disease 1 had a strong no skips opening.
“Two step to this shit,” he suggested, as Charlie Wilson’s vocals appeared on the groovy “Car 85.”
“Bitch!” he roared on “27 Summers,” a song that recalls the trap vibes present on Drake’s “Worst Behavior.” The crowd shouted in unison, “Black card, black Rolls, more black CEOs,” leading into a powerful transition.
Images of Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barack Obama appear on the stage’s three split screens. They’re just a few of the prolific figures included in the montage. At this point the crowd is hyped, because we know which song is coming next. Nas proceeds to acknowledge Black History Month, as the breakbeats of “Ultra Black,” the first lead single of the trilogy, started blaring. Somehow, I found myself giggling and looking around to see if he would deliver the bar “We goin' ultra black, unapologetically black/The opposite of Doja Cat!” That line had caused some controversy with its original release in 2020, although Nas would clarify on an LA Leakers broadcast on Power 106 that he meant no disrespect by the line and just needed something to rhyme. As a result, Doja Cat would include “N!ggas Ain’t Sh!t” on her 2021, Planet Her album, joking that it stood for “NAS.” Nas never responded back, but judging by what Doja Cat has done on her most recent Scarlet album, he ignited fire in her to become a better rapper that harkened back to the golden era basics of lyricism and character.
Somehow, Nas has a knack for doing that when it comes to the great emcees of certain generations… And for the record, he actually omitted the Doja Cat line, instead deciding to hold out the “unapologetically Black” line before mentioning “Michael Blackson.”
“I love you,” he repeats after “Ultra Black” does the job. “No matter what, do what you do to the fullest … Stand up on your square and be who you are!” Flames blaze on the stage as a New York staple comes on, “Spicy.” Featuring A$AP Ferg and Fivio Foreign, the drill song reached No. 96 on the Billboard Hot 100. This leads into “The Definition” closing out his King’s Disease 1 set, which goes into “Get Light” (from KD3) and the upbeat party mode he’s trying to maintain.
“Death Row East” from King’s Disease II has its moment. The song generated much conversation upon its release in 2021, because it documents the East Coast-West Coast feud, and how Nas was very close to signing to the record label prior to 2Pac’s murder in 1996. Confetti pops out as Nas shouts “Godson across the belly,” a self-reference that he makes on “The Pressure,” the starting track of KD2. At the end he proclaims, “I been on fire, four generations,” to which the crowd revels in. Then the flames come back as the KD3 track, “I’m On Fire,” repeats its sampled hook, which the crowd joins in unison. At this point, Nas is on a roll and it’s only 20 minutes into the show. There’s “40 Side” and “Store Run,” which he performs in front of a deli corner store that reads “Mass Appeal,” the media company fronted by Nas. In my section, all the cameras immediately came out as the DJ scratches into “Rare Form,” the standout of KD2.
I would ultimately lose my mind when hearing “Speechless”– a cut from the first Magic album that came in the middle of the King’s Disease trilogy. It’s something about the lurking production that resembles a cold sweat in a primetime drama that speaks to my music sensibilities. I had been surprised that he would even pull that out of the bag. “Speechless” happens to be my favorite of the entire series, that includes all of the King’s Diseases and all three Magic albums, which include two that were released post-concert and during the summer months of 2023.
A lot of what made the trilogy exciting is the collaboration between rapper and producer. “I gotta bring out my brother,” Nas told his hyped crowd. Some fans in my section already knew: Hit-Boy.
Hit-Boy is a saving grace for Nas’s legacy. After the disastrous results of Nas collaborating with Kanye West on his highly anticipated 2018 LP, NASIR, the conversations reappeared about how Nas had issues with rapping over certain beat selections. Nas has even addressed this countless times in his music prior. Even though I didn’t find NASIR to be a bad project, the rapper has spoken about how the recording process was rushed and not to his liking. Earlier this month, a video clip leaked of Kanye West ranting about how Nas rapped offbeat on NASIR’s “Cops Shot The Kid.”
Under the instrumental for “The Pressure,” Nas continued, “These last albums we did in the last two years… Bring out Chauncey [Hit-Boy’s legal first name]... Hit Boy,” to which the crowd gave a standing ovation. Because of Hit-Boy, Nas would win his first ever Grammy in 2021, for Best Rap Album thanks to King’s Disease 1. The duo compare that magic to Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones, who gifted the music world with Thriller– a turning point in Michael Jackson’s solo career. As a result, they performed “Michael & Quincy” together from King’s Disease 3. After they were done, Hit-Boy exclaimed, “My brother, Esco. My n!gga for real!” Nas relished in that sentiment: “In the 2020’s … we changing and creating our own lane.
Also in the family affair: Mary J. Blige, who would come out in the middle of Nas performing “Reminisce.” She would give a brief cover of her 1992 hit, “You Remind Me,” to much fanfare as both hugged each other on stage.
With all those gems delivered, Nas was far from done. If anyone thought that the show would only include King’s Disease music, they were sadly mistaken. After all there needed to be a recollection of what got him to this point in the first place. The trilogy is just a musical victory lap for a veteran that’s killing the game.
Prior to Nas’s impeccable run in the 2020’s, I had already been a fan of his music. I’m not able to remember everything that happened in my youth, but somehow I can always recall the first time I witnessed my favorite artists. Somehow Nas was a prolific figure that can be included on that list.
One afternoon in ‘99, I was playing with my action figures on the living room floor as a five-year-old would do. My uncle would often come over to visit his best friend in the world, my mother. As he was babysitting me, while she and my dad were at work, he’d often have the TV on BET. I remember this one video where a girl was sitting on a swing singing. She had been my favorite amongst the three other girls, maybe because she was placed in the center. That would turn out to be Beyoncé. Then I remember this overweight man sitting on a basketball court. He seemed to have some issues with his breathing, as his head tilted back. He looked kind of dangerous and scary. My uncle shook his head in disbelief, as sadness crept over his face all the sudden. That turned out to be The Notorious B.I.G.
Then in the middle of all those visuals, there was this one man. He was carrying a cross on his back like Jesus. Knowing nothing about the crucifixion, I did know about this man that everyone sang about in church whenever my grandmother would take me. However, the man on TV had been Black though, so it was kind of confusing. Then I saw flames, and I saw this other angry man shouting on camera. The other angry man had been dancing all up in the video, while the other man looked cool and convincing. Little did I know that almost 25 years later, I would be walking into Madison Square Garden to that very song.
Nas briefly came on stage at MSG to perform “Legit” in his mink coat. Then he exited. The three screens displayed all of his album covers. Illmatic got the loudest roar, of course. The second loudest? Stillmatic.
Back to my days of growing up on Nas…
In 2001, I was a little bit older and more troublesome. Kids around that age are known for being nosey, and that’s exactly what it was for me when it came down to music. The gossip of adults did not interest me at all. It seemed scary and full of drama that I couldn’t comprehend nor cared for. But one night, I was really engaged past my bedtime. I don’t think she realizes (so I apologize for putting her on the spot, in advance), but my mom and uncle would keep me up blasting their hippity hop. But one night, I was so grateful because it became my introduction into the inner workings of hip hop culture.
They were listening to the radio station. At that time we would get the Philly stations. The DJ said something along the lines of “oooo, y’all got to hear this man.” They turned up the volume, as the beat started. “[Bleep] with your soul like Ether,” rapped this man as he continued going off. Making noises like they did when they watched a boxing match, my mom and uncle were shocked at what they were hearing. “Yeah I heard about that,” they would say about certain lines. “Damn, he called Jay-Z out!” Then the DJ played it again. And again. The volume got louder and louder. Sounded like the DJ was taking some phone calls from other people at a certain point.
In this stage of life, I knew who both Nas and Jay-Z were. Jay-Z was the man on the Annie song with the little kids singing. I liked that song just as much as I liked the one of Nas talking about “hate.” But even as a kid, I knew “that Jay-Z man” was in trouble. Nas seemed like he knew what he was doing, and he sounded very upset on that song. If there was a declaration of a winner of a beef, it seemed as though the people in my family had sided with Nas.
They sided with Nas so much that they played his Stillmatic LP nonstop, especially “Got Ur Self A…” In my little brain, whenever I heard that song, I thought about the angry Italian man my mom would talk about on that one TV show I was not allowed to watch after bedtime. But then I would start to go to bed a little scared. I remember that the man who had trouble breathing while talking on the basketball court had in fact got shot and killed. I wondered if that could have potentially happened to Jay-Z– cause his Blueprint album had resonated with me too.
Thankfully as I got older, the beef had been squashed. As I entered the journalism industry, I started to identify more with Nas. I believed that the practice of art and honing skills was much more important than selling out and compromising identity. In a time where people are so quick to do the latter, it never sat right with me and my passions. While it seems most of my industry peers identify with Jay-Z because of his status, I value and treasure the Nas route a little bit more. As the 2020’s continue, it seems as though Nas is finally getting his flowers after working through his waiting game.
Witnessing his final two acts had been the most special moment for us at Madison Square Garden. He rolled into hit after hit from his previous discography, from the jazzy “N.Y. State of Mind” to my ultimate favorite sample usage from him titled “It Ain’t Hard To Tell.” He brought out AZ from his ‘90’s rap posse, The Firm. Slick Rick made an appearance during “The World Is Yours” to which Nas responded “Thank you King!” A sea of bodies bopped along rhythmically to “Made You Look.” We got amped during “Hate Me Now.” The air got still during “One Mic,” as Nas said “Every project, n!gga we did it.”
Nas performed that and his encore wearing the Stillmatic orange tracksuit. In the last portion of the show, security guards started to let their guards down as “Hot Boyz,” “Oochie Wally,” and “You Owe Me” played. The closing number: “If I Ruled The World,” a song that I fondly remember liking as that little boy in the midst of the Ether-Takeover feud era.
On June 5, 2023, Mass Appeal announced the big moment everyone anticipated: a Hip Hop 50 Live concert would be taking place at Yankee Stadium, in the Bronx– the birthplace of hip hop. One element that I have grown to respect about Nas, the same rapper who declared, “Hip Hop is Dead,” is that as he’s gotten older he’s made it a mission for people not to forget the legacy and the foundations.
Hip hop is at a weird place right now where the guard is changing, and the legends like Nas are having to fight for placement amongst executives. If I’m being completely honest from an editorial standpoint, an article like this would not have been able to come out. Aside from what Elliott Wilson was able to accomplish with his GQ cover story of Nas’s February concert, I’ve read the other write-ups on the event and they are very minimal to say the least. I don’t believe it is the fault of the writers themselves who covered, but rather their editorial directors who wanted the quick pageviews but discarded the moment aside.
In a later article, I will delve further into the events that took place at Hip Hop 50 Live: Yankee Stadium. I will say that the event was one of the best experiences of my life– just to see the joy of diverse people that stood for what hip hop meant. Even though the event was long, we had a ball. The love could be felt throughout the stadium. From the moment we stood in line anxiously, full of adrenaline down to when Nas hit the stage.
However, it felt like deja vu the second time around. Nas’s set felt like an abbreviation of the specific moment at MSG. I think that was very much intentional on his part. More time was focused on his guest, such as a surprise appearance from Kool G Rap, where they performed “Fast Life.” Lauryn Hill came out during Nas’s set and it felt like experiencing actual royalty as the 11th turned the clock into the 12th. She gave us her rendition of “If I Ruled The World (Imagine That),” which is still ingrained in my mind for how she created a choral moment with the bridge.
I left both concerts with fulfillment. Surreal isn’t even the word to describe what it was. I think the music lessons behind each just reflected my age more than anything else. Music brings back memories and takes you to specific places. Is there really a profound lesson in all of this that I should come up with as a writer?
In this instance, I don’t know exactly…. I’m just standing in my square like Nas told us to do at MSG. And I’ll leave it at that….
