Nas is dope, but dude was way the fuck off when he said hip hop was dead. To prove it, Brother Ali, Ghostface Killah and Rakim hit the road, backed by the 10-piece Rhythm Roots All Stars. On Nov. 2, the Hip Hop Live tour stopped in San Francisco at the Mezzanine with each artist flipping live versions of their studio tracks. It was an old school night, from the DJ spinning 80s hip hop to a majority of the crowd being from that era. And no disrespect to Brother Ali -- the man is tight on the mic -- but Ghostface and Rakim strongarmed the show rocking their classics with a live band. Just thinking about the live horns on Eric B. and Rakim's "I Ain't No Joke" and "Don't Sweat the Technique" is enough to get a rap geek at half mast.

And now for your viewing pleasure, picturs from the show courtesty of Oh Dang! photographer Gretchen Robinette...

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To catch the last leg of the tour, go to www.hiphoplivetour.com for the remaining tour dates.

Click here to read a profile of Brother Ali.