Nas flexes his legend status with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Nas is a legendary rapper for a reason.

The New York-born MC has been rocking the mic for more than 30 years, easily cementing his place as one of the best rappers of all time. His first album, “Illmatic,” earned its spot at No. 44 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums list. While it was a commercially slow-growing entry into the hip-hop canon, “Illmatic” eventually achieved platinum status and is regarded as one of the genre’s best works.

The album features intelligent rhymes, real-life narratives and beats that appear spare but have surprising complexity. And on Saturday night, he played “Illmatic” in an unusual setting — at Heinz Hall, with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

At the concert, Nas said he has been doing this since 2014. He seemed beyond thrilled that his life’s journey has taken him from Queens public housing to the stages of great symphony orchestras around the country.

“It keeps getting bigger and bigger each year,” the rapper said, striding out onto the stage in a sparkly black tuxedo jacket and shades. “Just as if Beethoven and NWA were together.”

The audience for Saturday’s show was overjoyed to see this paragon of hip-hop. They were standing immediately and cheering loudly as he took the stage. With no hesitation, he and the orchestra kicked into the iconic missive “N.Y. State of Mind.”

I listened to “Illmatic” again the other day, with an ear specifically for where the orchestra could fit in and embellish. I wasn’t sure where this was going. But with the addition of a DJ at a turntable, a keyboardist, a drummer and a bassist, Nas and the PSO made magic out of those early hip-hop songs.

Thanks to heavy percussion, dark strings and keyboards, “N.Y. State of Mind” was a special moment for audience, and Nas spit fire into the mic.

And, of course, he changed the lyric to “Pittsburgh state of mind,” just for us.

The album tracks didn’t come in order. For example, next up was “The World Is Yours,” track four on “Illmatic.” But he wanted that uplifting message to come early. The song was smoother, with subtle orchestral touches that made it feel lush with his conversational, old-school flow. There were moments in here — like a few well-timed saxophone blasts at the end — that showed how much a full orchestra adds.

Nas kept the audience involved plenty — his call-and-response at the beginning of “Half Time” was met with a roaring sing-back from the crowd. He kept it sentimental but intense with “Memory Lane (Sittin’ in da Park).”

“Life’s a B——” would not have been the same without AZ, a rapper who frequently collaborated with Nas and featured on the song in its original recording. The good news is Nas brought him to Heinz Hall along to lend an assist. The two of them ripped into the catchy tune, a highlight of the night.

He joked around with the crowd about the language he learned in his youth, words like “phat” (“that’s like ‘fire’ today”). Reminiscing about all of the kids he grew up with who didn’t end up as famous rappers, he introduced “One Love.” The track is in the form of letters meant for friends who ended up in prison. While it’s melancholy, there’s also hope.

With the aid of the orchestra, he seamlessly transitioned to “Represent,” with booming horns and sweeping violins. He and the PSO wrapped up the “Illmatic” set with the album’s “commercial” single, “It Ain’t Hard to Tell.”

Commercial makes sense in this context — it got the loudest shouts from the audience of any song. With multiple samples, including “Human Nature” from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album, this could have been a hard song for the PSO to parse. But we should have faith in these musicians — they handled it with subtlety and dexterity.

“Who would’ve thought, 35 years ago, we’d be doing this?” Nas shouted over the roar of the crowd. Each member of the PSO stood up and received a standing ovation as they took their leave. But Nas and his backing band weren’t finished yet.

“With your permission, we will go on,” he announced.

What followed was a brief medley of quick-fire songs, from the intense “Got Ur Self a Gun,” which samples “The Sopranos” theme song, to the keyboard-heavy 2020 song “Spicy.” AZ returned to help him out, lending additional flow to songs including “Phone Tap.”

The percussive 2002 hit “Made You Look” started with a crowd chant of “Braveheart, Braveheart” led by the rapper and brought the house down with its heavy beat.

For his two final songs, Nas got more introspective and positive. “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)” had everyone’s hands in the sky as they sang Lauryn Hill’s part. With defiant drums, the song would have made an immaculate closer, but Nas had one last message to send.

“Thank you for being here, I appreciate you,” he said. “A little scratch, a little percussion, let’s have a jam session with a little bass.”

He closed with the 2002 single “One Mic,” a song that sounds chill but with a serious and self-reflecting message. His smartly dressed band went all out, finishing the short show with a bang.

“My weapon of choice is my voice,” he repeated to cheers.

As he bid his farewell to the crowd, he called for peace, love and living life to the fullest. “Every day you wake up is your birthday. Happy birthday. Live your one life,” he said as he left the stage with swagger.