To celebrate the release of Dec 99th, his collaborative album with Ferrari Sheppard, Yasiin Bey held a special concert performance Wednesday night (Dec. 21) at New York City's Apollo Theater.

The artist formerly known as Mos Def, announced his intentions to retire earlier in the year, two performances this week followed by three in Washington D.C. later this month. The performance is included above, with tweets from the Apollo Theater documenting the highlights below.

One in particular was when Slick Rick came out, he and Bey performing "Auditorium" off the 2009 album, The Ecstatic. Pharoahe Monch was in attendance as well, tweeting, "The world famous Apollo theater Tree Of Hope. I definitely just gave a fist bump to the stump, I spoke to it for a minute too."

Below, Bey offers some words of wisdom to the crowd, reflecting on his history in New York and the famed Harlem theater, concluding with, "You can't be everything to everybody. But you better be real to yourself."

While in New York, Bey and Sheppard will make their late-night debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon tomorrow (Dec. 23), with a second Apollo show scheduled for tonight.

“I’m retiring this year for real,” Bey said in October. “I’m grateful to have had the career that I’ve been able to enjoy.”

Catch moments from last night's show up top and below, Bey's D.C.'s shows kicking off on New Year's Eve.

Here Are the 50 Best Hip-Hop Projects of 2016

More From XXL