Nappy Roots and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Bring Hip-Hop Nostalgia to Legacy Cup MN
Written by: Precious Drew
There are certain songs that immediately take you back to a specific time in your life. For me, Nappy Roots’ “Good Day” is one of them.
I graduated high school in 2014, long after Nappy Roots’ early-2000s commercial peak, but you wouldn’t have known it from my playlists. Their music, along with plenty of ’80s, ’90s and early 2000s hip-hop, was the soundtrack to a lot of my teenage years. So when I saw Nappy Roots and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony on the lineup for Legacy Cup MN, I already knew where I’d be.
Legacy Cup MN, billed as the Midwest’s largest cannabis festival, took over Surly Brewing Co. Festival Field in Minneapolis on September 26 with a lineup that included Sa-Roc, Nappy Roots, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Big Boi with Sleepy Brown.
The weather didn’t exactly cooperate. The afternoon brought plenty of music, plenty of smoke and eventually plenty of rain, with a drizzle turning into a full-on downpour. But I came to see two groups in particular, and a little rain wasn’t changing that.
Nappy Roots took the stage during a break in the rain, and as a longtime fan, this was one of the moments I had been waiting for all day.
When they performed “Good Day,” I was immediately back in my high school years. I know every word to that song, and hearing it live was easily one of my favorite moments of the day.
What surprised me, though, was how much I enjoyed the newer material. They worked in songs like “Floatin with the Wind” and “Ain’t Have a Lot,” which I wasn’t familiar with. I came for the songs I knew, but it was nice hearing what Nappy Roots is doing now.
Then they performed “Awnaw,” and I was right back in my Nappy Roots era. The crowd was singing along, and the group was clearly having fun. They were singing, dancing and playing off each other throughout the song. That chemistry made the set feel easy and natural, and it was one of the highlights of the day for me.
I came in wanting to hear the songs I grew up with, but I left wanting to hear more of what Nappy Roots is doing now. For me, that’s a pretty good sign that a live performance did its job.
Then came Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
By the time they took the stage, the rain had finally let up, and the crowd was ready. Layzie Bone and Bizzy Bone were noticeably absent, which was unfortunate for a group with such a distinct identity, especially for longtime fans. But the remaining members still held the stage and made the most of the moment.
What I enjoyed most about their set was how much it felt like a celebration of the hip-hop legends who helped shape their story. They paid tribute to Eazy-E with “Foe tha Love of $,” moved into Biggie’s “Juicy” and “Notorious Thugs,” then brought the crowd together for Tupac before going into “Thug Luv.” Hearing those songs live was a reminder that Bone Thugs-N-Harmony didn’t just witness hip-hop history. They were part of making it.
And yes, “Weed Song” certainly made the lineup. At a festival centered around cannabis culture, the song practically played itself. The crowd was fully in it, rapping along as the smoke filled the air.
“Tha Crossroads” was another must-have. Hearing that song live, surrounded by people who clearly knew it just as well as I did, was one of my favorite moments of their set.
The only part that took me out of the set was toward the end, when women from the crowd were brought onstage for a dance party while DMX and Too $hort played. It was fun, but as a fan, I wanted to hear more Bone Thugs. With a catalog as deep as theirs, I would have loved for them to close by putting the spotlight back on their own music.
Still, watching Bone Thugs perform songs that have been part of my life for years was something I genuinely appreciated. Even without two members, the group held it down and reminded me why their music has stayed relevant for decades.
I came to Legacy Cup MN for Nappy Roots and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and both gave me what I came for in different ways. Nappy Roots took me back while giving me a reason to check out what they’re doing now. Bone Thugs reminded me just how deeply their music helped define a generation.
The rain came and went, but the nostalgia stuck around. For a fan of this era of hip-hop, that made Legacy Cup MN well worth it.
Photo Cred: Precious Drew
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