116 – Nas -- Saturday, October 6, 2012 -- Merriweather Post Pavilion -- Columbia, MD

I give Nas a lot of credit.  I had not listened to many of his albums, and texting white teenagers were not his core audience, but he worked it.  He paced to the right, to the left, to the middle, managing to come off as forceful and confident, not cocky: “I can’t stop now, Maryland, ‘cause I can’t stop now, DC…This is for my all my Trapped In The 90s brothers…Where’s my hip hop people at?  When you say hip, I say hop. [Heh].”

This was a nice twist: “My old attitude was life’s a B, and then you die.  Now, as I get older, I realize that life is good.  It can still be a B, but you’re not ready to die.”   I enjoyed this line as well: “This song is dedicated to my ex-wife.  It’s called ‘Goodbye.’”

There was also a solid contrast between the gunshot-laden “Made You Look” and the responsibility-driven “Daughters.”  The mic-life play in “One Mic” worked equally well.

The high point of the set was clearly “I Can.”  You had to love the positive message, the little kids singing during the chorus, and lines like “she was beautiful, but now when hugs people, they hold they breath ‘cause she smells of corrosion and death.”  It’s also the only song I can responsibly link here, so enjoy.

Grade: B