NAS at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Wednesday, October 8. Rating: NNN
Nas’s show at the soft-seated Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Wednesday (October 8) felt more like an intimate meet-and-greet with the Queensbridge, New York hip-hop pioneer than a typical rap show. He spent a lot of time Jay Leno-style hand-shaking with everyone in the first few rows, signing records, hoisting up cassettes and snapping photos with fans’ iPhones.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of his debut album, the seminal east coast rap classic Illmatic, the artist first treated us to Time Is Illmatic – a funny, sad and insightful documentary chronicling the rapper’s early life and Illmatic’s naissance. Worth noting: Nas’s brother Jungle is the best character in a doc since Grizzly Man’s Timothy Treadwell.
It served as the perfect warmup for the main event. There was a second show later that night, so Nas was on a schedule. As soon as the credits rolled, he took the stage to perform all of Illmatic’s tracks (plus a couple bonuses at the end – Hate Me Now and Made You Look – to wild applause). His DJ had great timing, the sound was a good showcase for the beats by Q-Tip, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, L.E.S. and Large Professor (we were reminded just how well they stand the test of time) and Nas dutifully rapped every song, turning the mic to the audience only for the best shout-along parts: “I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of Death” from N.Y. State Of Mind, for example.
But, Nas is still Nas. That stone-faced kid on the Illmatic album cover? Yes, of course that’s Nas. But that is really Nas. He’s a serious dude. And while on Wednesday, he was perhaps the most laidback and playful as I’ve ever seen him, the performance felt a little perfunctory and the in-between banter was mostly rehearsed, though the fan interaction was sweet and genuine.
Still, at a time when so many musicians hone a live show without really having the tunes to back it up, it was great to revel in a true masterpiece.
