Before Nas and The Roots Live stepped onto the stage, the LED screen at F&M Bank Amphitheater signaled the night.
Moreover, the setup promised a memorable show from the duo.
“A Great Night in Hip Hop.”
By the end of the night, it was hard to argue with that description.
On August 28, De La Soul, The Roots, and Nas joined in Long Beach. Nas and The Roots Live celebrated decades of hip hop history.
Moreover, the performance still felt completely alive in the present.
De La Soul Opens A Great Night in Hip Hop in Long Beach
The sun had set just after 7:20pm, putting the beginning of the show right at blue hour. A DJ warmed up the crowd before De La Soul took the stage around 8 p.m.
From the beginning, their set was fun.
DJ Maseo smiled, swayed and danced behind the turntables, looking like he was enjoying himself just as much as the people watching him. During “Potholes in My Lawn,” the crowd was already on its feet, swaying to the beat.
That interaction continued throughout the set.
Hands went into the air. People clapped along. Different sections of the amphitheater were called on to respond. When De La Soul yelled “vibe,” the audience answered with “vibrations.”
Maseo also kept things light, joking at one point that he was already tired because he was 56 now and had a belly.
But the performance had more reflective moments too.
At one point, Posdnuos knelt onstage facing away from the audience, almost as if he were praying while he spoke. He encouraged everyone to have fun and not let anyone tell them otherwise, while also talking about being a fan himself of The Roots and Nas.
De La Soul introduced material from their new album, Cabin in the Sky, including “Run It Back!!” featuring Nas. The audience quickly became part of the song, singing the “run it back” portion back to them.
Remembering Trugoy the Dove
Throughout the set, there was also no forgetting David “Trugoy the Dove” Jolicoeur.
The group spoke about their late brother Dave, and the music became part celebration and part remembrance. Near the end of the set, the audience responded with one of the simplest and most meaningful moments of the night:
“Thank you, Dave.”
De La Soul closed around 8:35 p.m. with “Me Myself and I,” ending a set that balanced humor, crowd interaction, history and remembrance.
There were a few noticeable sound issues during their performance, including brief high frequency squeals through the system, one of them occurring during “A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturdays.’” They were short enough not to derail the set, but noticeable.
The Roots Turn the Amphitheater Into a Live Band Showcase
After the stage change, The Roots came out around 8:55 p.m.
This was where the night became a full live production.
There was choreography, but it never felt overly staged. The movement felt coordinated with the music. Drums, guitar, keys, horns and the sousaphone all had their own presence, and the band gave individual musicians room to stand out without losing the feeling of one tight unit.
You could feel every beat.
Every instrument was clear, and Black Thought’s vocals stayed strong over all of it.
Watching The Roots live was a reminder of the level of artistry involved in putting on an actual hip hop show.
The songs were only one part of it. The musicianship itself was part of the performance.
Nas Opens With “Hate Me Now” and “N.Y. State of Mind”
Then around 9:35 p.m., the screen behind the stage filled with fire.
Nas walked out against the burning visual to “Hate Me Now,” followed shortly by “N.Y. State of Mind.”
The entrance immediately changed the energy in the amphitheater.
Nas was only 20 years old when Illmatic was released in 1994. More than 30 years later, his delivery still sounded sharp, controlled and remarkably clear.
His breath control was insane.
Some of those verses are dense, with very little room to breathe, yet he moved through them without sounding strained or rushed.
He also connected directly with the crowd throughout the set.
At one point, Nas referred to the audience as Los Angeles.
Long Beach residents may have something to say about that one.
But we’ll let it slide.
Technically, he was still in LA County.
Nas also told the crowd how much he liked the new venue, another moment that drew an enthusiastic response from Long Beach.
At another point in the set, Nas noticed an audience member holding up one of his albums. He acknowledged it from the stage and joked that the album was older than the person holding it. He then offered to sign it if they wanted.
Nas later took a moment to give Black Thought his flowers too, calling him “the nicest emcee in the world.”
Coming from Nas, that carried some weight.
He also acknowledged the next generation, giving a shout out to the future rappers and emcees in the audience. On a night filled with artists who helped shape hip hop over the last several decades, it was a small but meaningful acknowledgment that the culture continues with whoever comes next.
It was a small interaction, but one that also put the longevity of his career into perspective.
The visuals continued to change along with the songs.
During “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That),” the massive screen showed a globe wrapped in broad yellow and gold ribbon-like bands. It was one of the more memorable visual moments of Nas’ set and matched the scale of the song perfectly.
The live band changed the way his catalog sounded.
Songs the audience had known for decades now had live drums, brass, guitar and keys behind them. The Roots were not simply reproducing Nas records. They were playing them, stretching parts out and giving familiar songs more weight onstage.
The Roots Close the Night With an Extended Jam
That became especially clear toward the end of the night.
Nas and The Roots performed one final song together, and then The Roots closed the night with an extended instrumental jam.
Captain Kirk Douglas, The Roots’ longtime guitarist, became one of the standouts of the final stretch. His guitar work was incredible, and the band gave the instrumental section time to develop instead of rushing toward the finish.
The show finally ended around 10:50 p.m.
By then, the night had covered nearly four decades of hip hop.
But it never felt like a nostalgia show.
De La Soul reminded the audience how much fun and community have always been part of hip hop, while also leaving space to honor someone they lost.
The Roots showed the full artistry of what a live hip hop performance can be when every musician onstage is part of the storytelling.
And Nas showed why songs written when he was barely out of his teens still command an audience more than 30 years later.
Documenting Hip Hop History in Long Beach
For me, there was another layer to the night.
Long Beach is where I learned about hip hop. It is where I was introduced to the music and the culture, so having the opportunity to document a night like this in Long Beach was pretty special.
De La Soul, The Roots and Nas represent decades of hip hop history, and it was a pleasure to document a piece of it.
It really was “a great night in hip hop.”
Photos by Zharmaine Boatman for The 824 Journal / iPhone 16 Pro
