Nas arrived in Dublin immersed in the sort of controversy for which rappers are renowned. At a London gig earlier in the week, three bullets were fired during his set at the Brixton Academy, bringing an abrupt halt to the concert while a worried Nas scurried off the stage. Once again hip-hop grabbed the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Yet such controversy did little by way of generating interest in a woefully undersold event. After ten years in the game, this was Nas’s Irish debut. A full Point Depot may have been expected, but in the end a small coterie of loyal fans managed to only half fill the arena. The atmosphere was non-existent – though it didn't seem to impede the diehards' fun.
With the sparse stage populated only by Nas, a DJ and two giant security guards, there was little in the way of visual or light entertainment. The focus remained on the East Coast rapper as he prowled the stage spitting rhymes. ‘Suicide Bounce’, ‘Coon Picnic’ and ‘A Message To The Feds’, all from his recent double LP Street’s Disciple, made up the opening numbers. There was a rawness and venom in Nas’s delivery as he urged the crowd on at every opportunity, his intricate rhymes performed with style and conviction. ‘Got Yer Self A Gun’ closely followed, Nas still swaggering across the stage.
At about the halfway point, though, things began to grate. The same tempo and similar beats were being processed and it took until ‘Life’s a Bitch’ and ‘One Love’ for some sonic variety to be introduced.
‘One Mic’ with all its anger and passion was Nas at his best. Beats exploded behind him as he quarrelled with the microphone, showcasing all his determination and grit. It has to be said, however, that it felt a bit surreal standing in open space as the power in that tune was hurled straight out. Nonetheless, connoisseurs of rap will not have cared a jot. They’ve waited years to glimpse their hero on an Irish stage and for the most part, Nas didn’t disappoint.