It was just minutes away from the end of Nelly’s concert Tuesday night when a slightly robotic, British voice instructed the audience to stay put: “Attention, attention: We are not done yet.” Read More
It was just minutes away from the end of Nelly’s concert Tuesday night when a slightly robotic, British voice instructed the audience to stay put: “Attention, attention: We are not done yet.” It was a fun, if perhaps not entirely necessary, piece of direction that preceded what must have been the shortest and most furiously
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It was just minutes away from the end of Nelly’s concert Tuesday night when a slightly robotic, British voice instructed the audience to stay put: “Attention, attention: We are not done yet.”
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It was a fun, if perhaps not entirely necessary, piece of direction that preceded what must have been the shortest and most furiously paced encore in the history of Saddledome shows. Amid wildly flashing strobe lights, Nelly and his sprawling back-up entourage scooted back on stage for a giddy run through his 2008 hit Party People. It only lasted a few minutes but was a fitting end to what was nearly three hours of hip-hop on Tuesday night that unfolded, for the most part, with unrelenting energy.
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Nelly played for a little over an hour, but there were few lulls for the audience in a concert that featured separate sets by New York City rapper Ja Rule and Nelly’s long-time opener Chingy. Between-set intermissions were filled by DJ Aktive, which contributed to an overall never-let-them-breathe vibe on Tuesday.
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For most of Nelly’s set, the 50-year-old St. Louis rapper seemed to put an emphasis on loyalty and gratitude. For his Where the Party At tour, he enlisted members of his 1990s hip-hop collective Murphy Lee, Kyjuan, City Spud and Slo Down as well as fellow Missourian and frequent collaborator J-Kwon. Nelly also gave continuous shoutouts to fans who have been with him since “day 1.”
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It may be hard to believe, but Nelly’s first solo album came out 25 years ago. The beginning of his set had a bit of a peculiar community-theatre vibe as his crew emerged behind velvet ropes and burly bouncers to enter the stage like a theatre chorus. But once Nelly stepped on stage, the show kept up a stadium-polish throughout. Starting with the suitably raucous Where the Party At before launching into a lively take on the impossibly catchy E.I. Nelly’s collaborators all got a chance to shine, but Lee seemed to be in particularly good form on Tuesday night when taking the lead on the breezy My Shoes and Luv Me Baby. J-Kwon also shone while rolling out his debut single from 2004, Tipsy, which became one of many shout-a-long highlights of the night.
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Say what you will about the musicality of hip-hop in general — and Belly’s commercial strains in particularly — but there was actually a fair bit of variety on display Tuesday night, from the muscular pop of Hey Porsche, to the sleazy/slinky vibes of Pimp Juice, soulful R&B of Dllemma, the expert start-and-stop dynamics of and dizzying verbiage of Move That Body and sultry Hot in Herre. He may not be the most innovative of hip-hop superstars, but he runs a tight ship.
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Chingy showcased similar energy for the opening set, offering a commanding stage presence even though he was performing solo.
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Ja Rule, meanwhile, upped the ante with a smooth set that included everything from the defiant, pummelling F-ck You, to the melancholy New York and R&B flavoured I Cry. The New York rapper eventually made his way out into the audience, traipsing up and down the aisles flanked by nervous-looking security.
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He offered a heartfelt tribute to Irv Gotti, the record producer who discovered him in 1999. Gotti died in February after suffering a stroke. Ja Rule hit peak with the soulful Mezmerize and bouncy version of I’m Real, the 2001 song he performed with Jennifer Lopez.