DKNY Fall 2021: NYC Icon Nas Launches Exclusive "Concert to Feed NYC", Benefiting City Harvest
Legendary MC to Return to Queens to Help Feed New Yorkers in Need on Sept. 23 at the historic Forest Hills Stadium
NEW YORK (August 9, 2021) Grammy winning and legendary hip-hop artist Nas announced today the “Concert to Feed NYC” on Thursday, Sept. 23 at the historic Forest Hills Stadium in Queens. Proceeds from the concert will benefit City Harvest, New York City’s first and largest food rescue organization, during a time of historic food insecurity across the city, and the costs of the venue have been generously donated.
Nas—who was born in Brooklyn and raised in the Queensbridge Houses in Long Island City, Queens—is a longtime supporter of City Harvest. The Concert to Feed NYC will be Nas’ first live show in his hometown in nearly three years.
Last week Nas dropped King’s Disease II via Mass Appeal!
King’s Disease II is a sequel to Nas’ GRAMMY Award winning album King’s Disease, which was released in August 2020 to rave reviews.
As New York City begins its long recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, countless New Yorkers will continue to feel the economic pain of the pandemic for months or years to come. The Concert to Feed NYC will help support City Harvest’s efforts to ensure that no New Yorker will have to worry about where their next meal is coming from.
”I am looking forward to returning to stage for a performance in my hometown—especially since it supports a cause a care deeply about,” said Nas.
The Concert to Feed NYC will be an exclusive event for 4,000, featuring Speakeasy suites, minilounges, and lounge-style seating. Through its long and deep partnerships with the city’s restaurant community, City Harvest will bring high-end culinary experiences to the evening, as well. Event sponsor DKNY will also be creating exclusive merchandise for the concert, with sales benefitting City Harvest.
Samlyn Capital founder, Rob Pohly, who will underwrite all venue-related expenses for the event, said, "I'm a huge Nas fan and a big believer in the important work City Harvest does. I'm excited to be a part of this incredible evening of awesome music, all to help feed New Yorkers in need.”
During the pandemic, the need for food surged across the city—soaring 41% among all New Yorkers and a shocking 53% among children. Since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, City Harvest has rescued more than 190 million pounds of food and delivered it, free of charge, to hundreds of soup kitchens and food pantries across the five boroughs—an unprecedented effort that was more than double the amount of food the organization rescued and delivered over the same time period pre-pandemic.
"The Concert to Feed NYC will help us rescue and deliver more food for the many New Yorkers who are struggling to put meals on their tables because of the pandemic, many for the first time,” said Jilly Stephens, CEO of City Harvest. “We are so grateful to have a dedicated and passionate friend in Nas who will create such a special evening to support our work. Together, we can feed our city.”
“Mimi Eayrs and I are thrilled to produce Nas and The Concert to Feed NYC with our longtime partner City Harvest,” said Josh Wood of Josh Wood Productions. “The COVID crisis is far from over, and it’s our duty as New Yorkers to create new ways to fundraise for City Harvest…and what’s more New York than Nas and City Harvest together?”
Tickets go on sale on Friday, August 13 at ForestHillsStadium.com. More details will be released in the coming weeks.
The Concert to Feed NYC is generously sponsored by DKNY.
About Nas
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, #2 R&B, #7 pop, with “Nastradamus” and “You Owe Me,” featuring Ginuwine); the platinum Stillmatic (2001, #1 R&B, #5 pop, with “Got Ur Self A…,” “ “One Mic,” and “Rule”); the platinum God’s Son (2002, #1 R&B, with huge R&B/pop crossover hits “Made You Look” and “I Can”); and the platinum double- CD Street’s Disciple (2004, #2 R&B, #5 pop, with “Bridging the Gap” and “Just a Moment”). And his 2012 album, Life Is Good earned him 4 Grammy nominations including Rap Album of the Year and is certified RIAA gold.
Over the years, Nas has also been the featured guest on a number of crossover hits by other artists, among them: Allure (“Head Over Heels,” 1997); Missy Elliott (the #1 “Hot Boyz,” 1999); fellow Queensbridge rapper Mobb Deep (“It’s Mine,” 1999); Jagged Edge (“I Got It 2,” 2002); J-Lo (“I’m Gonna Be Alright,” 2002); Kanye West (“Classic (Better Than I’ve Ever Been),” 2006); DJ Khaled (“Nas Album Done,” 2016); Swizz Beats (“Echo,” 2018); Jhene Aiko (“10K Hours,” 2020) and others.
In August 2020, Nas released King’s Disease. King’s Disease marked Nas’ first new album in 2 years. The album was entirely produced by Hit-Boy, and Gabriel “G Code” Zardes serves as the albums coexecutive producer. The album won “Best Rap Album” at the 2021 GRAMMYs, marking Nas’ first ever GRAMMY win.
In addition to his successful career in music, Nas has pursued a career in motion pictures that began with his co-starring role (alongside DMX) in 1998’s cult classic crime drama Belly, a film by director Hype Williams (with whom Nas has done several music videos). Most recently, he was the executive producer of the 2016 Netflix series The Get Down.
Nas is also the co-founder of Mass Appeal Records.
About City Harvest
City Harvest is New York’s first and largest food rescue organization, helping to feed millions of New Yorkers who struggle to put meals on their tables. As the city emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, we will rescue 111 million pounds of fresh, nutritious food and deliver it—free of charge—to nearly 400 food pantries, soup kitchens, community partners, and our own Mobile Markets across the five boroughs. We work alongside our community partners to boost community capacity, expand nutrition education, and strengthen local food systems. For more than 35 years, City Harvest has always been there to feed our city—one day, one meal, one New Yorker at a time. To learn more, please visit cityharvest.org.
About Josh Wood Productions
From New York to Hong Kong, from Bill Gates to Madonna, JWP organizes and presents fundraisers, corporate events, conferences, meetings, and events on a global scale that are original, inspirational, and socially conscious. Unlike any other company in the marketplace, JWP seamlessly integrates the worlds of fundraising, business, wellness, music, and art into an unparalleled, one-of-a-kind guest, super-organized experience. Whether it’s an awards dinner, a wellness conference, an influential client party, an international week of experiences, or a stadium concert, JWP consistently delivers the best events in the world.
Media Contacts for Nas
COURTNI ASBURY
COURTNI.ASBURY@LEDECOMPANY.COM
CARA HUTCHISON
CARA.HUTCHISON@LEDECOMPANY.COM
