This past Friday (April 21st), the iconic Ruff Ryders hip hop clique reunited and took over the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY for a 20-year anniversary celebration. The night was filled with ‘90s hip hop nostalgia, surprise guests and eager fans singing and rapping their hearts out with their favorite old school (yet still relevant) artists.

With the Barclay’s show being the first of their upcoming tour, you know the crew had to start off with a bang.

Drag-On kicked off the show in a strong manner performing a slew of crowd favorites. The first lady, Eve, easily stole the show, taking the stage with her anthem “Who’s That Girl.” It was exciting to see her set the stage on fire with her carefully rehearsed choreo, background dancers and flawless set list, which included: “Gangsta Lovin’”, “Hot Boyz,” “Tambourine,” and “What Ya Want”. Reminding us she hasn’t lost a step, Eve made sure to perform her most recent effort, the 2013 self-titled “Eve.”

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After that was the man behind the boards, Swizz Beatz, who got fans on their feet with his set featuring classic hit after hit. The producer dug into his catalogue performing some of his own tracks like “Money In The Bank” and “Welcome To The Jungle,” which the Barclay’s crowd rapped word for word.

Giving fans more than they bargained for, Swizz brought out Fat Joe, Remy Ma, French Montana and Cassidy, who all performed chart-toppers like “Lean Back”, “Hotel,” “Whateva” and “Unforgettable”, French Montana’s stab at the trending reggae-soca-afrobeat moment that hip hop is currently having. A memorable set, to say the least.

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Next up was The LOX, who ran though just about all of their hits. Jadakiss, Styles P & Sheek Louch held nothing back; the trio lit up the stage with “We Gonna Make It,” “Good Times (I Get High),” and more. The best moment was when they brought out the rarely seen Akon, who assisted the crew with the “Locked Up (Remix). As always, The LOX ended their set with a message of love and positivity.

Last but most certainly not least was the man of the night – The Ruff Ryders General – DMX. While fans were treated to some throwback jams that X has blessed us with over his career, there were times during his set that were a bit worrisome. Including rants, slurred words and an overall troubling stage presence, X’s performance wasn’t what fans were expecting.

DMX rant #1 pic.twitter.com/O4vcFTb5HC

— David Amaya (@AmayaNYC) April 22, 2017

Rant #2 pic.twitter.com/393BEtNPsY

— David Amaya (@AmayaNYC) April 22, 2017

Members of the crowd could be overheard saying “What’s up with the dog?”. However, DMX was able to pull it together and perform some of his hits like “Where The Hood At” and “Party Up,” with great crowd participation. Let’s hope things get and stay better for DMX in the near future.

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