Where Da Party At?: Eve, Fabolous and Nelly Unite Millennials at Hamburg’s Barclays Arena
The “Where Da Party At?” tour sounded like a dream night from 2005 for every millennial. Eve and Fabolous came together with Nelly & The St. Lunatics to Hamburg, Germany. Enough hits for an evening full of nostalgic rap music. But were the artists, live, more than twenty years later, worth the effort? Absolutely, and probably even at the peak of their tour.
Fabolous
Loso in case you ain’t know so
Fabolous was the least known of the three acts. The MC stood solo on stage, and even during his more well-known tracks, the audience only reacted enthusiastically in phases. Unjustly so, as Fabolous brought a strong mix of pop and rap tracks.
Breathe
Clad in a New York Knicks cap, Fab moved confidently across the stage during his set. Rap tracks got a lot of love from the rap fans in the front row. The Brooklyn MC closed with one of his hits and showed his superiority by not skipping a single bar. A special ‘piano breakdown’ under the third verse put extra emphasis on his rap technique. No festive ending, but Fabolous left quite a calling card.
Eve
Ruff Ryderz roll
Anyone who doubted whether the ‘First Lady of Ruff Ryderz’ was still connected after DMX’s death was immediately silenced. “Ruff Ryderz Anthem” echoed hard as an intro through the arena, and fans sang along loudly. With a ‘Whassup Hamburg!’ the rapper, singer and actress Eve came on stage with a broad smile. It wouldn’t be the last tribute to the New York MC.
Eve’s that girl
Almost immediately, the DJ started one of her mega hits, and Hamburg’s Barclays Arena awakened like a karaoke bar. But one thing should be clear: The woman from Philadelphia raps! Various tracks were represented. Various groups of women looked at each other in confusion, but this was Eve at her best. ‘I gotta remind mf’s, I’m still an emcee! I still rap!’ the femcee called out, smiling.
Dark Man X
‘This next part is just to pay homage to my brother DMX.’ With the iconic crossed arms, Eve and her dancers stood on stage while “Slippin” by DMX was played. The MC died in 2021 after a tumultuous but influential career. In a short time, hits came by, with which Eve made it clear that the artist should have been part of this tour. Not that the artist would have needed him on this tour to convince anyone of her worth.
Light the arena up
After more tracks, the concert briefly turned into a dance show. Eve continued with a short reggae intermezzo, with impressive a cappella singing at the end. A small reference to current hits then introduced the swinging finale, after which Eve gratefully left the stage. ‘Thank you for your energy!’ the magnificent artist called out sincerely.
Nelly & St. Lunatics
Club Derrty
Nelly came with a mission. Within one minute, the artist renamed the arena ‘Club Derrty’ and women danced on stage. The rapper from St. Louis came in, and briefly it seemed as if he had a whole group on stage. It turned out to be the members of St. Lunatics, the rap group that Nelly has belonged to since 1993. Murphy Lee, City Spud, Kyjuan and Slo Down had travelled along to seal the St. Louis stamp in Hamburg. In the Midwest, they know what a party is.
Country Grammar
Before the first track even ended, the next hit started, and Nelly launched his cannonade of hits. The rapper sounded quite shouty, which was less the case in previous years. Fortunately, the Lunatics knew how to support him well. ‘I wanna thank you all from the bottom of my heart,’ the artist said with a smile before arriving at “Country Grammar”, the song with which his solo career began. The hit that catapulted Nelly to the top seemed to find less resonance in the arena, but sounded just as infectious and refreshing 25 years later.
St. Lunatics
It was striking how well the other Lunatics came into their own. Especially Murphy Lee knew how to score, while the other members each proved their worth with various tracks. The group came together and put themselves on the map once and for all. The group built a party in Hamburg’s Barclays Arena with dancers and many visuals.
For the ladies
Of course, a Nelly concert wasn’t complete without moments for the ladies. Various tracks could count on a lot of love, and with well-known hits, many women thought back to other concerts. The ultimate sing-along moment was naturally “Dilemma” with Kelly Rowland’s wonderful vocals, where lights were allowed in the air and women sang along loudly.
J-Kwon
How could it get even crazier? Fellow St. Louis native J-Kwon had specially come along to honour St. Louis. Together with Nelly, he performed various tracks. ‘If you don’t know me as Nelly’s nephew, I know you know me from this!’ J-Kwon called out before starting his club hit “Tipsy”. Hamburg’s Barclays Arena went wild while many visitors only then realised who was standing before them. Dancing, Nelly and J-Kwon made it a memorable moment.
Hot In Herre
After Nelly once again gave thanks, a flame appeared behind him on the screen. The ‘one’ mega hit couldn’t be missing. Surrounded by dancers, Nelly performed “Hot In Herre” with a special dance piece for the talented women on stage in the middle. During the closing piece, the rapper thanked his entire team, and all hands went up in the air once more. The joint celebration of rap music had succeeded.
Party Hard
In Hamburg’s Barclays Arena, it became clear how popular the music from 2000 still was. No, Nelly hadn’t worn a Band-Aid for years. This concert was a festival like Germany rarely gets, and a formula for success that many artists may and perhaps should follow.
