Hip Hop icons Wu-Tang Clan and Nas will bring their legendary co-headlined NY State of Mind Tour to Aotearoa! The 2023 tour comes on the heels of the sold out 2022 N.Y. State of Mind Tour run that hit 25+ cities last year, including an iconic show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
The tour was also recently nominated for Pollstar’s 2022 Hip Hop Tour of The Year - watch the 2022 N.Y. State of Mind Tour recap HERE.
Founded in New York City's Staten Island in the early 1990s, the Wu-Tang Clan is comprised of members RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, U-God, Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck, Cappadonna, and the deceased Ol' Dirty Bastard (ODB). Their name is a reference to a 1983 martial arts film.
Led by the production of RZA, samples from martial arts films have thematically appeared throughout the group's music, as have samples of classic funk and soul tracks from artists like Rick James, James Brown, and Syl Johnson.
As a group, Wu-Tang Clan have three platinum albums among their eight LPs, and the group's complete anthology (including solo albums) has more than 85 full-length releases. More than just rappers, Wu-Tang Clan are entrepreneurs and successful cultural influencers, with an empire that features everything from clothing lines and video games to books and acting credits.
Considered by many to be the greatest hip-hop group of all time, Wu-Tang Clan have been touring as a unit since their debut record — Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) — came out in 1993. The now triple-platinum release vaulted the New York City group with songs like "C.R.E.A.M." (Cash Rules Everything Around Me) and "Protect Ya Neck" that are about as recognizable as anything in the rap canon.
Nas (Nasir Jones) first reached an international audience when his track “Halftime” was tapped by producer MC Serch as the opening cut on 1992’s Zebrahead movie soundtrack. Signed to Columbia Records, the first full-length album by poet and rhyme-master Nas arrived in 1994, Illmatic. The RIAA platinum hip-hop landmark featured “It Ain’t Hard To Tell,” “The World Is Yours,” and “One". 1996 brought the breakthrough double-platinum It Was Written (#1 R&B for 7 weeks, #1 pop for 4 weeks), with his first major crossover singles “Street Dreams” and “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That).” Success continued with the double-platinum I Am in 1999 (again #1 pop and #1 R&B), with the chart singles “Nas Is Like,” “Hate Me Now” (featuring Puff Daddy), and “You Won’t See Me Tonight” (featuring Aaliyah).
Subsequent albums by Nas included: the RIAA platinum Nastradamus (1999); the platinum Stillmatic (2001); the platinum God’s Son (2002); and the platinum double-CD Street’s Disciple (2004). And his 2012 album, Life Is Good earned him 4 Grammy nominations including Rap Album of the Year and is certified RIAA gold.