Nas Plus The Boston Pops Perform at Tanglewood

Hip hop legend – and arguably the best storyteller in the game – Nasir Jones aka Nas, and the Boston Pops brought an unforgettable performance this past Friday June 27, 2025, at Tanglewood, located in Western Massachusetts (That two-hour drive from Boston was well worth it). Boston Symphony Orchestra’s pristine and elegant sound mixed with Nas’ lyrical brilliance and supreme cadences created this magical feeling. You really had to be there. The crowd was insanely huge, with a mixture of both older generations and younger generations, white people and black people, and various other races and ethnicities. Before all the seating filled up inside, the entire lawn on the outside was covered with fans in lawn chairs and blanketed grass sections. To say the least, there were A LOT of people in attendance.

He begin the performance taking us on a nostalgic journey through his entire debut album “Illmatic”, opening up with “NY State of Mind” and setting the tone for the night. He also performed his classics, such as “The World is Yours”, “Halftime”, “One Love”, and ‘Memory Lane”. He closed out with “Represent” and “It Ain’t Hard To Tell” and then the Boston Pops exited the stage, leaving the Grammy-award winning artist on the stage with his band. Needless to say, that’s when it really went down.

When them red lights started illuminating the stage, Nas brought us back to ’99 with his feature on Missy Elliot’s “Hot Boyz” remix, igniting the crowd with a burst of energy. Then he reminded us of his other commercial successes, such as “Oochie Wally” and his collaboration with Ginuwine for the smash hit “You Owe Me”. Yes, he did ‘Got Yourself A Gun”. Yes, he did “If I Ruled The World”. Yes, he did “Hate Me Now”. Yes, he did “Made You Look”. He blessed Tanglewood with his remarkable presence, ending the concert with “One Mic”. He gave his love to the crowd and exited the stage with a wave of applause. Then hearing the encore and standing ovation gradually grow louder, he returned to the stage and performed “One Mic” one more time, leaving his imprint on stage and in the memories of us who were privileged to be there.

Nas leads Boston Pops at Tanglewood, Photo courtesy of BSO Hillary Scott