Find someone who knows, loves and follows Hip-Hop as a musical artform and ask them who their top rappers are – If Nas isn’t included in that list then slap him/her. Nas can lay claim to crafting what is widely praised as the best Hip-Hop album of all time – Illmatic – which cemented his name amongst the elite in Hip-Hop. This was Nas’ first time headlining a tour in Australia; you could guess how important this night was for Hip-Hop fans in Sydney. Along with Chali 2na (of Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli fame), the brilliant ‘Supernatural,’ the legendary ‘DJ Qbert,’ and local up-and-comer ‘L-Fresh AKA The Lion’ – A stellar line-up indeed – this concert was only going to impress, and it did exactly that.

L-Fresh and friends seemed very enthusiastic about their opportunity to win some fans. Local support acts always have their work cut for them at Hip-Hop gigs. We aren’t very attentive to acts we aren’t used to. Luckily enough for them L-Fresh and company did well to catch the attention of the few earlybirds who were set on securing a close spot to the stage, they didn’t hold that attention long enough to win some fans though. He had a decent enough flow and seemed to be more true to hip-hop than most local rap acts but L-Fresh’s short set was largely ignored by the hard-to-impress fans of ‘real hip-hop.’

The numbers on the dancefloor were growing as Qbert hit the stage unnoticed. Not unnoticed for long though as he quickly blew everyone away with his impressive DJ skills. Scratching faster and faster and faster one who was watching closely would find it hard to believe that someone’s hand could move that fast. I guess it comes with practice but the amazing talent of Qbert provided an early highlight and set the standard for things to come. True hip-hop was now in the building.

MC Supernatural popped out onto the stage to a very flattering applause. Those who know what this man is capable of knew they were in for some fun. Supernatural requested three words from the audience and constructed an amazing freestyle around all three words. Those who did not know what this man is capable of were now jaws-to-the-floor and paying close attention to his next feat, which was perfectly imitating legendary rappers Slick Rick, Busta Rhymes and Notorious B.I.G. Quickly winning over the fans Supernatural proceeded into what he is most famous for; asking the audience for random items and incorporating them all into one giant freestyle. He didn’t disappoint as he rapped about everything from a glove (from me!) to a bag of salt (who brings a bag of salt to a gig!?).

Leaving the crowd satisfied but yet wanting more, Supernatural made way for Chali 2na, backed by the impressive band ‘Hustle 5 All Stars.’ The deep-voiced founder of Jurassic 5 made it look easy on stage as he belted out track after track with some amazing assist from the band. Starting off with his great solo work popular mixtape cut ‘Comin’ Thru’ made an early appearance and Chali 2na did NOT stop smiling whilst every lyric rolled off his tongue perfectly. Amazing breath control even whilst pulling out some old school dance moves; 2na was on fire.

With the crowd behind him 100% 2na gave us a few Jurassic 5 classics such as ‘ ‘ and the well-known ‘What’s Golden.’ The latter track was followed by what was perhaps the most appreciative (and longest) applause I have ever heard for a non-megastar. You could tell 2na was extremely overwhelmed with the crowds response, he just could not stop smiling. After a million ‘thankyous’ 2na got back down to business and infected the crowd with happiness as his set was perfect all throughout. The crowd had already gotten their moneys worth.

It was now time for Nas. You could feel the energy in the room and with the Wu-Tang concert at the Enmore being only 2 days prior the fans were hungry for another Hip-Hop feast. After an intermission that seemed to drag on for an hour the lights dimmed and two hooded guitarists came out jumping across the stage to introduce Nas. The familiar sample of Iron Butterfly’s "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" blasted over the sound system and Nas came out to deafening cheers to perform ‘Hip Hop Is Dead.’

During this song I broke my foot in 2 places in the mosh pit and had to listen to the remainder of the concert from the lobby. Hearing the crowd finish of Nas’ verses to classics ‘The World Is Yours,’ ‘The Message’ and ‘Live At the BBQ’ whilst an ice pack was on my foot was bittersweet for me. Bitter because I was missing out on the action (and was in copious amounts of pain!), and sweet because Nas had the place packed with dedicated fans who love, live and breathe Hip-Hop.

Fortunately, Larry witnessed the remainder of Nas’ set.

---

Additional Comments by Larry Heath:

In his second visit to Sydney, and on his inaugural headline (ridiculously overdue) tour, Nas truly showed why he's one of the kings of Hip Hop today. He might say Hip Hop is dead, but he knows how to breathe life into it in the live environment - with true respect paid to the music that made Hip Hop happen; the music of his father - blues, roots, jazz - the music of New Orleans. This is where Hip Hop was born, and Nas has no interest in ignoring it, nor time for people who deny it.

For such people, a move away from "rhyming to a DJ track", to performing with a live 7 piece band, might prove against their personal taste (I was shocked to have a friend tell me they felt this way). But to argue this is to deny the raw power of live music, and its very soul. I guess some just want what they hear on the album, and nothing more. But for me, playing around with tracks in the live environment - ESPECIALLY with Hip Hop - which is so dependent on crowd interaction, is essential to a good show. And Nas put on one of the best I've ever seen.

From "Hip Hop is Dead" all the way to the encore closing "One Mic" (amazing!), with all the Bongo solos in between (particular attention was played to this in the encore, and really helped end the show on a high note), the 90 minutes Nas spent on stage were hypnotic, spellbinding, and a true presentation on how Hip Hop can be brought back to life - from the books of Nas, to you.

That said, so long as people like Nas and Chali 2na are in the game, can it ever really die?

P.S. Speaking of death - props to a couple of members of Nas' backing band who adapted their outfits in the spirit of Halloween - and for the keyboardist for getting a bit of Halloween, Monster Mash - esque solos happening.