photo credit: 3680 photography.

the first nas song i ever heard was in the fourth grade – “if i ruled the world (imagine that).” it was unlike anything i had ever heard at the time, bridging the gap between the neo-soul leanings of ms. hill and nasir jones. since that point, nas became one of the staple emcees in my musical repertoire. god’s son and street’s disciple remain as his only disappointing albums up until this point, and everything in between (untitled was my AOTY in 2008) has fared well around these parts. all things considered, i had yet to see nas perform live. i missed all previous chances, including the 08 tour supporting untitled and this past year’s sxsw set with damian. needless to say, i was more than thrilled to find a houston date for the distant relatives tour.

-grizzly

photo credit: 3680 photography.

nneka started off the night at warehouse live, a place where the weed smoke had only begun to trickle and circulate through all the air ducts. having no previous knowledge of nneka beforehand, i knew immediately why she was picked for this tour. with musical stylings in the realm of distant relatives, while providing the stark female contrast to the male domination of both nasir and damian were proof enough. nneka came out and performed like a headliner. back by a full band, her between song banter was sparse as she brought a solid 45-minute set of her afro-soul cuts from her latest record, concrete jungle. the crowd was more than pleased with her as an opener, as they applauded enthusiastically at the end of each song. (ed. note: i could’ve sworn i heard calls of an “encore” when she finished the set.)

about an hour and some-odd minutes later, nas and damian came out to one of the loudest receptions i’ve heard in quite some time. “as we enter,” a fitting opener for more than one reason kicked off a two hour plus set at warehouse live. considering the fact that nas and damian marley have been performing songs from distant relatives for over a year now, it’s reassuring to see the two’s on-stage chemistry. the two pawn off each other’s energies bringing in fans of hip-hop and reggae in one of the most peaceful unions i’ve seen.

photo credit: 3680 photography.

“i’ve got the guns/i’ve got the ganja,” a line from “as we enter,” pretty much sum up the duo’s dynamic. the two hour set bounced back from material off of last month’s distant relatives record, touching base on nearly every song on the album with the exception of “in his own words” and “my generation,” leaving ample time for each party to visit their own catalog. nas made sure that the queensbridge presence was felt on the mainstage. he embraced some of the biggest hits of his career, with performances of “if i ruled the world,” illmatic‘s “represent,” to radio smashes like “hip-hop is dead” and “hate me now.” nas’ expansive catalog provided him with a wide array of hits to choose from. judging by the crowd’s reception throughout the night, they were chosen carefully and correctly.

marley managed to squeeze in a few favorable hits like “welcome to jamrock” and “move!” which managed to keep the most dreadlocked of fans moving and smoking all the same. and what would a damian marley set be without some form of homage to the late bob marley? his youngest son made sure to play fan favorite “war” and even threw in “could you be loved?” into the encore. the most successful advantage to this show was the seamlessly-crafted setlist, as neither damian or nas’s solo sets seemed to drag on long enough to leave either fanbase bored and idle.

however, both parties might’ve gotten in a bit over their heads a few times throughout the show. between damian missing cues to sing (“strong will continue”) and nas forgetting his own words (“one mic”), the two had their fair share of slip-ups and missteps. considering the crowd’s drug of choice, one can’t help but wonder if anyone even noticed. i’ll take it all, though. the sold-out crowd in houston wouldn’t dare to leave disappointed, as this was one of the most uplifting and overall enjoyable hip-hop experiences i’ve been a part of.

now if only we could get rock the bells to come back here. but who could forget?

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[SETLIST]

as we enter
tribal war
nah mean
nas is like (N)
represent (N)
hip-hop is dead (N)
street dreams (N)
if i ruled the world (N)
leaders
count your blessings
dispear
land of promise
mission (DM)
move! (DM)
sabali (DM)
war (DM – bob marley cover)
patience
strong will continue
hate me now (N)
got yourself a gun (N)
made you look (N)
jamrock (DM)
road to zion (DM)
africa must wake up

encore:

friends
one mic (N)
could you be loved (DM – bob marley cover)