Review: Rap gods Wu-Tang Clan and Nas at Brisbane Entertainment Centre

Hip-hop legends Wu-Tang Clan and Nas have brought at taste of New York to Brisbane Entertainment Centre in a blockbuster celebration of rap. Read the review.

Wu-Tang Clan performed at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Friday night. Picture: AAP Image/Danny Casey

Both physically and metaphorically, Brisbane’s far-flung northern suburbs are about as far from New York as you get.

But for a brief couple of hours on Friday night, two of the Big Apple’s most iconic acts made Boondall their home as Nas and Wu-Tang Clan joined forces for the NY State Of Mind Tour at the Entertainment Centre.

In a double header that my 16-year-old self could have only dreamt of, arguably the greatest solo lyricist of all time took to the stage alongside the undisputed OG rap supergroup in a blockbuster celebration of 50 years of hip-hop and the city where it all began.

Thankfully, in a rarity in both Brisbane and Australia, the production matched the hype with both a live band adding some serious edge to the classic tunes and a full audiovisual show showcasing the history of rap alongside the classic artwork and clips of both headliners.

Wu-Tang Clan performed at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Friday night. Picture: AAP Image/Danny Casey

In a fitting beginning to what was a religious experience for devotees of golden era gangster rap, the clan’s founder and mastermind RZA began the show on a raised lectern, preaching the gospel of hip-hop like a southern Baptist minister as he announced each member of the Wu as they took to the stage.

Anyone who has seen the infamous documentary Rock The Bells will know getting all nine members of Wu-Tang together is a full achievement, but Brisbane came close with all but Method Man (and of course, the late, great ODB) making the trip Down Under.

Tearing through classic after classic with more energy than rappers thirty years their junior, the live band format gave iconic tracks like Liquid Swords, Incarcerated Scarfaces, Bring Da Ruckus and Tearz a tough, new distorted edge and was definitely a welcome addition to the show.

RZA is the perfect hype man and by the time Nas took to the stage about 20 minutes in, the packed crowd was in full call-and-response mode making it easy going for the king of Queens.

Nas dropped some of his biggest hits for his Brisbane fans. Picture: Lachlan Douglas

It takes a special MC to hold it down solo after the wall of sound that is Wu Tang, but luckily Nasty Nas is one of the few that is up to the task.

Rocking enough diamonds to make King Charles jealous, Nas was clearly enjoying himself in front of the hyped crowd as he dropped versions from classics Hate Me Now, Got Yourself A Gun, It Ain’t Hard To Tell, It Was Written and Get Down in quick succession, before knocking it out of the park with the iconic Represent. All this in the first 40 minutes!

To try and list what came next would be like writing a history book of New York’s finest street poetry, but needless to say there was no diehard fan of either act that went home feeling like they missed out, even without Wu’s de facto frontman Method Man.

Unlike much of today’s rap, this is music that has and will continue to stand the test of time. Thanks to the undisputed gods for showing us how it’s done.