On August 1, 2026, BTS’ RM and Suga met hip-hop artist Nas backstage at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, during the group’s ARIRANG World Tour. During the first of two sold-out nights at the venue, RM gave Nas a stage shoutout while the rapper was present in the audience.
In his ending ment at the August 1 concert, RM addressed the crowd about Nas’s presence. He said:
“First, I want to shout out the artist who dominated my whole teenage years. King of New York, Big Nas is here tonight. Shout out to Nasty Nas. Thanks for coming, and it’s a really strange and wonderful feeling to be able to perform in front of your teenage idol.”
RM later shared a photo of himself and Suga with Nas via his Instagram story. Nas reposted the image with the caption “AMAZING SHOW” and tagged RM, Suga, and BTS’s official account.
The moment connected to RM’s longstanding admiration for Nas as a formative influence from his teenage years. Nas’s classic album Illmatic and his work have been referenced in connection with BTS’s early hip-hop inspired tracks, including the 2014 song Hip Hop Phile. The meeting at MetLife Stadium followed the group’s performances on August 1 and 2, 2026, as part of the North American leg of the tour.
BTS and Nas first met at the 2020 Grammy Awards. At that event, BTS performed on stage with Lil Nas X, and the members also encountered Nas during the proceedings.
The photo of RM, Suga, and Nas circulated widely across social media platforms following the shows.
One fan said:
“they got a picture with their idol 🥹🥹”
Several fans chimed in and shared their thoughts on the same.
More fans commented on X.
BTS at MetLife Stadium
During the August 1, 2026, a segment went viral among fans from performance of the song NORMAL. RM was assigned to stand between Taehyung and Jimin on one of the part of the 360-degree platform. He remained at the edge of the stage instead. Taehyung called out RM multiple times but he did not respond. Jimin pointed toward RM and laughed as the song continued.
On August 1, staff handed Jin a cup of beer during a casual onstage moment. Jin drank it in one go and then offered what remained to Jungkook. Jungkook reaction from this moment went viral among fans. A separate clip from the MetLife Stadium shows captured Jungkook copying Taehyung’s moves while the two performed together on stage.
The group’s next tour date is on August 5 and 6 at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough.
Edited by Toshali Kritika