Last night's vitaminwater uncapped show, co-headlined by Matt & Kim and Nas, took place in the "Asylum" room of Masonic of Detroit, a castle of a building that takes up half a block downtown. If ominous from the outside, inside the venue, lavish architectural flourishes abound. Mad Decent DJ Paul Devro had the spot turned up early with undeniable jams like UGK's "International Player's Anthem" and Tweet's "Oops (Oh My)," until the crowd turned on him altogether for playing D4L's "Laffy Taffy," booing furiously at the selection. There was also a breakdance cipher taking place in the back of the room at the time. Devro rebounded with Meek Mill's "House Party" and all was right again within the Masonic temple.
Not long thereafter came Matt & Kim, who stood atop their instrument stations hyping up the crowd to a pre-recorded mashup of "Gonna Fly Now" (the theme from Rocky) and Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind." WIth energy to spare, the two spent the majority of their set winning over the half of the crowd who weren't there to see them, Kim's Crocodile Dundee style crowd-walking and booty-popping atop the hands and heads of audience members a particular point of excitement. "Shit has to get fuckin dirty tonight!" Matt yelled. Their set included interpolations of Alice DeeJay's techno megahit "Better Off Alone" and Cali Swag District's "Teach Me How To Dougie," almost literally providing something for everyone, until they'd lured fans new and old into a joyously sloppy singalong of "Daylight."
Devro's second set avoided the unforeseeable missteps of the first, going full 2012 party mode with G.O.O.D. Music's "Mercy," 2 Chainz's "Spend It," and Waka Flocka's "Round Of Applause." Later, Nas' DJ Green Lantern went back to the classics, reminding everyone how proud they should be to know all the words to Notorious BIG's "Juicy." Looking particularly youthful with blindingly bright chain and watch, baggy Polo v-neck tee, deep sagging cargo pants and boat shoes, Nas came out to "The Don," the Heavy D posthumously-produced single from Life Is Good. After "The Don" though it was a journey through the young legend's very storied catalogue, Nas walking everyone through all 10 of his albums, even the polarizing Nastradamus. His between song banter centered around Life is Good and how good his life is, until he announced that when "life got real to a nigga," he had to "put it in his music," launching into "Daughters." He'd also perform the scathing "Bye Baby," which details his tumultuous marriage to Kelis, before bringing out the night's special surpise guest, Miguel, to perform "Summer On Smash." Taking the opportunity to catch his breath, Nas let Miguel perform the sultry “Adorn” to raised vitaminwaters and Heinekens.
Check out the vitaminwater YouTube channel for exclusive videos from all of this year's uncapped events. uncapped continues for a couple more shows, check out scheduled dates in the sidebar on this page and sign up for our mailing list to RSVP when we hit your town.
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