Nas Celebrates 49th Birthday During Tour Stop With Wu-Tang Clan & Busta Rhymes

On Tuesday, rapper Nas celebrated his incoming 49th birthday on the N.Y. State of Mind Tour with Wu-Tang Clan and Busta Rhymes.

On Tuesday (September 13), Newark, New Jersey was treated with East Coast rap icons. As the evening preceded Nas' 49th birthday on Wednesday, the Newark audience collectively wished the Magic rapper a happy birthday while Ghostface Killah and Busta Rhymes gave him a group hug during the N.Y. State of Mind Tour.

Giving a salute to his onstage "brothers," including RZA, Raekwon, GZA, Inspectah Deck and Masta Killa, he went on to perform his 2001 hit "One Mic." Method Man and Redman were also surprise performers at the Newark stop, performing  “Da Rockwilder” from their 1999 debut album Blackout! The appearance comes one week after Method Man told disappointed fans that he would be unable to join the tour as part of Wu-Tang Clan due to shooting a film.

“And you know, these things happen and dudes do have to feed their families," he said at the time. "Albums don’t sell the way they used to, I’m pretty sure you guys know that. So in order to preserve my lifestyle and to feed my family, I had to have alternative means of doing that. And I’m glad to say at 50 years old, I have options. Not everybody can say that. Everyone cannot say that they have options.”

A night prior to his Newark show, Nas shut down Cote Steakhouse in New York City to host a dinner joined by his daughter Destiny, RZA, Raekwon and more. On Wednesday, the tour continues in Virginia Beach, before heading to Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, Oakland and Los Angeles, where the tour concludes on October 4.