The last time I saw hip hop luminary Nas play the Enmore Theatre was on Halloween in 2010; I broke my foot in two places on the small raised platform against the front barrier about 3 minutes into his set. Sometime after support act Chali 2na (of Jurassic 5) wrapped up, Nas burst out onto the stage with "Hip Hop is Dead", assisted by two Halloween-themed guitarists and a drummer. It was at this point where my right foot landed half-on, half-off the platform and my fifth metatarsal snapped in two places. I have no idea how I stumbled out of that crowd to the lobby, but the next thing I remember is sitting down with an ice pack, chatting to DJ Q-Bert and - instead of going straight to the hospital like any rational person would do - listening to the entirety of Nas' set, which wrapped up with a bongo-heavy "One Mic" and the loudest, most excited hip hop crowd I've ever heard at an Australian show. Aside from the increasing amount of pain, I'm still glad I never went straight to hospital.
So I found myself back almost in the exact same spot waiting for Nas to come on stage and perform the unarguable classic that is Illmatic from front to back. It was finally Australia's turn to witness the victory lap that had come with Illmatic's 20th anniversary, and though he didn't bring the full set up with him (or a band for that matter) the master teacher of hip-hop made sure we knew just how fresh and groundbreaking the LP still sounds after all these years.
Nas transcends the idea of an artist being at his peak; throughout his many albums the man has never lost what has made him a reference point for hip hop - his slick worldplay and meaningful lyrics. Despite a few albums that couldn't quite meet the standard he set for himself out the gate, Nasir Jones is armed with a treasure trove of quality rap tracks which he can use to fill up a set that is much more than him just performing his debut album track by track.
A curious choice for sole support on this Australian tour comes in the form of MC Dusk, the stage name for actor Abbie Cornish. Actors are often met with cynicism and snark when they show the world their musical side and decide that they also want to pursue that as form of expression; few have managed to turn those doubts into concessions. Cornish, as MC Dusk, so far sits halfway in this legacy; she's not by any means a bad rapper, even winning over a fairly tough crowd at moments throughout her set; but at the same time, the sharp production and pro spinning - courtesy of the talented DJ Butcher - carries her most of the way while she spits through engaging verses but stumbles whenever a hook is needed to thread them together. Hooks are often provided here by guest vocalists - none of whom are present on the second night - but most of them don't mesh well with the production or the verses.
Her tough voice echoes throughout the venue, hammering home some awesome delivery as she maintains a steady control over her flow, bouncing between laid back and rapid-fire like a well rehearsed rapper. Questions of her authenticity as a hip hop artist are null and void when she's showing skill on the mic, running through songs like single "Way Back Home" and showcasing other unreleased material from her upcoming EP Key of the Sun. Whether she channels this potential into material stronger and more engaging than the majority of that which made up her set remains to be seen though.
Legend in his own right, DJ Green Lantern joins Nas on this tour, meeting the demand for a highly capable DJ to handle the various twists and turns that come with Nas' planned set. Esco follows Green Lantern closely as he appears on stage as a shadow, emerging to the familiar sound of the New York subway as "Genesis" gave way to the urgent keys of "N.Y State of Mind". The classic track has always been a staple in Nas' sets but he rarely performs the song past verse two; we got the entire thing here, as fans quickly got over their awe and steadily flowed along with the legendary emcee word for word.
Those hands in the air didn't drop though, with "Life's a Bitch" up next as Na launched into his second verse with ferocious precision. from "I woke up early on my born day/ I'm twenty years of blessing/the essence of adolescent leaves my body now I'm fresh in" to "I switched my motto/instead of sayin' fuck tomorrow/that buck that brought a bottle could have struck the lotto", those mind-bending multi's and razor sharp, thoughtful lyrics hit, and they hit hard before Nas leaves it on us to shout the hook back in unison.
Personal favourite "The World Is Yours" was up next, with Green Lantern building the beat from it's beginnings - as a sample taken from "I Love Music" (Ahmad Jamal) - to the iconic jazz-tinged beat it has become. The deep drums were accented with every bar with Nas closing his eyes and spitting out the lyrics as if it was still 1994. He left a lot of lyrics out, testing the crowd to see who would fill in the gaps.
The rhyme fest of "Halftime"; the soulful nostalgia of "Memory Lane (Sittin' In the Park)"; the artful tale of "One Love"; the deft rhymes of "One Time 4 Your Mind"; the anthemic vibe of "Represent"; and finally the soul of "It Ain't Hard to Tell". It was all there, all captured perfectly in a vacuum and shot at us with the same delicate craftmanship that made Illmatic a timeless record. The later stumbled a bit with the interpolation of Michael Jackson's "Human Nature" in the original, wordless hook, but none of that seemed to matter when we were watching in awe as Nas jumped from bar to bar.
What's more is that Nas would occasionally switch things up and bring in classic beats, matched to the flow of track. "Halftime" turned into Big Daddy Kane's "Ain't No Half Steppin'"; "One Love" brought in Biggie's "Sky's The Limit"; hell there was even a small interlude where Nas briefly left the stage and let the hyper-neon intro from Belly on a big screen while Soul II Soul echoed throughout the Enmore Theatre. This was not just a complete picture of Nas' career in the mid-90's, but a celebration of the music he grew up listening to, from Juice Crew to Biggie.
Esco isn't going to travel all this way and just give us 9 quintessential hip hop tracks though, and so we were taken through material from It Was Written all the way up to Life Is Good. classics like "The Message", "Nas Is Like", and the luminated "Hate Me Now" (complete with cheesy 90's fire graphics); the mosh-inducing "Made You Look"; the slow-burning brilliance of "One Mic"; and a triple-punch of "Got Yourself a Gun", "The Don" and the jazz-heavy "Stay". This was a showing of how Nas has not lost his feet after all these years, still running laps around any rapper alive.
Every hip hop fan, the world over, deserves and needs to see Nas life, this unforgettable show was just a reminder.
READ: 20 Years of Illmatic
LOOK: Nas in Brisbane: the photo gallery
LISTEN: 12 non-illmatic Nas tracks we can't get enough of
Remaining Shows:
Tuesday 27th January - Metro City, Perth (18+)
Thursday 29th January - HQ, Adelaide (18+)
Set List:
Genesis
NY State of Mind
Life's a Bitch
The World Is Yours
Halftime (mixed with Ain't No Half Steppin)
Memory Lane (Sittin' in Da Park)
One Love (mixed with Sky's The Limit)
One Time 4 Your Mind
Represent
It Ain't Hard to Tell (mixed with Human Nature)
The Message/Street Dreams
If I Ruled the World
I Can
Nastradamus/Nas is Like
Hate Me Now
Made You Look
One Mic
Got Yourself a Gun
The Don
Stay