Nas took it back to the essence of Hip-Hop last night for his performance at NYC’s Tammany Hall. Flying high off of his Tuesday release for his new album, Life Is Good, Nas, who was dressed in a black “New York” t-shirt, bounced around the stage like a man who didn’t have a care in the world. The half industry/half true Nas fans, endured a line around the block and waited three hours for the god emcee to hit the stage, but once he did he never looked back.
Nas diddy-bopped on the stage and went through some of his radio single hits, mixed in with album cuts that only a true Nas fan would know – and the place was filled with true Nas fans, who rapped along to every line that came out of his mouth.
The atmosphere in Tammany Hall was similar to those block parties you snuck into when back you were 12 and 13 years old. The ones you had no business being at, but still remember to this day because you had the time of your life while you were there. Every square inch of the place of packed with Nas representers.
Keeping the throwback theme in tact, Nas started off his set with “Live at the BBQ.” “How many original Nas fans do we have in the building tonight?” Nas screamed to the crowd. The crowd erupted and Nas took the opportunity to go directly into one of his classics, “The World Is Yours”. Soon after, Nas was joined on stage by his younger brother Jungle and five “hype men,” who actually served their purpose and hyped up the crowd even more.
Nas was almost through performing “NY State Of Mind” when his old “Firm” group member AZ hopped on the stage to perform “Life’s A B*tch.” The crowd swayed back and forth, almost in unison, and rapped along as if they were performing along with the two on stage. After the track, AZ turned his back to the audience and was set to leave the stage when Nas called him back. “I can’t let you leave just yet A. Green—play that joint.”
The two went on to put on a spectacle of a show together that had everyone in the place wondering why The Firm never lived up to its true potential. Nas and AZ performed “Phone Tap,” “Affirmative Action,” and for the first time ever together, “Mo Money, Murder.”
Nas, who was slightly sweating now due to his high energy mini-set with AZ, proclaimed “Life is Good,” and with that, the beat to “Daughters” dropped. Nas expressed how much he and his daughter loved the record, then proceeded to say, “Her mother hates it, though. I don’t know… she’s f*cking crazy.”
The rest of the show was dedicated to all new material from his album Life Is Good. Nas plowed through “Queens Story,” “Accident Murderers,” and “Loco-Motive.” He was later joined on stage by rapper/producer Swizz Beatz for his sure to be hit single, “Summer On Smash”.
Nas ended the show with “Bye Baby”, an “ode” to his ex-wife, Kelis.
The rapper’s smile at the end of his long and energetic set seemed to tell a tale of triumph and accomplishment. One can only believe that Nas walked out of Tammany Hall last night truly believing, that “Life Is Good.”
Check out some footage from the show below, courtesy of GWizMusik: