Nas has notched a new career milestone, headlining New York Cityâs Madison Square Garden for the first time during a stellar performance featuring special guests and a tribute to De La Soulâs Trugoy.
The Queensbridge legend paused his career spanning set on Friday night (February 24) to play the opening verse on De Laâs hit single âBuddyâ before yelling out, âMake some noise for Trugoy, De La Soul. Rest in Poetry!â
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Dave âTrugoy The Doveâ Jolicoeur, who opens the song, passed away unexpectedly earlier this month at the age of 54. Though a cause of death has yet to be revealed, his longtime friend and groupmate Posdnous captured the significance of the loss in a heartfelt statement posted to Instagram on Wednesday (February 22).
âYour passing is a great loss not only to us, but also to the entire hip-hop community,â Pos wrote. âYou were a true artist who used music to inspire and uplift others, and you will be deeply missed by all who knew you.â
.@nas pays tribute to Trugoy the Dove during star-studded sold out show at Madison Square Garden đđhttps://t.co/52WCdDrY0Tpic.twitter.com/unkECKlErR
â HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) February 25, 2023
In November 2022, Nas announced plans to perform his Kingâs Disease trilogy during the special one-night only performance at MSG.
However, what he also delivered to fans was a set full of hits from his entire discography â which, in addition to countless guest features, comprises 15 studio albums; two volumes of his unreleased compilation series, The Lost Tapes; and group efforts with The Firm, Damian Marley and his Ill Will Records comrades.
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The sold out crowd was treated to live renditions of Nasâ greatest hits, including âThe World Is Yours,â âMade You Look,â and âIf I Ruled The Worldâ; as well as album cuts like âGet Downâ and guest verses including his contribution to Missy Elliottâs âHot Boyz.â The 34-song set also featured songs from each of the Kingâs Disease albums including â27 Summers,â âSpicy,â and âMichael & Quincy.â
To top off the history-making moment in his career, Nas brought out Mary J. Blige, Slick Rick and AZ to perform âReminisce,â âHey Young World,â and âLifeâs A Bitchâ respectively.
The performance arrives amid rumors that Nas is already at work on a fourth installment in his Grammy-winning Kingâs Disease series with Hit-Boy.
The cat was let out of the bag in 50 Centâs sprawling cover interview with Billboard, in which he discussed his impending musical comeback, ever-expanding multimedia empire and the 20th anniversary of his blockbuster debut album Get Rich or Die Tryinâ, among other topics.
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The publication noted that in addition to working on a new solo album with Eminem and Dr. Dre, the G-Unit general is set to feature on Nasâ forthcoming Kingâs Disease 4 LP. Further details about the project, however, remain scarce.