Last night I got to see Wu Tang Clan and Nas on their New York State of Mind tour. Saint Louis was their first stop and a buddy of mine wanted to go. He asked if I was interested, and you better believe I was fully in. Nas and Wu Tang are two artists that I have always wanted to see live but never had a real chance. The last time Nas was in Saint Louis was in the 90's. As for Wu Tang, who knows when they were last playing live shows in STL. But they were here last night. In fact this was the first stop on their tour. They opened the whole thing here in Saint Louis. I was champing at the bit to see what this whole show would entail.

When we got there, the show was at Riverport, or as it is now known, Hollywood Casino Amphitheater, where there was a DJ playing. I have been to shows where the DJ is the headliner and also the opening act. This DJ, DJ Scratch, was very good at his craft. He was great at scratching, kept the crowd involved, played great tunes and did some wild stuff on the turntables. He has also produced records for members of Wu Tang, so you know he has credentials. He got on stage for 45 minutes and rocked the crowd the whole time. I did not know what to expect next. I have now been to three concerts since the start of the pandemic and each one has started right on time. And like clockwork, Wu Tang walked on the stage right at 9pm. I was impressed at the impeccable timing. They proceeded to play for 25 minutes, and it was one hit after another. I was impressed at how good they still sounded. They kept the crowd involved. They talked in between songs. Each of the emcees got their own chance to shine. The RZA did his verse from "Bring the Ruckus", and I was in heaven. It was a thing of beauty. The RZA is my favorite member. I did not know who I would see, but I was pleased. The only two original members that are still alive that were not there last night were Method Man and Redman. Every other living member was on that stage. Even ODB's son, YDB, joined the band on stage. I was hyped to watch them perform. Nas joined them after 25 minutes to perform a song. This ruled. He came on stage and crushed. I figured he was going to walk off stage and let Wu Tang finish their set. He did not. Wu Tang left the stage and then Nas performed for 25 minutes. He was amazing. I was more on the Wu Tang side as to who I wanted to see most, but Nas ended up impressing me the most last night. He went from song to song like the pro he is. The screen in the background was showing old music videos of his. It was very cool to see him perform and then look at a much younger version of himself. Nas was incredible. I could not have been more impressed watching him perform. Then, after the first 25 minutes, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah came back on stage and did a few songs together. Then the rest of the Wu Tang clan, minus the RZA, got back on stage and did another 25 minutes. Again, it was hit after hit. I was amazed at how they kept the show going and how each performer did their thing. After Wu Tang did a second 25 minutes, Nas came back out. He proceeded to do all his hits. It was amazing. He was simply wonderful. I could not have been vibing more. Nas did 25 more minutes and then thanked the crowd for coming out. I loved that each headliner did their thing for two seperate 25 minutes or so sets. I also loved that each group had a wardrobe change between each set. Most of the guys had a totally different outfit on for their second set. The night seemed to be over. The stage went dark, but I figured it was done. Then Busta Rhymes came out and did a few songs. It felt like I was in eighth grade again, listening to some of the first hip hop artists I discovered. It was a tremendous open to their tour and a great, great show.

I am so happy I got to see these legends perform live. What a great night of live hip hop.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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