Nas Performs With His 'Favorite Rapper' At Roots Picnic

Nas has revealed who his favorite rapper is by bringing them out at Roots Picnic.

During his headlining set at the Philadelphia festival on Saturday (June 1), the Queensbridge MC was joined by fellow New Yorker Ghostface Killah for a surprise appearance.

The Wu-Tang Clan legend performed a medley of hits including his and Nas’ “Verbal Intercourse” collaboration from Raekwon‘s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.

Ghost then went on to perform “Cherchez La Ghost” and “Ice Cream” before finishing up with the Wu-Tang classic “C.R.E.A.M.”

Afterwards, Nas and Ghostface embraced on stage, with former repeatedly calling Ghost “the greatest” before adding: “That’s my fucking favorite rapper right there.”

That wasn’t the only surprise of the set. As he was leaving the stage, Ghostface Killah noticed Beanie Sigel watching from the side and invited him on stage.

“Make some noise for Beanie Sigel, Philly’s own!” Nas told the crowd, who obliged.

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The trio then posed for photographs together. “Aye, that’s legendary!” one member of the audience could be heard saying while witnessing the moment.

Ghostface later hopped on Instagram to share the love: “Thank you Philly !!!! Thank you to my brother @nas for bringing me out at the @rootspicnic was Amazing.”

Ghostface and Nas recently collaborated for the first time in over a decade on “Scar Tissue,” from the latter’s new album Set The Tone which was released via Nas’ Mass Appeal Records.

The project features an array of other rap legends including Kanye West, Busta Rhymes, Fat Joe, Jim Jones, Remy Ma, Ja Rule, Sheek Louch and AZ.

The respect between Nas and Ghostface is mutual as Tony Starks previously called the Illmatic MC his “favorite rapper of all time” in a 2022 interview with Billboard, shortly before they hit the road together on the N.Y. State of Mind Tour.

He also crowned Nas’ “Rewind” the greatest storytelling rap song ever in an episode of Complex‘s Brackets series.

“The skill on this record right here and the thought he put it into that… I gotta go ‘Rewind,'” he said of the Stillmatic track while explaining his pick.