Harlem rapper A$AP Rocky attracted a crowd fitting for hip-hop’s man of the moment. His first show in Sydney was originally booked for the Enmore Theatre, but sheer demand warranted it be up-scaled to a packed Hordern Pavilion.
He started off by welcoming everyone to the show, before announcing he was ‘here to party’ rather than perform. The theme of the party being the colour purple.
The show opened up with mixtape favourite ‘Wassup’, giving Clam Casino’s chill production a new feel with an energetic delivery. A$AP Ferg proved to be a good sidekick adding emphasis to hook, which was loudly sung back by the crowd “I be that pretty motherfucker, Harlem’s what I’m reppin, tell em quit the bitching we gonna make it in a second”, reads much like Rocky’s manifesto.
LongLiveA$AP closer ‘Angels’ overwhelmed the room with bass as Rocky continued to bound all over the stage, the crowd fed off the energy leading up to a raucous rendition of the Skrillex produced banger ‘Wild For The Night’.
“I need to see you motherfucker’s go real wild for this next song.,” A$AP demanded, and they certainly did. The opening verse seemed to go forever for a crowd waiting to explode, before moshpits opened up all throughout the venue during the electro infused drop, and the rest of the crowd undulated like an earthquake, in what was one of the highlights of the night.
Rocky and Ferg combined over the big beats of his album track ‘Goldie’, proving to be an infectious duo, and Ferg a fitting sidekick to Rocky’s charisma on the fan favourite.
As mentioned earlier, A$AP Rocky announced he was at the Hordern to ‘party’ rather than ‘perform’. And he showed this with his decision to forsake some of his own material for covers, acting at times as somewhat of a DJ, in selecting tunes that would keep the crowd going mental. F
irst of all demonstrating his immense ability as a showman with a cover of the Schoolboy Q smash, he features on, ‘Hands on the Wheel’ rapping faster than traffic generally moves on the M5, without sacrificing movement. Other’s included Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Bitch Don’t Kill my Vibe’, and giving Ferg centre stage for multiple songs including his track ‘Work’
The final two originals played were his hits ‘Fucking Problems’ and his earlier mixtape track ‘Peso’, Arguably his two signature tunes. The potent ‘Problems’ and the more laidback ‘Peso’ went over very well with the crowd, with their catchy hooks. Rocky ended the show with the same message it begun with Peso’s chorus “I be that pretty motherfucker, Harlem’s what I’m reppin’…”
There were a few parts of the show which fell flat, such as when he sung a hazy ballad about being in love. Exposing some of his inexperience, however those moments were rare.
If not for the tunes, A$AP was certainly a winner with his shows of appreciation and participation with the crowd. Saying you love the city you’re in as a performer, is an expectation bordering on cliché’, Rocky however went beyond that with his adoration for his audience.
Taking five to ten minutes in between songs to throw water bottles into the crowd, right to the back, he looked after the people that came to see him. Additionally he took time to let two young fans onto the stage to freestyle over a beat, in a moment they will certainly never forget.
A$AP Rocky closed out the show with many young fans, mostly female, dancing on stage amongst the centerpieces. He said he came to party; and between the jams, and getting amongst the fans, it was quite the party he threw.
