Anyone who considers themselves a true hip hop aficionado would give their right arm to see Nas perform live. After cancelling the Australian leg of his Hop is Dead Tour in 2007, hopes of one of the most celebrated lyricists in hip hop history touring Australia seemed far from reality. A torrent of unfulfilled tour rumours kept the stream of disappointment flowing and you couldn’t help but wonder: is hip hop dead? A messy divorce turned marriage reconciliation, Damien Marley collaboration and ninth solo album later, Nasty Nas proved that hip hop will never die by finally locking down an Australian tour.

It is certainly not an easy task to play alongside an icon like Nas. Joined by Supernat, Chali2na of Jurassic 5 and Q-Bert in most other capital cities, Adelaide relied on local talent for support while Mr Jones himself was flanked by a live band. Terra Firma stepped up to the plate and delivered a solid innings to a somewhat disinterested crowd. DJ Nixon and Madcap filled in the gaps while the audience milled around, patiently waiting for the night’s main attraction to appear. Thebbie is one of those awkward venues where if you drink at the bar you can’t see the stage, yet if you go into the concert hall, it’s too difficult to hold a conversation. It may not be the most ideal setting for live hip hop, but the place was packed, pushing close to 1000 patrons.

The wait was excruciating. Band members gradually assembled on stage as the driving baseline of Hip Hop is Dead brooded and the arena brimmed with anticipation. Sporting a plain black tee, oversized gold pendant, black Yankee hat and dark sunglasses, Nas burst onto the stage. With the crowd in the palm of his hand, hanging on his every word, Nas was in his element.

Covering all the It Was Written hits – The Message, Street Dreams, If I Ruled the World (Imagine That) – I am… standouts – Nas is Like and Hate Me Now – Nastradamus title track, quintessential Shoot ‘Em Up, and Stillmatic’s seminal Got Ur Self A…, Nas’ repertoire was impressive to say the very least. He almost played the entire Illmatic album in a short but sweet medley. Represent saw the whole crowd getting involved with vintage Nas at its finest while the more recent God’s Son joints – Made You Look and I Can – and snippets of Hip Hop is Dead and Untitled, proved that Nas is still one of the best on the mic.

Despite the sure-fire set list, the closer you stood to the stage, the more drowned out the sound became. While Thebbie usually sports a distorted wall-of-sound, Nas’ seven-piece backup band did the shoddy acoustics no favours and samples withered into the background. With some of the best beats in hip hop, it would have been much better to see Nas play with a deejay. Another downfall was the lack of crowd interaction which made for a noticeably impersonal show.

The night’s highlight, however, was the very last number. Accompanied by a senior band member with a single African drum strung around his neck, Nas’ live rendition of One Mic managed to steal the entire show. After being on stage for close to an hour and a half, Thebbie’s licensing restrictions meant no encore followed. Fitting in almost every track I hoped to hear, I can finally cross Nasty Nas off my wish list, yet am still looking for a good surgeon to reattach my right arm.