G-Eazy, A$AP Ferg, Marc E. Bassy, Nef the Pharaoh and Marty Grimes @ The Fillmore.
Words by Vince Bellino. Images by Erin Marhefka.
G-Eazy packed The Fillmore last Wednesday for the first of two sold out nights on his When It’s Dark Out tour, bringing along the A-list lineup of A$AP Ferg, Marc E. Bassy, Nef the Pharaoh and Marty Grimes.
The night kicked off with blaring air horns as Marty Grimes made his entrance, performing a brief set, hyping up the crowd for the sets following as well as the following night’s performance. The fans were into it, wildly jumping up and down when Grimes called for a mosh pit during bass drops.
Nef the Pharaoh was on the stage just minutes after Grimes was off, donning a teddy bear costume from Ted for the duration of his set, keeping the crowd screaming its collective head off throughout his set. The crowd’s enthusiasm peaked with Nef’s two chants: “Fuck you, thunderfuck!” and “Nef the Pharaoh!” to the rhythm of the classic Flyers chant.
The smoothest voice of the night came from Marc E. Bassy, who crooned and rapped his way through a crowd pleasing collection of songs from mixtapes and his latest effort, his East Hollywood EP. Behind him, a video screen flashed trippy, Keith Haring-esque imagery that morphed and changed with the music. When he teased Ferg and Eazy, the crowd went wild, screaming louder than the music.
January 19 was not an easy night for A$AP Ferg — it was a year and a day after the death of his old friend and founding member of the now well-known A$AP Mob, A$AP Yams. In the midst of an energetic set, Ferg took a moment to pause and remember his friend. No one in the Mob would be as far as they are now if it hadn’t been for Yams, he said.
The screen enhanced Ferg’s set, flashing the words “Trap Lord,” the name of his popular album, behind him, as he brought out guests like Marty Baller, who appears on Ferg’s song “Big Timers.” As the beat for his popular hit “Shabba” kicked in, the crowd went wild, giving Ferg its loud approval.
Excitement was in the air of the packed room as G-Eazy’s crew tore down the screen and erected a new backdrop, an interactive strip mall that had Eazy’s drummer and DJ set up on top of a club advertising “Girls, Girls, Girls” and a motel.
Fans roared as the Oakland rapper burst out of the door in the backdrop, launching into a lengthy set in promotion of his new album When It’s Dark Out. Eazy performed most of the songs off the album, including “Some Kind of Drug,” during which he brought Bassy back out to recreate his feature on the track.
Recounting his early performances in Philadelphia at venues like The Barbary and TLA and a slot on Warped Tour 2012. Eazy had no shortage of Philadelphia love, thanking the crowd for making it like a home across the country. Eazy brought Grimes back out to perform with him, reminding the crowd he’d been with Grimes since he was a teenager and wouldn’t ever take their support for granted.
Closing out his long set was his hit “Me, Myself and I,” the crowd loudly singing along. He left through the same door he entered, but came back out a moment later to perform an encore. Making sure his fans knew he was almost out of time, he asked if he could perform more songs. The answer? A resounding yes.
At the end of the encore, the crowd was calm for the first time since Grimes’ first bass drop. The party, hosted by G-Eazy and friends, was over — at least until night two.
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 
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