When State Property hit the stage, the roof of Terminal 5 blew off into the Hudson River. The place absolutely exploded. It felt like us, the crowd, and State Prop were sparring in the ring. Both parties feeding off of each other bar for bar. The energy was unlike anything I’ve seen in a long time, especially in a rap concert. We were all instantly teleported to 2003. Authentic moments of emotion like that can’t be duplicated. To see my childhood heroes reunited on stage performing the classics that drove me as a youngin’. It was refreshing to see Jay, Beans, Bleek, Young Chris, Neef, Freeway, Just Blaze, and Guru on the same stage again. The Dynasty: Roc La Familia was reunited, they brought the feel back. That is a moment that will forever be etched into my mind.
Jay Electronica also hit the stage to perform “We Made It Remix” as well as “Exhibit C”. This was another memorable moment for me as Just Blaze, Jay Elec, and Jay-Z joined front and center to perform the joint in unison. It had dope moments within the performance, such as Jay Elec looking at Hov and pretending to box it out while rapping, “When New York niggas was calling Southern rappers lame…” Also, Hov throwing his playful jab with the line, “When you gon drop that album, nigga? You taking long!” Once again, the energy in the building was infectious. During the show, they payed homage to B.B. King as well as Jimi Hendrix in separate routines. Those were very somber, yet inspiring moments. Paying homage to those who paved the way for us to be where we are now.
Another interesting moment is seeing Hov’s response after each song. Keep in mind, he was really going deep into his catalogue. I don’t think he realized how many in attendance REALLY listen to him. On a couple occassions he stopped to recognize the crowd for knowing certain songs. “You guys surprised me.”, he uttered at one point. He even stumbled over some lines and looked to the crowd to get him back on track. Using the human teleprompter routine. You could see him, and everyone else involved, were genuinely having fun performing. This was an event for the true Roc-A-Fella fan.
Jay’s catalogue stretches far and wide, this show proved that. He has material for days. He said that he’s been wanting to do this show for 10 years. This whole Tidal situation gave him the proper means to put on the show of the year. Shows like this remind me why I love hip-hop and how much it means to us as people. There was nothing but positive vibes and chemistry flowing through each and every person in attendance. Hundreds of people reciting lyrics and throwing the Roc up with their hands in unison. The music brought people from all different walks of life together. We were all apart of the same tide, flowing together to the shores of hip-hop majesty. We were all Roc representers.
By Kelly Velez
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