GOAT. Top 5, dead or alive. Every rapper aims for one of the two. It's really a matter of personal choice. Just like when Jadakiss debated Styles P on which strain of marijuana was better, Haze or Soul Diesel. But when it comes to Hip-Hop and Jadakiss, it's the latter--top 5, dead or alive. So you better believe that the night before his latest album dropped, yes, Top 5 Dead Or Alive, half of New York and their mother showed up to Stage 48 to watch him state his case one more time.

Despite the heavy rain and nearly six hour wait from the doors opening, Jadakiss walked on stage to a packed venue shouting his name. His fans from all around the tri-state area stuck around through DJ Ty-Boogie's set of repeated songs and short sets from two underground artists, G Dot from New York and Zo Dollars from Miami. Donning a snapback that had #T5DOA printed across the front, Jadakiss thanked his fans for showing up and jumped right into track four, "You Can See," off his new album. Then after spitting his verse over Nas' "Made You Look," Fabolous joined him on stage for "The Hope" off of The Soul Tape 3. Fab then took center stage for "Lituation" and Jadakiss dapped him up for coming through on his birthday.

The guests continued to roll out as Diddy, Sheek Louch and Styles P came out for "It's All About The Benjamins." It was a relief to see Styles P since he had tweeted this not too long before the show. Then with The LOX on stage they broke out "We Gonna Make It." Jadakiss went acapella for his verse to close out the hit. Ne-Yo was next for his hook on "Ain't Nothing New" from T5DOA.

Jada went into his cover of "Hotline Bling," aptly titled "Thotline Bling" with a grin across his face. Then Swizz Beatz made his entrance with a Jason-esque mask for Jadakiss to rock. They ran through a few Swizz Beatz produced tracks like the newly released "Jason," "Who's Real," "Blood Pressure," and "All For The Love." Afterwards, Swizz explained why he supported Jadakiss so much by stating the current New York Hip-Hop scene had gone too soft and that Jadakiss represented the realness that the culture needs. N.O.R.E. and Lil Cease had their few minutes and then the crowd went wild for "Mighty D-Block (2 Guns)." On Jadakiss' line, "Now everybody wanna be Pac," DJ Tek spun right into a short Tupac and Biggie tribute playing "Ambitionz Az A Ridah" and "Hypnotize."

Uncle Murda was the last guest to take the stage before Jadakiss confirmed that a new LOX album was on the way after Sheek Louch's Silverback Gorilla 2. He also brought his first signed comedian on stage, Marcus Banks. He closed out with "You Can See" one more time before thanking his fans, the Def Jam team, and his personal friends. After about an hour set, Jadakiss packed in enough hits and friends that his claim to be in the Top 5 category, dead or alive, was a convincing one. After you listen to his new album, tell us your thoughts.—Bryan Hahn

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