It was the end of June when I noticed that The Great Hangover Tour, headlined by Kanye West protege, Kid Cudi, and for lack of a better description, the college-loving Asher Roth, would make a stop at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Later on, after I had eased my way into summer and completed the items on my mental to-do list, which primarily consisted of swimming, I bought my tickets (funny story: on Ticketmaster I was told that the event was sold out. After I had a small panic attack, I called up the venue and was told there were still tickets and they posted them online - thank you, Morse, for creating phones). It wasn't too long before Sunday, July 26th arrived.
Before heading out to the venue, I discovered that the opening acts were actually other rappers, contrary to my prior belief that a DJ would hype up the crowd. The first to come on was a local rap group of three singers, Pacific Division or Pac Div for short. While my cousin and I made fun of the group's name, our expectations were probably too low as the profane trio spit their lyrics. My favorite song by the group, "Mayor", which reminded me of Kidz In the Hall's "Drivin Down the Block", included a a few sports references as well: "Joe Frazier, second round knockout...Pullin’ h*es since Bo Jackson was a Raider...your boy hustle hard like Rambis for the Lakers." Even though they weren't the most extraordinary rappers on the planet - cursing every other word hardly qualifies as music - these boys didn't disappoint and for that, I give them a good rap.
Next up was B.o.B. (a.k.a. Bobby Ray) who was not only a humorous performer, but a very talented musician, indeed. I hadn't heard any of his tracks, or any of Pac Div's for that matter, and I was extremely impressed by the quality of his music and the potential that the man has. Once he had sang several tunes, the only special guest of the night, Playboy Tre, a well-rounded rapper with a high voice, joined in for a few jams. Among the better duets was "Voltage", with a catchy chorus and a classy beat. His set was amazing, but if I could go back in time to one song it would undoubtedly be "I'll Be In the Sky", which was very well-produced and got the crowd loose.
When B.o.B.'s time to shine came to a close, the headliner, the one-and-only Kid Cudi stole the show. The Ohio native opened with "Dat New New", the perfect song to adjust the crowd's ear from the discography of previous acts. Although there were no special guests (where's Wale?), Kanye and Common weren't necessary to get the crowd's hands up for "Make Her Say." As promised, Cudi mixed up the set list with songs from his upcoming album, Man on the Moon, as well as spicing things up with his mixtape work. He surely didn't disappoint me when he played my favorite song off of "A Kid Named Cudi" mixtape, "Embrace the Martian", which, despite the fact that it seemed short, energized the audience. I believe he followed that up with "Is There Any Love?" and had the crowd lyricing for the duration of the song.
Of course, Cudi made sure to pace the night out with the Ratatat-influenced "Heaven at Nite," completely changing the mood from somewhat hyphy to chill. Nevertheless, the fans in the building were soon uplifted by the N.E.R.D.-sampled, "Cudi Spazzin", easing the spectators out of a relaxed euphoria. The climax of the night approached when Cudi's hit single, "Day N Nite", was played three times - remixed, of course. At that point, everyone in the House of Blues either had their hands up, was dancing, drunk, or some combination of the above. Honestly, I don't think Kid Cudi could've played a better set.
Whether it was Pac Div making a Lakers reference, B.o.B. with his back-up singers, or Cudi asking the crowd to "make some noise for the water stain on my shirt", it was definitely a sick show and a must-see for any fan of rap.
Quick shout-out to JTPesos and Jon for the ride and fun walk to and from the venue.
Before heading out to the venue, I discovered that the opening acts were actually other rappers, contrary to my prior belief that a DJ would hype up the crowd. The first to come on was a local rap group of three singers, Pacific Division or Pac Div for short. While my cousin and I made fun of the group's name, our expectations were probably too low as the profane trio spit their lyrics. My favorite song by the group, "Mayor", which reminded me of Kidz In the Hall's "Drivin Down the Block", included a a few sports references as well: "Joe Frazier, second round knockout...Pullin’ h*es since Bo Jackson was a Raider...your boy hustle hard like Rambis for the Lakers." Even though they weren't the most extraordinary rappers on the planet - cursing every other word hardly qualifies as music - these boys didn't disappoint and for that, I give them a good rap.
Next up was B.o.B. (a.k.a. Bobby Ray) who was not only a humorous performer, but a very talented musician, indeed. I hadn't heard any of his tracks, or any of Pac Div's for that matter, and I was extremely impressed by the quality of his music and the potential that the man has. Once he had sang several tunes, the only special guest of the night, Playboy Tre, a well-rounded rapper with a high voice, joined in for a few jams. Among the better duets was "Voltage", with a catchy chorus and a classy beat. His set was amazing, but if I could go back in time to one song it would undoubtedly be "I'll Be In the Sky", which was very well-produced and got the crowd loose.
When B.o.B.'s time to shine came to a close, the headliner, the one-and-only Kid Cudi stole the show. The Ohio native opened with "Dat New New", the perfect song to adjust the crowd's ear from the discography of previous acts. Although there were no special guests (where's Wale?), Kanye and Common weren't necessary to get the crowd's hands up for "Make Her Say." As promised, Cudi mixed up the set list with songs from his upcoming album, Man on the Moon, as well as spicing things up with his mixtape work. He surely didn't disappoint me when he played my favorite song off of "A Kid Named Cudi" mixtape, "Embrace the Martian", which, despite the fact that it seemed short, energized the audience. I believe he followed that up with "Is There Any Love?" and had the crowd lyricing for the duration of the song.
Of course, Cudi made sure to pace the night out with the Ratatat-influenced "Heaven at Nite," completely changing the mood from somewhat hyphy to chill. Nevertheless, the fans in the building were soon uplifted by the N.E.R.D.-sampled, "Cudi Spazzin", easing the spectators out of a relaxed euphoria. The climax of the night approached when Cudi's hit single, "Day N Nite", was played three times - remixed, of course. At that point, everyone in the House of Blues either had their hands up, was dancing, drunk, or some combination of the above. Honestly, I don't think Kid Cudi could've played a better set.
Whether it was Pac Div making a Lakers reference, B.o.B. with his back-up singers, or Cudi asking the crowd to "make some noise for the water stain on my shirt", it was definitely a sick show and a must-see for any fan of rap.
Quick shout-out to JTPesos and Jon for the ride and fun walk to and from the venue.
Revision: I forgot to mention Cudi signing his future hit and title track of his upcoming album "Man on the Moon." It was probably the peak of relaxation, with lullaby-like singing from Cudi. To quote the song, the atmosphere felt a little "hazy, hazy, hazy".
