Rock the Bells ended with a bang at Governor’s Island on Saturday, September 3rd, as Nas played songs of albums old and new, including the classic “Illmatic.”

On stage speaking to thousands of fans, Nas, who started his rapping career at 18 years old, said he came into the hip-hop game and had to “strip down to the bare essentials.”

“That’s what the street’s about,” the Queensbridge-bred rapper said. He said he “came from nothing, like Q-tip,” of A Tribe Called Quest, another Queens-based group.

Other acts on the three stages that played that night included Lauryn Hill, who played a couple of songs from her Fugees days, such as “Killing Me Softly,” Erika Badu, Mobb Deep, members of the Wu Tang Clan, from Staten Island, and Cypress Hill, from Brooklyn.

Songs were played off timeless albums such as the “Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” and Raekwon’s “Only Built 4 Cuban Lynx.”

Artists throughout the festival shouted out to New York City, which for many is their hometown, stating that out of all the places in the country, here lies a true love for hip-hop.