T-Pain, Chance the Rapper, 2 Chainz, Travie McCoy, Young Ca$h, et KaMillion

First of all I would personally like to apologize to T-Pain, Chingy and the other performers for the very disappointing turnout for this show. Indeed, if there were 100 people in the venue that would be a lot. I was really embarrassed for Monroe, LA. I should have known something was up when I was able to score a front row seat an hour and a half before the show! When I arrived at the Civic Center most of the the lights were out, half of the concession stand was open and there seemed to be more policemen, security and other workers there than actual concert goers. The few people who were there were mostly students from the local university; I think they were given free tickets! As for the show, it was really good. The first couple of performers were local talent, then B. Smythe came on and gave us a good set. The party really started when Chingy got on stage. By this time we were all dancing in front of the stage. As I predicted T-Pain is a true entertainer. He sang (without the autotune), danced and partied with the meagre crowd as if it was a sold out concert. I thoroughly enjoyed this intimate concert.

At the ripe age of 21 Chance the Rapper is one of newest and youngest faces in hip-hop. Despite being so young Chancellor Bennett already has two mix tapes and a few tours under his belt. His second mixtape ‘Acid Rap’ awarded him universal claim, it’s gone double platinum on DatPiff, BET named it one of the bst mix tapes of 2013, and Pitchfork gave it an 8.4 and the “Best New Music” title. While we wait for Chance to release a full length album he’s been putting out a few features with the likes of Childish Gambino, Chuck Inglish, and others. He’s also been touring the country and getting ready for the summer festival season.

Chance differs from most hip-hop MCs in that hehas the privilege of touring with a live drummer and a keyboardist who help add to the atmosphere and create a concert like experience rather than a DJ on a Macbook making beats. Chance also has a few friends help him out on stage with some ambient lighting to create some special effects that help you get in the mood for some of the more popular cuts from ‘Acid Rap’ like “Pusha Man,” “Cococa Butter Kisses,” and “Favorite Song.”If you’re planning on catching Chance the Rapper soon, brush up on those free mixtapes, he has a diehard fan base that will be up front and center for the show, you don’t want to be left alone in the dark not knowing any of the lyrics, hooks, or beats.

2 Chainz - or ‘Tity Boi’ as he proudly proclaims himself on Twitter - is one of mainstream hip hop’s more intriguing propositions of recent years; he’s one of those rappers, like a modern-day Busta Rhymes, who seems to have made a name for himself more for his guest spots on the songs of others than in his own, solo right. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a slew of hits to his name already, though, with the Kanye-featuring ‘Birthday Song’ and ‘Used 2’ among the choice cuts from his solo canon. On the live front, too, he’s made some serious headway in recent years as far his own profile is concerned; his set at last year’s Made in America festival in Philadelphia - as well as suggesting the implicit approval of the event’s founder, Jay Z - was an exercise in controlled intensity, with sparse beats forcing Chainz and his hype men to do the heavy lifting. He rose to the occasion by delivering his verses with genuine menace, controlling the crowd less through typical, “everybody bounce!” tactics and more in terms of presenting himself as a brooding, compelling presence; to see a mainstream rapper take such a different approach was genuinely refreshing, and when he does route a proper uK tour of his own, we should hope for more of the same.

When you think of Rap Rock, you think of Gym Class Heroes, because let’s be honest, they help put that genre on the map. So when lead vocalist Travie McCoy set out on his solo career, he was able to take that reputation and make Lazarus, an album of similar style songs that were more personal to him.
On the heels of his hit single “Billionaire” he headlined University of California, Riverside’s annual Heat Music Festival, where I got to see him live and up close. He opened with “We’ll Be Alright,” and followed with “After Midnight.” Before he went on to the next song he thanked the crowd. Despite the name of the festival, the outdoor stage was still felt the cold of February and led him to comment “Why the F*** would you name a festival right in the middle of winter Heat?” which got a large empathetic laugh from the crowd. Luckily his strong performance pumped up the crowd to provide the energy to warm the tent up. Majority of the songs from his set were from Lazarus including “ Don’t Pretend” which was supposedly about his break-up with Katy Perry. The “supposedly” turned into “definitely” when he said, “this song is inspired by a hard break-up that I experienced as I was making this record” before starting the song. He closed with “Billionaire” and let the crowd sing the chorus.
Overall, Travie McCoy is a great performer. He has so much energy and obvious passion for what he does. His live sets allow him to really take on more of the rock feel in combination with his rap and vocals.