Living in NYC I end up going to a lot of shows. But for all the up-and-coming bands I get to see, it’s actually somewhat rare for me to get the chance to scope out a show by one of my long-time favorite artists. Well, that all changed this past Monday night (5/17) when I headed on over to the west side of town to see one of my heroes (and Top 5 MC for me) Nas throw down some rhymes at Highline Ballroom, with co-headliner Damian Marley. The event: a release party for their new collabo album, Distant Relatives — excitement levels were high.

Before I get into it I have to big up my boy Roberto for hooking me up with this show – next round is on me sir.  Okay, where was I? Oh yeah, NAS. I’ve been a fan since Illmatic, and somehow had never seen my boy in action – I was, to steal a term from The Todd, mondo-stoked.  I arrived early (see: ‘mondo-stoked’) at Highline to find Green Lantern peppering the airwaves with a selection of classic jams in an effort to get the crowd ready for the forthcoming madness. Said jams were also accompanied by a very healthy dose of reggaeton foghorns – didn’t know Lantern got down like that. Btw, have you ever ‘foghorned’ a co-worker or friend? It’s easy and hilarious, all you do is send them an email and say something like “just heard this new song by [whoever you think will work for them], you need to peep it here” — lean back and let the hilarity play out…but I digress.

It was sometime during Green Lantern’s set that I wandered upstairs to the VIP section. I took a lean spot by the bar and ordered myself the first of many Heinekens of the night. Note – I was drinking Heines solely because I was hoping Nas would play ‘One Mic’ (“Bus stop glass bursts, a fiend drops his Heineken”) – whatever, I was excited. Lantern was actually on for a while and I was starting to feel the effects of the green bottle when I spotted Kool Herc rolling through VIP like a boss. He was entourage free and within 5 seconds I had successfully fan boy-ed him and thanked him for basically inventing hip-hop.  Well, at least that’s how smooth I think it went. Anyway, lights out and OH SHIT it’s Nas and Damian Marley time!

pic courtesy of BrooklynVegan

The pair started in with ‘As We Enter’, one of the few jams I had heard from Distant Relatives before the show, and the crowd went apeshit.  With energy levels spiking like that for the first song I knew we were in for a night of ridic. I have to mention that in addition to a DJ, the duo were backed by a live band and backup singers, only adding to the striking sounds coming from the stage. After trading rhymes and reggae for a few songs Mr. Nasir Jones burst in his solo catalog for a few – my alcohol intake collided with my enthusiasm at this point and I (along with everyone else) went slightly nutso.  Oh snap, ‘Nas Is Like’ then ‘Represent’ followed by ‘Street Dreams’? ‘If I Ruled The World’ (dedicated to Guru)?!? Okay okay, Damian is back on stage and if that’s all the solo Nas I’m going to get, I’m A-OK with that…this is a joint show after all.

I don’t want to bore you with every single detail of the show but here’s how the rest of the night went down. Nas and Damian rocked a few more jams together followed by a Damian solo set. At this point I’m thinking the show is almost over when all of a sudden ‘Hate Me Now’ starts playing and Nas is back for another mini solo set. Holy shit, someone get me a Heineken…or three.  ’Got Yourself A Gun’ turns into ‘Made You Look’ and then I hear the one song I’ve been waiting YEARS to hear live, ‘One Mic’. Game over, I can go home at this point. Damian is back and frenzies the crowd with ‘Jamrock’, and then both Mr. Jones and Mr. Marley end the night with a few more collabo songs.  Man, what a show, WHAT A SHOW.

pic courtesy of BrooklynVegan

I’ve got some goodies below, including a copy of the setlist I managed to snag before I exited for the night.  Video of Nas running through a few of his greatest hits is here too, courtesy of Nigel D and RealTalkNY as well as a jam from Distant Relatives. Do yourself a favor and grab that album here - how can you beat a Queensbridge-Kingston collabo?

Nas & Damian Marley – As We Enter

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Setlist:

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