REVIEW: Nas performs in Toronto (05/24/08)
Written by Felicia Mancini on May 26th, 2008 in Commentary, Concert, Review, Video Clips. 296 views
Nas was in the building Saturday night at the Kool Haus in Toronto
“I love Toronto, you guys know what the f*** is up not to mention you guys got the craziest weed out there. I love coming back here, smoke some of that Canadian chronic and eat some Jamaican food, this shit feels like home,” Nasir Jones, the man known to a legion of loyal fans as Nasty Nas while he finally took the stage after a more than 2 hour wait at Kool Haus on Saturday, May 24, 2008.
After being called one of the greatest rappers of all time and being part in of one of the biggest battles of all time, Nas has garnished a name for himself not only as a Hip-Hop heavy weight but as a teacher or story teller of sorts. As the anxious Toronto crowd waited for the show to start, chronic and the sounds of DJ Premier, Wu-Tang Clan and Boogie Down Productions also filled the air making it a night to remember for those who still have the brain cells left to do so that is.
Toronto home grown rapper, Famous took the stage and after one too many unnecessary costume changes and a handful of decent rhymes later, the crowd first boo’d and then started in unison a “We want Nas!” chant. Despite the extremely long intermission as Nas was scheduled to perform after 10:00 pm, he didnt hit the stage till almost 12:30 am. However he gave the people what they wanted and waited for.
He performed a slew of hits from his own now legendary tracks (It Ain’t Hard to Tell, Represent, Nas is Like and Street Dreams) to his popular hits that have reached the masses (One Mic, Got Yourself a Gun, Oochie Wally, and Hate Me Now, just to name a few) and he even surprised the crowd by touching upon his guest appearance verses one being ladies anthem, “Hot Boys”. However it wasn’t until he performed “If I Ruled the World” that sent the pleased audience in an uproar, taking them down a walk on memory lane to a time when Hip hop was genuine and so good you could almost taste it.
“This feels like medicine right now, I grew up on Nas (and) New York rap, so right now I’m in heaven ,” said the3XGP.com reader, Christian Martinez who was in attendance for the show and undeniably knew the words to every one of Esco’s tracks like the majority of the crowd did.
Every song a longtime fan would want to hear, Nas performed it but when he made the mistake of asking the audience what they wanted to hear,
It was the historical beef track, “Ether” the audience wanted to hear. Nasty just laughed it off and didn’t fulfill the request for obvious reasons, “That song went down in history for emcee battles but it’s never going away is it?” he laughed with the crowd before breaking into another beat. He even dispelled all rumours that his upcoming album isn’t going to be called “Nas” but is sticking with the original controversial name, Nigger.
“We gotta set people straight on the history and meaning of that word, that’s what the album is gonna do,” he told the crowd before chucking up a peace sign after his hour and a half long set. Nas also mentioned how Hip hop as a culture is vital in the world of politics, ” You know Bill Clinton was down with rap, he had to be. Barack, you know he probably get’s down, but Hillary…naw not unless Bill put her onto it but McCain?” He smirked before a dramatic sigh, “Yeah right.”
With of without a controversial album name, political opinions or superstar marriage, Nas’ rhymes carried the show making it seem way too short. Nas didn’t have anything on his stage but one mic, a DJ and his skills because quite frankly that’s all an emcee of such caliber needs.
Make sure to peep the exclusive video of Nas performing in Toronto right here on the3XGP.com
Concert Footage (Felicia Mancini)
