Jay-Z made a triumphant return to the stage with his first of two sold-out shows at New York’s historic Carnegie Hall on Monday night (Feb. 6). Accompanied by a 36-piece orchestra, the new father entered in a white tuxedo jacket and black bow tie to a standing ovation. He kicked off the evening with “PSA” and “Thank You” before introducing the orchestra’s female conductor and segueing into “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love).”

Brooklyn’s own paid homage to his city with Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” and Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” and referenced Gil Scott-Heron’s “New York Is Killing Me.” An elegant Alicia Keys held court with Hov for their Big Apple anthem “Empire State of Mind” and Jay joined his fellow New Yorker Nas for “N.Y. State of Mind.” Alicia returned to duet with Nas on “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That).”

“I didn’t think I was gonna make it through that one. That was tough,” Hov told concertgoers after performing “Glory,” his touching dedication to his daughter Blue Ivy Carter.

After changing into a more comfortable black jeans and tee, he delivered classics including “Big Pimpin’” and “Jigga” and brought out Roc Nation singer Bridget Kelly for “Young Forever.” Ninety minutes later, he made a grand exit through the balcony. Proceeds from the concert benefitted the United Way of New York City and the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation.

Nas kicked off Super Bowl weekend with an appearance on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.” Repping his home team the New York Giants, the hip-hop icon teamed up with The Roots to perform “Nasty” on Thursday night’s show, which was broadcast from Indianapolis’ Hilbert Circle Theater. He later headlined a concert with the band at EA Sports’ Madden Bowl kickoff party at the Bud Light Hotel.

[MWP]

Chris Brown is sharing his Fortune with a hip-hop legend. The singer revealed that Nas will appear on his upcoming album.

“NAS ft on the album!!! In studio right now workin!!! Amazing!” tweeted Breezy, to which Nas responded, “My little brotha! Peace! Good times!”

Chris’ fifth album, the follow-up to 2011’s Grammy-nominated F.A.M.E., has already produced a video for the Kevin McCall-assisted single “Strip.” He recently shot the album packaging and is in the final stages of recording. He has been in the studio with Asher Roth, Wiz Khalifa, Kid Sister, and will.i.am, among others.

Nas is also working on a new album for Def Jam, due later this year.

K’naan goes all in on “Nothing to Lose,” a collaboration with Nas off his 5-track digital EP More Beautiful Than Silence, hitting iTunes on January 24. The uplifting anthem boasts rhymes from both rappers on top of a sing-song chorus. The EP’s first single, “Is Anybody Out There” featuring Nelly Furtado, hits radio on February 7.

[Complex]

K’naan united the globe with his World Cup anthem “Wavin’ Flag.” Now the Somali-Canadian musician is gearing up for the release of his EP More Beautiful Than Silence. The 5-track digital release will hit iTunes on January 24, with contributions from Nas (“Nothing to Lose”), Ryan Tedder (“Better”), and Nelly Furtado on the first single “Is Anybody Out There.” A full-length album will follow in the spring. See the tracklisting below.

More Beautiful Than Silence Tracklisting

1. “Is Anybody Out There” feat. Nelly Furtado
2. “Nothing to Lose” feat. Nas
3. “More Beautiful Than Silence”
4. “Better”
5. “Coming to America”

Painting pictures with words isn’t the only thing Nas can do. The Queensbridge rapper traveled down to Art Basel Miami 2011, where he performed at Ricochet and sold his first-ever painting for $14,000.

While performing “Made You Look,” Esco picked up the paintbrush and unleashed his inner Picasso, drawing a sketch of a man smoking a joint. The painting, auctioned during the show, went for a staggering $14K, with all proceeds going to charity.

“Just sold my first painting on stage for 14K during my set at @RicochetMiami…. Wow!!! Money goin to charity!” tweeted Nasty Nas.

[The305.com]

“Tonight is the night we celebrate how strong we are because we’re still here,” said the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul as she addressed her subjects during her “American Express Unstaged” concert at Club Nokia in Los Angeles last night. Sparkling in a bodysuit and avant-garde blazer, Mary J. Blige reminisced as she performed her 1994 seminal album My Life in its entirety while celebrities including Jennifer Lopez, Magic Johnson, and Busta Rhymes looked on. MJB fans all over the world were able to watch the live broadcast, directed by Adam Shankman, on VEVO and YouTube.

After pouring out her emotions during “Mary’s Joint,” the teary-eyed songstress dedicated the concert to the late Heavy D. “We miss you. I’m dedicating the show to him tonight because if it wasn’t for him and Uptown Records, there would be no Mary J. Blige,” she said while singing “I Love You.”

Diddy’s voice helped introduce the next chapter in the My Life series. A phone conversation between Mary and her mentor played before Nas joined his fellow New Yorker on “Feel Inside,” their collaboration off her new album My Life II… The Journey Continues (Act I).

Following a wardrobe change, she delved into her two new singles “Mr. Wrong” and “25/8,” leaving concertgoers begging for more. They got what they asked for when she returned for the encore, serving up her classics “Family Affair” and “Be Without You,” as voted by fans in an online poll.

Bridge the gap with Mary by watching highlights below.

Mobb Deep keeps its ears to the streets on “Get It Forever,” a new cut off the duo’s EP Black Cocaine, dropping Monday. Havoc and Prodigy spit tough rhymes over the menacing beat, while the Queensbridge MC tells a gritty tale of life in the ‘hood on his verse. Real talk.

[YouHeardThatNew]

Nas duets with his late friend Amy Winehouse on the Salaam Remi-produced “Like Smoke.” The two struck up a friendship after Amy name checked Nas on Back to Black‘s “Me & Mr Jones.”

“You know how me and Amy are, straight players,” raps the Queens MC on the retro-soul number, which was recorded in May 2008.

Their collaboration can be found on the soulstress’ posthumous album Lioness: Hidden Treasures, due December 5.

[Miss Info]

Nas and Rick Ross provide the soundtrack to Brett Ratner’s crime comedy Tower Heist, starring Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller, with their Salaam Remi-produced collaboration “It’s a Tower Heist.” The montage video features clips from the film, in theaters November 4, mixed with footage of Nas recording in New York and a shirtless Rozay fanning himself with money in a Miami studio.

The “Nasty” MC praised his collaborator in an interview with BET. “Rick is on fire. Rick has basically got a strong grip on the game,” he said. “Rick’s stuff is about the streets, it’s about life. It’s about living from his perspective and I relate to it one thousand percent.”