Pusha T & 2 Chainz @ The Tower Theater.
Text by Fredric Fresh. Images by Teresa McCullough.
Sometimes it’s unfair to view an artist, or even a genre, through the lens of YouTube views or radio play. You’ll get nicely packaged bits and pieces that get stuck in your head, but the actual experience of seeing them live is what turns those musings into reality. 2 Chainz brought the reality to The Tower Theater this past Saturday night with friends August Alsina and Pusha T.
Right from the get go, this show was about the G.O.O.D Music experience. As a fan, it’s easy to forget that performers put it all on the line when they’re on stage. It’s just them and the crowd. There are no second takes. I think this is one of the main reasons August Alsina was so impressive live. He was the first act on the bill, and really set the mood for the rest of the evening. With super crisp vocals, and a little bit of slick improving, August really tore the roof off the Tower with his last song, “I Luv This Shit.”
Pusha T, maybe best known to most for his previous work with The Clipse, was up next. Again it was great seeing how his flow translated into the actual live performance. He’s not really an MC you’d define by hooks. Pusha T reminds me of spitting at the lunch table. You just have to kill it. And he really did kill it. Back to back songs, he just ran down the line of his best. “King Push” to “Numbers on The Boards,” he kept the crowd hype with a delivery you could really feel. Nothing forced. It was dope to see an artist who really broke out in the early 2000’s deliver a performance that shows he’s not only evolved with the times, but he is only getting better.
Finally 2 Chainz hit the stage. This was really the culmination of the “experience.”
The thing that was most interesting about 2 Chainz from the get-go was his personality. Yes his songs bang, but who knew he would be one of the most entertaining rappers out now? His crowd control was so on point that whatever he said or did, only made the show better. His toasting the crowd was like an unfiltered stream of consciousness. I really could go into his songs, but pretty much every track from B.O.A.T.S. and B.O.A.T.S. II crushed it. There were a few really stand out moments, but I think one of the best was when a beach ball made it’s way from the crowd to the stage. 2 Chainz grabbed it after a song and said, “This is a trap show. Why the fuck ya’ll playing volleyball at my concert?” There was this trippy set of video displays behind him the entire set, showing clips of past videos and some wild, kabuki-style theater/strip club black and white scene. Just believe me on this one. At one point, he stopped the show to talk about some of his future plans. Those included a 3rd solo album and a 3D sex tape. (Perhaps a world first?) He also mentioned that this tape will be a Netflix exclusive.
A part of me knows that he’s just fucking with us. But after this show, I want to believe.
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