When any hip hop lover tries to put together their list of top five all-time rappers there is no doubt that Nas is on that list or at very least in the discussion. Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones came into the hip hop world in 1994 with his debut album Illmatic. It was an instant classic and it is still regarded as one of the best hip hop albums of all time. With an incredibly successful career spanning over twenty-five years, Nas has returned back to Australia in support of his close friend Lauryn Hill, performing the classics and his latest Kanye West-produced album NASIR.

The last time I saw Nas was in 2008 when he supported Kanye on his Glow in the Dark Tour. Despite his history as a supporting act for many other artists, Nas is anything but. He is an experienced and understated rapper full of energy and confidence from his many years of performance. This show was not so much an opener to the main act but one of two equally lengthed celebrations of the artist’s long-reigning supremacy. This was reflected in the age of the crowd. Just as there were old school die-hard hip hop heads there were also younger, hipster (I guess you can call them for lack of a better word) fans both rapping along to every word in songs both new and old. Just as I stated in my review for Lauryn Hill, Nas and his music have the timeless quality that surpasses age and disposition, bringing together people from all walks of life.

Nas walks onto the stage confident and full of energy, his huge glistening chain swinging from side to side as he raps with the power of twenty plus years experience. He starts with the high energy Get Down immediately followed by two Illmatic classics NY State of Mind and The World is Yours. The crowd responds accordingly dancing and rapping along with Nas. At a rap show, there is nothing more rewarding than hearing songs you know every word to and rapping along. Where I was standing there were definitely some OG’s around that were inclined to do so during these songs.

As the set progressed Nas played one of his new songs Adam and Eve. The song has a sung chorus which is performed by The Dream on the album. During his live performances, Nas enlists the help of his drummer and back up singer who is my MVP for this performance. His voice was flawless and his drumming to some of the most popular hip hop beats was impeccable. If anyone knows who this guy is, please let me know. A real highlight and unexpected joy of the show involving both Nas and this mystery drummer was a cover of The Eurythmics Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) which served as a prelude for Street Dreams. It got the crowd super hyped and successfully pulled off one of the most bizarre cross-genre covers of all time. Nas finished up his twenty-two song setlist with classics Made You Look and One Mic ending with the much slower, heartfelt Everything from his latest album NASIR. Nas left the stage to huge applause only to return later on with Lauryn Hill to perform their joint classic If I Ruled the World. This was a truly special moment for both Nas and Lauryn Hill fans that I don’t believe happens very often.

As a concertgoer whose Nas education was fairly limited, I recognised most of the songs performed within his set. Nas delivered a stacked setlist of hits and culture-defining songs. The thing that hit me the most, not hearing some of these songs for years, was the timelessness of the beats. Even if I didn’t know many of the song’s lyrics I was possessed by the beat of the song, unable to stop bopping. These beats hit just as hard today as they did back in the 90s and early 2000s, timeless. The same thing can be said for Nas. With no signs of slowing down, he will continue to be one of the greatest lyricists alive and his live shows are a must for any hip hop enthusiast.

Image: @stephenilopez

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