NAS RULES THE GARDEN

Nas has already ruled the world—and now he's ruled Madison Square Garden. The Queensbridge hip-hop legend took the stage for his first-ever headlining set at the iconic NYC venue on Friday (2/24). The sold-out show found the lauded MC digging deep into his catalog, performing classic songs such as "One Mic," "If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)" and "N.Y. State of Mind."

Nasty Nas also performed newer cuts during the 34-song set, including “27 Summers,” “Spicy" and “Michael & Quincy from the Grammy-nominated King's Disease trilogy. Special guests included AZ from The Firm, Mary J. Blige and Slick Rick.

The crowd was privy to a somewhat somber moment when Nas momentarily stopped the show to pay tribute to De La Soul's Trugoy The Dove who died on 2/12. After playing the opening verse from De La Soul's 1989 hit “Buddy," he shouted, “Make some noise for Trugoy, De La Soul. Rest in Poetry!” As for the encore, Nas closed with "Hot Boyz (Remix),” “Oochie Wally” and “Owe Me." Meanwhile, we were asked not to come. Imagine that.

Photo credit: Dimitrios Kambouris