Nas replaced Snoop Dogg at the State Fair on Wednesday night, giving a free concert at the Chevy Court. Here are five observations from the concert:

Moment of the Night

The moment of the night came toward the end of the concert. Nas, glistening down his neck with sweat, yelled out “Bravehearts where you at?” with one hand in the air. As the beat to “Made You Look” came in, fans chanted “Bravehearts,” mirroring its chanting in the song and waving their hands with the beat.

The Setlist

Nas played parts of the following songs in this order through the night:

“Get Down”
“N.Y. State of Mind”

“Life’s a B*tch”

“The World is Yours”

“Halftime”

“It Ain’t Hard to Tell”

“You’re Da Man”

“The Message”

“If I Ruled the World”

“I Can”“Nastradamus”

“You Can Hate Me Now”

“Oochie Wally”

“Book of Rhymes”

“Hip Hop is Dead”

“One Love” 

“Got Ur Self A…”

“Made You Look”

“One Mic”

It’s all Political

Nas got a little political on stage between “The World is Yours” and “Halftime.”“Can you believe it?” the rapper said before declaring that in 2015, he’s free. “I ain’t f*ckin’ with Donald Trump, I ain’t f*ckin’ with Hillary (Clinton),” Nas said. 

He also delved into rap politics, playing his 2006 hit “Hip Hop is Dead,” and asking the crowd if they think hip hop is dead. Despite the resounding “Yes,” he got from the crowd, he was a bit more positive. “I think it’s waking up,” Nas said.

Generation Gap

As people filed through the crowd, they were often followed by their kids, then their friends. Nas, 41, referred to his age twice at the concert.

After four songs, Nas talked about his era of rap. “I go back to the cassette tape days,” he said.

“Do you remember that?” Then he found a young fan and said, “You definitely don’t remember that.”The Queens-based rapper named MC Shan, Ice Cube, NWA and Eric B. and Rakim among others as some of his influences in his rap career. He revisited the topic with three songs left in the concert, saying he started rapping in 1991.

“I’m old”, Nas said, pausing, just before jumping into “Got Ur Self A…”. “Sh*t, I feel great.”

King of New York

Three times before Nas went on stage at 8:18, small chants of, “We want Nas” broke out.

15 minutes before the rapper came on, a group of people stood on the bleachers and others lifted people on their shoulders, pointing cell phones in the middle of a circle.

New York State Troopers walked to the circle with flashlights and pulled two women out of the circle. A minute later, a man climbed the trunk of the tree and sat in the crook of three branches before a New York State Trooper coaxed him out of the tree and escorted him out of the concert area.

But once Nas hit the stage, there were relatively few issues on the grass in front of him. The crowd soaked in the experience as the rapper, once the “King of New York,” captured the crowd’s attention, proving he was the King of New York State.

Published on September 2, 2015 at 11:30 pm

Contact Chris: cjlibona@syr.edu | @ChrisLibonati