Your state of mind is about to improve because some beloved hip hop icons are coming to New Zealand.
Wu-Tang Clan and Nas announced this morning they will be returning to Aotearoa on May 9 for one show and one show only.
Set to take place at Spark Arena in Auckland, the show has been announced as part of their NY State of Mind tour which visited more than 25 cities around the world last year and was nominated for Pollstar’s 2022 Hip Hop Tour of The Year.
Considered by many to be the greatest hip-hop group of all time, the group is made up of nine members including RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, U-God, Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck, Cappadonna and, previously, Ol’ Dirty Bastard (ODB) who passed away in 2004.
Wu-Tang Clan were founded in New York City’s Staten Island in the early 1990s and quickly become an iconic group on the hip-hop scene. They last performed in Aotearoa in 2018 with two massive shows in Christchurch’s Horncastle Arena and Auckland’s Trusts Arena.
It was the first time the group performed in the country with all nine members and was part of their tour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their groundbreaking debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).
The hit album, released in 1993, references the 1978 martial arts film The 36th Chamber of Shaolin - a fitting choice for a group whose name was also adopted from martial arts film Shaolin and Wu Tang.
The group is widely regarded as one of the most influential hip-hop groups of all time and Enter the Wu-Tang is considered one of the greatest ever hip-hop albums featuring tracks like Bring Da Ruckus, C.R.E.A.M and Protect Ya Neck.
Meanwhile, Nas 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.
Tickets for the May show go on sale March 6 at 12pm, while pre-sale access will be available to Vodafone customers from March 1 and Live Nation members from March 3.
LOWDOWN:
Who: Wu-Tang Clan and Nas
When: May 9
Where: Spark Arena, Auckland
Tickets: Vodafone pre-sale commences at 10am on Wednesday, March 1
Live Nation pre-sale commences at 11am on Friday, March 3
General public tickets go on sale Monday, March 6 at 12pm.