Two of the most legendary names in rap music are pairing up for a summer and fall tour coming to Target Center, an outing that could put classic hip-hop artists on par with classic-rock acts among arena concert draws.
The Wu-Tang Clan and Nas will come to the Minneapolis basketball arena on Oct. 7 as part of their ongoing N.Y. State of Mind Tour — named after the opening track on Nas' seminal debut album, 1994's "Illmatic."
Tickets for the Target Center date go on sale Friday at 9 a.m. via Ticketmaster.com, with presale options beginning Thursday. Tour promoter Live Nation is not revealing ticket prices ahead of time.
Kindred music legends from different boroughs of New York City — Staten Island in the case of the nine-man Wu crew, Queens for Nas — each made their last Twin Cities appearances at the sorely missed Soundset music festivals. That was nine years ago now in the case of Nas, who had famously (and ironically) declared "hip-hop is dead" on an album of the same name in 2006.
"People are working even harder at what they do to keep it alive, because nobody wants to see that it's dead," he said in a Star Tribune interview at the time.
Before Wu-Tang Clan's performance at Soundset in 2018, producer/beatmaker RZA took note of the group's strong ties to the Twin Cities hip-hop scene 25 years after its own landmark debut album arrived, 1993's "Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers."
"I just feel like Wu-Tang is coming to your city to celebrate what you've done also," RZA said. "I really appreciate people there who over the years have supported us as a group and as individuals. That all started with '36 Chambers.'"
The two acts already paired up for well-received co-headlining dates last year, including a Hollywood Bowl gig that resulted in a cool mini-documentary. Their 2023 tour kicks off in May in New Zealand before starting its U.S. stretch Sept. 20 in Nashville.
