{"id":11573928,"date":"2025-07-23T12:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T16:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11573928"},"modified":"2025-07-24T18:47:45","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T22:47:45","slug":"rap-legend-nas-comes-to-baltimore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/23\/rap-legend-nas-comes-to-baltimore\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Tonight was incredible’: BSO hosts its first rap concert as Nas brings \u2018Illmatic\u2019 to Meyerhoff stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oblivious to the woman with a cellphone seated just a few seats behind them, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott temporarily put down their official duties Wednesday night and channeled their inner hip-hop heads.<\/p>\n

There the mayor and governor were, in Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall with their families, cranking their right arms in big circles as if winding up for the pitch, bending their knees and swaying back and forth to the rhythms of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and rap legend Nas.<\/p>\n

It was the first time that the BSO had performed with a hip-hop star in the orchestra\u2019s 109-year history. And it is just the most recent example of how Maryland\u2019s largest cultural organization is reaching out to a younger and more diverse population and attempting to grow its audience of the future.<\/p>\n

\u201dMan, tonight was incredible,\u201d Scott posted<\/a> later on his Instagram account, below a photo of himself with his wife, Hana, and her son, Ceron.<\/p>\n

\u201dI was just a little older than him when \u2018Illmatic\u2019 came out and I remember how life-changing hearing it for the first time was for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also spotted in the crowd: Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen.<\/p>\n

Tickets to the concert sold out 48 hours after the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra announced April 7 that Nas and the full orchestra would perform his landmark debut album, “Illmatic,” with new arrangements.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is perhaps the biggest night in Baltimore in quite a while,\u201d said Allison Burr-Livingstone, the symphony\u2019s senior vice president and chief advancement officer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that this album means so much to so many people across the country and also here in our community. We hope that we are welcoming longtime fans of Nas who will now be longtime fans of the BSO.\u201d<\/p>\n

It would be safe to say that not all of the sold-out 2,443 tickets went to locals.<\/p>\n

Nederizio Candelario of Baltimore lured friends from New York to join her at the concert. She has been to the BSO before \u2014 she\u2019s a fan of the BSO\u2019s Fusion Series, which intertwines classical melodies with popular music from such bands as Radiohead and songwriter Kendrick Lamar.<\/p>\n

\u201dI told them the acoustics [at the Meyerhoff] were very good,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Symphony officials, who found themselves turning away disappointed ticket-buyers, still aren’t entirely sure what hit them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really was remarkable,\u201d said Mark C. Hanson, the BSO\u2019s president and CEO.<\/p>\n

\u201dWe had no idea there was such a pent-up demand from people wanting to be in this hall to hear this music. I wish we could have put on five concerts with Nas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fans like Tevin Eubanks and Sharlay Jauvon, of Baltimore, were prepared to splurge. Eubanks said he had hoped to score two of the pricey VIP packages, which included premium seats, a limited edition tour poster and other merchandise.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe VIP packages sold out fast, and what was left was general admission tickets,\u201d Eubanks said. \u201cI\u2019m glad I was able to get them.\u201d<\/p>\n

So Wednesday\u2019s event had all the trappings of a happening, with a pre-performance party in the Meyerhoff lobby that included food trucks, bar service and live music from DJ Impulse.<\/p>\n

The concert was divided into three parts: Initially, the Symphony performed a selection of popular tunes from Kurt Weill\u2019s \u201cMack the Knife\u201d to John Kander and Fred Ebb\u2019s \u201cNew York, New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

They were joined for the second part by Nas, who gave the crowd what it was waiting for: \u201cIllmatic,\u201d with new arrangements and backed by an 80-piece orchestra.<\/p>\n

Finally, symphony musicians left the stage and Nas performed some of his more recent work.<\/p>\n

The BSO won\u2019t have audience demographics from Wednesday\u2019s performance until later this year. But Hanson won\u2019t be surprised if attendees prove to be significantly younger and more racially diverse than typical BSO ticket-buyers. He expects many of the rapper\u2019s fans to be first-time visitors to the Meyerhoff, including those who traveled to Maryland from out of state.<\/p>\n

Baltimore\u2018s Grant Coleman said he had never heard the BSO perform before Wednesday\u2019s concert, though his wife, Tiffany, has; she attended a February 2024 concert that paired the music of rap icons Tupac Shakur (who spent his teen years in Baltimore) and Notorious B.I.G. with Gustav Mahler\u2019s \u201cResurrection\u201d symphony.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis concert is a blending of two different styles and cultures,\u201d Grant Coleman said. \u201cNas is an awesome performer, and the BSO is an awesome orchestra.\u201d<\/p>\n

Symphony officials noted that the experience was eye-opening for people on both sides of the stage. Wednesday\u2019s concert was the first time some of the players had been exposed to Nas\u2019 music, Burr-Livingstone said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe opportunity for us to collaborate with an artist as legendary as Nas is huge,\u201d Hanson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt invites new audience members into the Meyerhoff to experience a symphonic concert. And it also broadens our mindset as an organization, leading to other new ideas and ways of collaborating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, the 51-year-old Grammy Award-winning Nas isn’t just any rapper, and “Illmatic” isn’t just any album.<\/p>\n

The Brooklyn-born, Queens-raised Nas \u2014 his original stage name was \u201cNasty Nas\u201d \u2014 is rooted in East Coast hip-hop and famed for his intricate, sophisticated rhymes and storytelling ability. He was named the third greatest rapper of all time in 2015 by Billboard magazine.<\/p>\n

“Illmatic” routinely makes Top 10 greatest hip-hop album lists and is included in the Library of Congress\u2019 National Recording Registry.<\/p>\n

The \u201cIllmatic\u201d tour, which began in 2024 in Europe, celebrates the album\u2019s 30th anniversary.<\/p>\n

Though Wednesday was Nas\u2019 first performance with the BSO, it was not his first concert in Baltimore.<\/p>\n

In 2019, he performed at the Royal Farms Arena, now CFG Bank Arena, with Mary J. Blige. Five years earlier, he headlined the Preakness Infieldfest in 2014, along with the New Zealand singer\/songwriter Lorde.<\/p>\n

Though Nas has left Charm City, he will remain in the mid-Atlantic region for at least this weekend. He is scheduled to perform concerts on Friday in Philadelphia and in Pittsburgh on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Sun reporters Matthew Schumer and Brendan Townsend contributed to this article.<\/em><\/p>\n

Have a news tip? Contact Mary Carole McCauley at mmccauley@baltsun.com<\/a> and 410-332-6704.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hip-hop legend Nas performed his iconic debut album “Illmatic” with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for a sold-out crowd at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, marking a historic first-time collaboration with the BSO.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":11313655,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-07-23T21:01:24Z","apple_news_api_id":"08c8609a-80ad-42f2-bcff-7afeb5c932fe","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-07-24T22:47:48Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ACMhgmoCtQvK8_3r-tcky_g","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"[{\"key\":\"\",\"type\":\"\",\"value\":\"\"}]","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"subheadline":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[114,116,83,84,121,85,113],"tags":[24457],"feature":[],"location":[359,223],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[401],"class_list":["post-11573928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-entertainment","category-latest-headlines","category-local-news","category-music-concerts","category-news","category-things-to-do","tag-social","location-baltimore","location-maryland"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"114","primary_tag":0,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"","print_title":"'Tonight was incredible': BSO hosts its first rap concert as Nas brings \u2018Illmatic\u2019 to Meyerhoff stage","print_subheadline":"","print_priority":"","print_placement":"cover","print_planned_ready":"","print_pub_date":"","print_slug":"TBS-L-NAS-0724","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"Hip-hop legend Nas performed his iconic debut album \"Illmatic\" with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for a sold-out crowd at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, marking a historic first-time collaboration with the BSO.","print_notes":"","photo_limits":"Photo limits are: 1 featured image, 5 featured gallery images, 5 embedded gallery images and 5 in-article embedded images. Articles that exceed these limits will not export. Please adjust images to reflect these limits.","print_featured_gallery_richtext":"","print_inline_galleries_richtext":"","print_inline_images_richtext":"","print_content":"

Oblivious to the woman with a cellphone seated just a few seats behind them, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott temporarily put down their official duties Wednesday night and channeled their inner hip-hop heads.<\/p>

There the mayor and governor were, in Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall with their families, cranking their right arms in big circles as if winding up for the pitch, bending their knees and swaying back and forth to the rhythms of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and rap legend Nas.<\/p>

It was the first time that the BSO had performed with a hip-hop star in the orchestra\u2019s 109-year history. And it is just the most recent example of how Maryland\u2019s largest cultural organization is reaching out to a younger and more diverse population and attempting to grow its audience of the future.<\/p>

\u201dMan, tonight was incredible,\u201d Scott posted<\/a> later on his Instagram account, below a photo of himself with his wife, Hana, and her son, Ceron.<\/p>

\u201dI was just a little older than him when \u2018Illmatic\u2019 came out and I remember how life-changing hearing it for the first time was for me.\u201d<\/p>

Also spotted in the crowd: Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen.<\/p>

Tickets to the concert sold out 48 hours after the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra announced April 7 that Nas and the full orchestra would perform his landmark debut album, \"Illmatic,\" with new arrangements.<\/p>

\u201cThis is perhaps the biggest night in Baltimore in quite a while,\u201d said Allison Burr-Livingstone, the symphony\u2019s senior vice president and chief advancement officer.<\/p>

\u201cWe know that this album means so much to so many people across the country and also here in our community. We hope that we are welcoming longtime fans of Nas who will now be longtime fans of the BSO.\u201d<\/p>

It would be safe to say that not all of the sold-out 2,443 tickets went to locals.<\/p>

Nederizio Candelario of Baltimore lured friends from New York to join her at the concert. She has been to the BSO before \u2014 she\u2019s a fan of the BSO\u2019s Fusion Series, which intertwines classical melodies with popular music from such bands as Radiohead and songwriter Kendrick Lamar.<\/p>

\u201dI told them the acoustics [at the Meyerhoff] were very good,\u201d she said.<\/p>

Symphony officials, who found themselves turning away disappointed ticket-buyers, still aren't entirely sure what hit them.<\/p>

\u201cIt really was remarkable,\u201d said Mark C. Hanson, the BSO\u2019s president and CEO.<\/p>

\u201dWe had no idea there was such a pent-up demand from people wanting to be in this hall to hear this music. I wish we could have put on five concerts with Nas.\u201d<\/p>

Fans like Tevin Eubanks and Sharlay Jauvon, of Baltimore, were prepared to splurge. Eubanks said he had hoped to score two of the pricey VIP packages, which included premium seats, a limited edition tour poster and other merchandise.<\/p>

\u201cThe VIP packages sold out fast, and what was left was general admission tickets,\u201d Eubanks said. \u201cI\u2019m glad I was able to get them.\u201d<\/p>

So Wednesday\u2019s event had all the trappings of a happening, with a pre-performance party in the Meyerhoff lobby that included food trucks, bar service and live music from DJ Impulse.<\/p>

The concert was divided into three parts: Initially, the Symphony performed a selection of popular tunes from Kurt Weill\u2019s \u201cMack the Knife\u201d to John Kander and Fred Ebb\u2019s \u201cNew York, New York.\u201d<\/p>

They were joined for the second part by Nas, who gave the crowd what it was waiting for: \u201cIllmatic,\u201d with new arrangements and backed by an 80-piece orchestra.<\/p>

Finally, symphony musicians left the stage and Nas performed some of his more recent work.<\/p>

The BSO won\u2019t have audience demographics from Wednesday\u2019s performance until later this year. But Hanson won\u2019t be surprised if attendees prove to be significantly younger and more racially diverse than typical BSO ticket-buyers. He expects many of the rapper\u2019s fans to be first-time visitors to the Meyerhoff, including those who traveled to Maryland from out of state.<\/p>

Baltimore\u2018s Grant Coleman said he had never heard the BSO perform before Wednesday\u2019s concert, though his wife, Tiffany, has; she attended a February 2024 concert that paired the music of rap icons Tupac Shakur (who spent his teen years in Baltimore) and Notorious B.I.G. with Gustav Mahler\u2019s \u201cResurrection\u201d symphony.<\/p>

\u201cThis concert is a blending of two different styles and cultures,\u201d Grant Coleman said. \u201cNas is an awesome performer, and the BSO is an awesome orchestra.\u201d<\/p>

Symphony officials noted that the experience was eye-opening for people on both sides of the stage. Wednesday\u2019s concert was the first time some of the players had been exposed to Nas\u2019 music, Burr-Livingstone said.<\/p>

\u201cThe opportunity for us to collaborate with an artist as legendary as Nas is huge,\u201d Hanson said.<\/p>

\u201cIt invites new audience members into the Meyerhoff to experience a symphonic concert. And it also broadens our mindset as an organization, leading to other new ideas and ways of collaborating.\u201d<\/p>

Of course, the 51-year-old Grammy Award-winning Nas isn't just any rapper, and \"Illmatic\" isn't just any album.<\/p>

The Brooklyn-born, Queens-raised Nas \u2014 his original stage name was \u201cNasty Nas\u201d \u2014 is rooted in East Coast hip-hop and famed for his intricate, sophisticated rhymes and storytelling ability. He was named the third greatest rapper of all time in 2015 by Billboard magazine.<\/p>

\"Illmatic\" routinely makes Top 10 greatest hip-hop album lists and is included in the Library of Congress\u2019 National Recording Registry.<\/p>

The \u201cIllmatic\u201d tour, which began in 2024 in Europe, celebrates the album\u2019s 30th anniversary.<\/p>

Though Wednesday was Nas\u2019 first performance with the BSO, it was not his first concert in Baltimore.<\/p>

In 2019, he performed at the Royal Farms Arena, now CFG Bank Arena, with Mary J. Blige. Five years earlier, he headlined the Preakness Infieldfest in 2014, along with the New Zealand singer\/songwriter Lorde.<\/p>

Though Nas has left Charm City, he will remain in the mid-Atlantic region for at least this weekend. He is scheduled to perform concerts on Friday in Philadelphia and in Pittsburgh on Saturday.<\/p>

Sun reporters Matthew Schumer and Brendan Townsend contributed to this article.<\/em><\/p>

Have a news tip? Contact Mary Carole McCauley at mmccauley@baltsun.com<\/a> and 410-332-6704.<\/em><\/p>"},"print_workflow_exported_ts":"1753397323","print_workflow_exported_username":"Alazar Moges","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":{"print_section":"24225","print_status":"24232","add_export_buttons":"","print_endpoint":"tribune"},"really_short_title":"","short_title":"","syndication_source":"","market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"premium","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"image","content":{"id":11313655,"title":"TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01","filename":"TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/tbs-l-bsonas0408-01\/","alt":"","author":"36","description":"","caption":"Hip-hop artist Nas will perform his debut album Illmatic alongside the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra on July 23, 2025, at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. (Courtesy of the BSO)","name":"tbs-l-bsonas0408-01","status":"inherit","uploadedTo":0,"date":1744065576000,"modified":1744065576000,"menuOrder":0,"mime":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.svg","dateFormatted":"April 7, 2025","nonces":{"update":false,"delete":false,"edit":false},"editLink":false,"meta":false,"authorName":"dfm-photoupload","authorLink":"","filesizeInBytes":132390,"filesizeHumanReadable":"129 KB","context":"","height":534,"width":534,"orientation":"landscape","sizes":{"thumbnail":{"height":"150","width":"150","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","orientation":"landscape"},"medium":{"height":300,"width":300,"url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01.jpg?w=300","orientation":"landscape"},"large":{"height":534,"width":534,"url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01.jpg?w=534","orientation":"landscape"},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01.jpg","height":534,"width":534,"orientation":"landscape"}},"custom_caption":""},"data":[{"id":11313655,"title":"TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01","filename":"TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/tbs-l-bsonas0408-01\/","alt":"","author":"36","description":"","caption":"Hip-hop artist Nas will perform his debut album Illmatic alongside the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra on July 23, 2025, at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. (Courtesy of the BSO)","name":"tbs-l-bsonas0408-01","status":"inherit","uploadedTo":0,"date":1744065576000,"modified":1744065576000,"menuOrder":0,"mime":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.svg","dateFormatted":"April 7, 2025","nonces":{"update":false,"delete":false,"edit":false},"editLink":false,"meta":false,"authorName":"dfm-photoupload","authorLink":"","filesizeInBytes":132390,"filesizeHumanReadable":"129 KB","context":"","height":534,"width":534,"orientation":"landscape","sizes":{"thumbnail":{"height":"150","width":"150","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","orientation":"landscape"},"medium":{"height":300,"width":300,"url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01.jpg?w=300","orientation":"landscape"},"large":{"height":534,"width":534,"url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01.jpg?w=534","orientation":"landscape"},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01.jpg","height":534,"width":534,"orientation":"landscape"}},"custom_caption":""}],"rendered_content":"\"\""},"attachments":[],"authors":[{"ID":626,"display_name":"Mary Carole McCauley","description":"","first_name":"Mary Carole","last_name":"McCauley","user_nicename":"mary-carole-mccauley","user_login":"mary-carole-mccauley","user_email":"mmccauley@baltsun.com","type":"guest-author","linked_account":0,"website":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com","twitter":"","facebook":"","google_plus":""}],"taxonomies":{"category":[{"term_id":114,"name":"Arts","slug":"arts","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":114,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":113,"count":3629,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":116,"name":"Entertainment","slug":"entertainment","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":116,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":113,"count":39831,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":83,"name":"Latest Headlines","slug":"latest-headlines","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":83,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":72148,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":84,"name":"Local News","slug":"local-news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":84,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":10282,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":121,"name":"Music and Concerts","slug":"music-concerts","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":121,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":113,"count":3083,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":85,"name":"News","slug":"news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":85,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":113,"name":"Things To Do","slug":"things-to-do","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":113,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":84596,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[{"term_id":24457,"name":"social","slug":"social","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":24457,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":8116,"filter":"raw"}],"location":[{"term_id":359,"name":"Baltimore City","slug":"baltimore","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":359,"taxonomy":"location","description":"","parent":223,"count":32675,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":223,"name":"Maryland","slug":"maryland","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":223,"taxonomy":"location","description":"","parent":0,"count":243541,"filter":"raw"}]},"featured_media_array":{"id":11313655,"title":"TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01","filename":"TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/tbs-l-bsonas0408-01\/","alt":"","author":"36","description":"","caption":"Hip-hop artist Nas will perform his debut album Illmatic alongside the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra on July 23, 2025, at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. (Courtesy of the BSO)","name":"tbs-l-bsonas0408-01","status":"inherit","uploadedTo":0,"date":1744065576000,"modified":1744065576000,"menuOrder":0,"mime":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.svg","dateFormatted":"April 7, 2025","nonces":{"update":false,"delete":false,"edit":false},"editLink":false,"meta":false,"authorName":"dfm-photoupload","authorLink":"","filesizeInBytes":132390,"filesizeHumanReadable":"129 KB","context":"","height":534,"width":534,"orientation":"landscape","sizes":{"thumbnail":{"height":"150","width":"150","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","orientation":"landscape"},"medium":{"height":300,"width":300,"url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01.jpg?w=300","orientation":"landscape"},"large":{"height":534,"width":534,"url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01.jpg?w=534","orientation":"landscape"},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01.jpg","height":534,"width":534,"orientation":"landscape"}},"custom_caption":""},"syndication_canonical":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/23\/rap-legend-nas-comes-to-baltimore\/","apple_news_notices":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/23\/rap-legend-nas-comes-to-baltimore\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"‘Tonight was incredible’: BSO hosts its first rap concert as Nas brings \u2018Illmatic\u2019 to Meyerhoff stage","url":"http:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/23\/rap-legend-nas-comes-to-baltimore\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/23\/rap-legend-nas-comes-to-baltimore\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01.jpg?w=150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TBS-L-BSONAS0408-01.jpg"},"articleSection":"Other","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mary Carole McCauley"}],"creator":["Mary Carole McCauley"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Baltimore Sun","logo":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/baltimore-sun-fallback.png?w=600"},"keywords":["social"],"dateCreated":"2025-07-23T16:01:00Z","datePublished":"2025-07-23T16:01:00Z","dateModified":"2025-07-24T22:47:45Z"},"rendered":"