There was huge anticipation from the crowd in seeing one of the most important and respected MC’s of all time NAS live with a 7 piece band.
Nas’ highly acclaimed 1994 debut album Illmatic still resonates throughout hip hop culture as one of the finest works of all time. The rawness, street lyrics and dirty production made this album one of the most unforgettable of the 90's.à The importance of Illmatic to the NY and east coast scene cannot be understated and it was a pleasure to hear at least 5 tracks off Illmatic live in Melbourne.
There were some issues with the venue, mainly the huge line going around the corner and down an alley way. This led to many people not entering the venue until after Low Budget and L-Fresh the two Australian support acts for the night had already performed. Sadly I missed the performance of Low Budget.
For a rather steep ticket price of over $100 the show was made more worthwhile by having a support act of such high calibre Charlie 2na perform before NAS.
2na formerly of Jurassic 5 with his unmistakable deep voice and unique flow took to the stage with live band the “Hustle 5 Allstars”. He kicked off his set with 'International' and the very cool track 'Lock Shit Down' from his first solo release, "Fish Outta Water".
Charlie 2na impressed the crowd with his lyrical skills although his delivery was lacking slightly he still had the crowd's heads bopping.
During 2na's set we were treated to an appearance from the world's number one freestyle mc Supernatural. Supernat graced the stage during 2na's set backed by the Hustle 5 Allstars and proceeded to serve out amazing freestyle rhymes centered around items the crowd passed up to him from the front row. Supernatural really pushes rhyming to the next level, he worked in references to objects passed to him from the crowd, an iPhone, digital camera and a spliff each time drawing cheers from the crowd as he created something from nothing. 2na then continued his set with a number of Jurassic 5 joints, including the crowds favourite 'What's Golden'.
Next up was the man himself, listed number 5 on MTVs 10 greatest rappers of all time list in 2006, NAS. The Palace is often not one of the best venues for sound quality, however as the first bass drum dropped and literally shook everyone to the bone I knew we would be in for an aural treat quiet unlike other hip hop show. Before NAS appeared on stage the band played what I would describe as a high energy 80s metal intro, the guitarist was wearing a gimp mask and the bass player was sporting huge dreads. The stage was set as NAS came bouncing on and jumped straight into Hip Hop Is Dead.
The live band was a highlight and it was a treat to hear many of NAS's well known tracks in a new light. We all love the tried and true "two turntables and a mic" and the sweet minimal NY style beats that get heads rockin but this show took hip hop to another level. The tracks were slightly reworked to be played live and the band was seriously on point delivering some fine renditions of classic NAS tracks. NAS's rhyming was without fault and his delivery up there with what you would expect from a veteran hip hop master.
The beginning of his set started off with new material, 'Hip Hop Is Dead' from the album of the same name and 'Hero', 'Sly Fox' and 'Breathe', all from his latest Untitled album. First up for the old school heads was 'Represent' followed by 'One Love', 'The World Is Yours', 'Life's A Bitch', 'NY State of Mind' and 'Aint Hard To Tell' all from "Illmatic". True NAS fan's could not ask for more than this. Midway through the set there was a short interlude as the band played instrumental jazz metal beats unlike anything I have ever heard before. NAS came back on the stage to the delight of fans and got straight back into it, 'Nastradamus' and 'Got Yourself A Gun' were highlights before he finished with 'One Mic' from his fifth album "Stillmatic". For an MC that has reached the pinnacle of hip hop stardom and managed to hold onto this title NAS did not dissapoint. Much love to a true legend of hip hop.
