The hip hop king of Queens himself, Nas, sparked up Carnesecca Arena May 5, as St. John’s students and alumni filled the stadium to hear the legend perform. The anticipation of Nas flooded the place as people were patiently waiting for the rapper to come on stag.
“It was amazing to be that close to a legend,” said freshman Nick Scott. “Truly a memorable and priceless experience. I think the smaller crowd made for a more intimate performance.”
It’s impressive to say that the St. John’s community, composed of students and alumni exclusively, enjoyed their own private show at our annual Spring Concert. Haraya and SGI made this possible and titled this year’s concert, Hip Hop is Nas.
For the “First Monday of May,” also known as the Met Gala, celebrities and designers all get dressed up for a night out at the biggest fundraising event of the year. Nas was among the crowd that night as he performed with The Weeknd.
Unlike J. Cole, who sold out the concert last year, Nas, 42, is relatively older when it comes to the hip hop scene. However, the old-school rapper was well-received by both the younger students, the older students and the alumni.
According to allmusic.com, Nas’s 1994 debut album, “Illmatic,” began his reign in the hip hop world. He is son to jazz musician, Olu Dara, and an 8th grade dropout, yet it is his knowledge and love for English and literacy that helped him with rap.
One of the opening acts included St. John’s graduate student, Robert Pope.
Pope brought his own talent to the show, with his saxophone and jazzy tones. Although his musical stylings weren’t similar to Nas, Pope’s performance still managed to blow everyone away.
The students and alumni all cheered and clapped as soon as Nas came out to the stage. He opened the night with a shout out to his hometown, Queens, as the crowd roared with anticipation.
The living king of New York himself reminisced cassette tapes and the 90’s when most of us were just toddlers. Along with his music, he played some tunes by Bob Marley and Michael Jackson.
Nas had a setlist of 11 songs including “One Love,” “NY.. State of Mind” and “Hate Me Now.”
He also performed a crowd favorite, “Sweet Dreams,” enticing everyone to sing along. It was a rendition of the original song by Eurthymics, released back in 1983.
“Throughout the concert, he definitely took a nostalgic tour through hip hop perfection and just reminded me why I love his music so much,” said senior Cheryl Marumahoko.
