Bursting onto the stage at Margaret Court arena not 28 hours after taking A$AP Yams’ (RIP) mother to the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, A$AP Rocky seemed completely unaffected by a) a possible hangover and b) jetlag as he tore the crowd a new one on Wednesday.
After the audience, average age 16, slowly filtered into the arena, the floor of one of Melbourne’s premier tennis facilities turned into a heaving sea of excited young bodies eager to see a superstar in the making and another that has become royalty.
Atlanta native Raury took to the stage to warm the crowd up with his unique blend of soul, hip-hop and folk. Appearing with a guitarist and drummer, the fresh-faced 19 year old captured the crowd immediately with his enthusiastic charm.
Taking the crowd on a trip through recent hits like ‘Devil’s Whisper’ and ‘Crystal Express’ as well as a number of well crafted album tracks, Raury showed off his vocal talent and impressive dance moves as his rag doll movements told everyone in the audience that it was ok to start moving.
While being an incredibly talented 19 year old star on the rise is seriously impressive, his performance missed the mark on a number of occasions. The disparity in the mix between ‘real’ sounds like the drums and vocals and their backing track was all too noticeable. At one point Raury even had to remind either the sound tech or drummer that the next song was ‘track 2’. This kind of unrehearsed reliance on a backing track stood in the way of a truly engaging performance.
This was detrimentally emphasized when his guitarist’s strap disconnected right before an intro, resulting in a nasty guitar drop that revealed to anybody that didn’t already know, this guitar was a prop. While these problems are purely logistical, it did leave a nasty taste in the mouth of those waiting for him to rise to the next level.
After what seemed like an eternity of waiting through a megamix of hip-hop and trap masterpieces being blared through the PA, the lights finally dimmed and Rocky, along with mob members A$AP Nast, A$AP 12ie, A$AP Ant, and DJs made their way on stage to an uproarious cheer probably heard from space.
A ridiculous amount of energy spilled off stage into the audience as ‘Pretty Flacko’ and his mob hype crew whipped into a frenzy, performing tracks like ‘Canal St’ and ‘M’$’ with the intensity of a thousand suns. This trend didn’t stop for the entire show. The cardio on these guys. Just, wow.
As with most arena shows, a certain amount of crowd participation is to be expected lest the artist run the risk of not connecting with those in the nosebleeds. Rocky took every chance to involve his appreciative crowd, getting them to rap along with him, form circle pits on command, and wave their arms around in the air like they just didn’t care.
Rocky gave us “something for the 90s kids” (of which there were approximately 12 in the audience, including the security staff) very early on with an interesting medley of House Of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’ into Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. While those reading this might see that as a cheap technique, the audience’s reaction would shoot down any argument you might give. Bodies flew, clothes were lost and the floor was tested to the edge of its existence. The smile across Rocky’s face at this point was immeasurable.
As each track turned the energy up a notch, including an incredible run of tracks such as ‘Shabba’, ‘Fuckin’ Problems’ and ‘Wild For The Night’, it was when Rocky made things intimate with an a cappella version of ‘Purple Swag’ that he’d finally managed to get the crowd hanging off every perfectly delivered word he was saying.
The true highlight came next with ‘L$D’, Rocky’s biggest gamble and greatest success on last album AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP. The psychedelic and delicate swagger of this track had everybody in the crowd transfixed as Rocky showed that his vocal skills go way beyond rapping.
As the show moved toward the last few songs, Rocky and his crew became cheekier, throwing lost shoes back into the audience, exchanging clothing with fans, and flirting with (verrrry) young women in the audience. At one point Rocky was thrown a denim shirt from a (now shirtless) man in the audience. A smirk crept slowly across his face as Rocky put the shirt down his pants and returned it to the happy punter covered in sweat.
The show seemed over before you could say ‘who the jiggy n**** with the Rolex?’ (which you might not want to say anyway), but not a single person in attendance felt short changed.
Looking back on the night, it is so clearly apparent that A$AP Rocky is becoming one of the most important figures in the new school of hip-hop. His records are constantly moving forward, breaking new ground with every single and his shows are fresher, louder and more involving than anything you’ve seen before in the hip-hop world. Where the fashion killa goes next nobody knows, but it’s bound to be great.
Upcoming Tour Date
Feb 21 | Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide
Feb 24 | Vector Arena, Auckland
Feb 25 | Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
Feb 28 | Metro City, Perth
