A week ago, Alicia Keys announced a secret free concert in "one of the most important cities in the world." The next day, she revealed that place to be her hometown of New York City and said that the concert was less than a week away. Two days before tonight's concert, Keys shared a new single, "Blended Family," featuring A$AP Rocky, and also announced her new album, Here, giving it a release date of November 4. The concert ended up going down in Times Square, and those in attendance were treated to special guest appearances from a couple of NYC heroes.
Though fans were excited about her new material, she couldn't send the NYC crowd home without a proper rendition of "Empire State of Mind." And that means an appearance from the song's lead artist, Jay Z. Hov has had a busy weekend, performing at his wife's final "Formation" show and reuniting with Ja Rule and DMX -- the pair with whom he had once planned to form "Murder Inc." the supergroup -- backstage.
Keys also brought out another all-time great from the city, a former rival of Hov's: Nas. He performed the Illmatic classic "One Love," while Keys owned the hook. Watch footage from both "Empire State of Mind" and "One Love" below.
John Mayer was also a special guest at the show.