By Lawrence Donaldson

Photos by George Law

As the crowds gathered at the Tesla arena the sense of giddy excitement brewed, smoke hung in the air, beer cups carpeted the floor, friends greeted each other dancing and cheering. Then as the bass from the stack of speakers on the stage began to shake the building to its foundations Rock the bells well and truly hit Prague.

For a fan of real hip hop the line up was nothing short of outstanding, like a festival condensed into an evening with only the headliners left to entertain. Nas, the Pharcyde, De la Soul, Empmd, Pharoe Monch- hip hop legends standing shoulder to shoulder. Pharoe Monch kicked off with an energetic and highly accomplished performance, shooting out a machine gun flow with perfect clarity, backed by DJ of the executioners whose scratching solo has to be seen to be believed. Songs like the anti Bush Agent Orange were followed by a call of support for Barack Obama giving the performance a sense of urgency balanced by Pharoes celebration of his Birthday and jokes with the crowd. 

Next up Epmd showed exactly why they have endured for 22 years in the rap game with an amazingly charged performance laced with fun and passion. They were followed by De La Soul who took the evening to another level. They instantly connected with the crowd, passing rhymes to each other like the harlem globetrotters, speaking with the fans, talking about their history. By the end of the De la Soul set the crowd was jumping so much it was as if the floor had been replaced with a giant bouncy castle.

The level of energy did not lapse when the exceedingly cool Pharcyde hit the stage, oozing style. Classic songs like excuse me and passing me by sounded as fresh and original as ever, crowds of girls danced on the stage adding to the party atmosphere. By the time the headliner NAS was due on the stage the audience had experience a 3-hour barrage of classic hip hop. Now fully charged the crowd erupted as Nas entered, looking every inch the superstar just from the way he walked. An ongoing debate in the hip-hop world often places Nas near the top of the greatest rappers of all time. Nas set about reminding the Prague crowd exactly why, unleashing classics from his 1993 debut Illmatic such NY State of mind and Half Time.

The set was unrelenting, as DJ green lantern switched beats Nas switched raps, giving the crowd hit after hit in his mesmerising rapping style, by the end as he sang One Mic he crouched in the middle of the stage, seemingly as exhausted as the crowd. For four hours the arena had been entertained, people had jumped danced and cheered as they watched their heroes. The sense of community, love, politics and just plain coolness had sustained throughout the evening and showed what live music can achieve, and what real hip-hop is all about.

Overall the evening showed how what real hip hop is about and primarily its about fun, acceptance and beleif. Being in that areana felt like being in a church.

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