The Orion Online

Issue date: 9/10/08 Section: Entertainment

Sept. 10, 2008

Note: This article has been updated as information became available
Nas has cancelled his show, planned for Thursday night at the Senator. He was scheduled to perform with Jay Electronica and DJ Green Lantern.

JMAX Productions has not given a reason for the hasty cancellation, nor did Nas suggest that he would not be performing during his Orion interview on Friday, Sept. 5.

Ticket refunds can be handled at the Senator Box Office at 517 Main St.

Original text
At The Senator Theatre, the array of talent has varied for many years. Every type of music has been represented with some of the best up-and-comers, as well as some genre-defining acts.

The bar will be raised to a new level Thursday.

While Chico has been treated to the likes of Snoop Dogg, Daz Dillinger, Kurupt and, most recently, Andre Nickatina, a performance by living legend Nas gives The Senator that extra touch of credibility.

With more than half his albums debuting at No. 1 on multiple Billboard charts, Nas, born Nasir Jones, has paved the way for other rappers for the past 14 years. He will bring with him the talent of Jay Eletronica and DJ Green Lantern, whom some may remember from his days with the Shady family, or his work on "Grand Theft Auto IV."

Two years after the release of Nas' highly successful "Hip Hop Is Dead" album, the rapper returns with an untitled album, because the original title was controversial.

After dubbing the album, "Nigger," threats from corporate investors, politicians and Fox News spearheaded a campaign to strip the dubious title. The negativity became too much, and the New York lyricist decided to stop the negative focus people had on the issue and remove the name with the idea the fans will still understand the point, even if it was not spelled out for them.

Sadly, The Senator show has a few dark clouds hanging over it. The show was intended to hit Chico in the middle of August, but was postponed.

The show was meant to include another great in the rap game, former Black Star performer Talib Kweli, but he had scheduling issues that kept him from appearing on every stop on Nas' tour, Nas said in a phone interview.

"You know, he's the hardest working man in show business," he said. "He was at the show last night, and I thought he was still doin' the whole tour, but he had to go do something else."

The bill with both artists was a big draw for many students. Junior brothers Guy, 20, and Zach Hernandez, 22, both had tickets but decided against attending once Kweli canceled.

"For two great hip-hop artists such as Nas and Talib Kweli to be performing together in Chico seemed rare, so I bought the tickets right away," Guy Hernandez said.

It was a tough decision to not go to the concert after Kweli dropped out, Zach Hernandez said.

With the hype surrounding his new album and the head of steam Nas has recently had, fans may see a more focused performer.

He speaks of serious issues and topics, all the while giving listeners a beat to move to and enough food for thought to make their brains full. The mixture of pain and pleasure is an intoxicating verbal brew.

JMAX Productions announced Paul Wall's performance scheduled for Friday is canceled, so fans may fulfill their hip-hop needs with Nas or Hieroglyphics, which comes around Sept. 19.

Jesse Seilhan can be reached at
jseilhan@theorion.com

Related links
Senator Theatre Web site

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