Mos Def at X-TRA Zurich - 8 December 2014

This was the concert that we had been waiting for for a long time. Brooklyn rapper Mos Def was scheduled to perform his break-out debut album Black on Both Sides.

The concert was held at the X-TRA in Zurich. The concert hall where the show took place was incredibly big. I have never been to an indoor hip hop show in a location that large. The crowd was made up of about 500 people. Some were sitting on an elevated balcony to get a better view, while the others (also know as the real hip hop heads) stood on the floor in front of the stage.

Hanging above our heads was probably the largest disco ball I have ever seen. Another thing that I have never seen at a hip hop show.

The show started later than announced due to some technical malfunctions. There was supposed to be a projector that displayed pictures selected by Mos Def during the show. After 20 minutes of trying to fix the broken projector, Mos Def decided to perform without it.

About 5 minutes after he started his show, I already knew this was well worth the wait. Mos Def played through the entire Black on Both Sides album without missing a single hit. My friends and I knew that this was an event which we would probably never witness again, so we enjoyed every second of the show.

After playing through the entire album, Mos Def decided that he was not going to leave without the audience being fully satisfied. He then played hits like The Auditorium and many more. This was one of the best concerts that I have been to. Mos Def performed his songs so well I could have sworn he used playback (he didn’t, though). His ability to sing and rap while making 500 people go nuts was amazing. Mos Def is one of the most talented people in pop culture today. Not only is he an excellent emcee, he is also a wonderful singer and a great actor.

I highly recommend you listen to or watch some of his work.

- Alex Pasquale