*First off, big, BIG shout outs to my man Jason of Serious Entertainment for setting this up. I have yet to be in contact with a promoter and promoting team so eager to make sure something works out and their people are taken care of. Be on the lookout for any of their shows. * Photography courtesy of Ajani and 1 Love T.O.
Usually, a Wednesday night crowd is a toss up. It could be a complete sell out, a mediocre turn out, or a bust. But, with Drake‘s status as hip hop’s biggest up and comer at the moment, he’s been “buzzing like the pizza man.” A long entry line up of cars and people showed that this buzz was no joke. Drake’s homecoming in Toronto was going to be a jam packed affair at the Sound Academy on May 14th, even if each ticket was a whopping $40. Could a Bun B appearance only sweeten the deal?
There was an opening act, P Reign. It was such a bad performance that I really am at loss for words. He’s a solo artist, but you couldn’t tell with two of his boys on stage rapping too. So, yeah, let’s fast forward. (I support Toronto hip hop all the time, look around the blog for proof, but seriously, you have a chance to spit in front of 2300 people, and that’s the best you got?)
Fast forward to Drake (who came out in good time, 10:20PM) opening with a bang. 2300 people showed up, a sold out show. The dude hasn’t even put out an official LP yet and he’s doing this? Stomping in to “Congratulations,” lights blaring, fans gazing, this was an introduction done right. He continued the momentum with “Unstoppable” and then dropped a huge, huge surprise with “Uptown;” BUN B. An unexpected treat that the audience really couldn’t appreciate, as about 75% of the crowd had no idea what legend had just come up on stage with the current star. Regardless, for me, this was the highlight of the show (and I’m not that big of a UGK fan!).
With his performance of songs like “I’m Still Fly,” which brought out Page, “Successful,” and “Best I Ever Had” the crowd seemed momentarily alive, especially with the chorus on the very latter. However, when Drake dug into his lesser known songs, the crowd seemed like a deer caught in the headlights. “November 18th,” a song that in Houston has EVERYONE rapping lyric-to-lyric, had the crowd in silence.
I expected more from the home town crowd, but Drake wasn’t exactly giving us enough to give back. He was immensely focused on his mic control (perhaps a little too focused) and this had both positive effects. On one hand, his intensity was evident; on the other hand he was cuffing the mic a little too much, making it hard to hear him (especially when he sang “Brand New”). Moreover, he seemed to alienate a large group of fans, moreso the fellas in attendance. The show became too much about the ladies: “Toronto, I love you. Ladies, this next one is for you!”
With that said, his encore performance was a little bit of a blunder. It was expected and slightly anti-climatic. Continuing on with “A Little Bit,” “Ignant Shit,” and “Man of the Year,” there was a noticeable awkward silence throughout the crowd. This was even more evident when he went into arguably one of his better, albeit older tracks, “City Is Mine.” Still, it seemed like people wanted, or at least expected more. He performed for a total of about 60 minutes, which is more than respectable, but it seemed like such a short 60 minutes. Most of the crowd left saying “that’s it?”
Still, there were a few weird moments throughout the show. The Lil’ Wayne montage, or should I say tribute that he did was really… interesting? And the R&B patches that were there to “slow things down” for the ladies only made the male crowd members feel a little uneasy and stagnant. There just wasn’t enough interest maintained throughout the show to really develop a type of hype, especially the kind of hype that this guy has generated.
It’s more than evident that Drizzy loves this city. He said it about 60 times throughout the show, which is amazing (and makes me feel guilty for speaking ill of the show). It’s sincerely hard to put 100% blame on Drake because, well, the crowd kinda sucked. It seemed like a lot of people were waiting for that “big thing.” Bun B was a huge jolt, but only to about a quarter of the crowd, and even “Best I Ever Had” acted as a temporary hype fix. There was never really a time where a consistent block of momentum developed.. It’s hard to validate a 40$ price for this show, but with a brush up on his live structure, the addition of a live band, and a greater feel for his crowd, Drizzy will undoubtedly be a star live act worth every penny. At least in Toronto on this night, he didn’t do much to impress… or maybe we are just hard to impress? You guys tell me.
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- Win Tickets to See Drake Live in Toronto May 13th!
- Drake feat. Tanya Morgan: Right To Left
- Top 10 Live Performers of 2008
- Drake: So Far Gone
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