Live Review: A$AP Rocky

As doors opened, there were no support acts in sight. An array of current hip hop jams played through what must have been an iPod or CD's, and although the crowd was still hyped for what was to come, listening to Kanye, Wu-Tang and various other hip hop heavyweights with no DJ on stage was certainly odd for a gig of this size.

And then it began. “I didn't come here tonight to perform”, A$AP Rocky informed his eager fans, the Harlem rapper pausing for effect before adding “I came here to party!” The crowd ate it up as the rapper began his performance of the title track from his first studio album Long Live A$AP, backed by a live band. On this note, shout out to Perth producers Finatik & Zac for co-producing this track. Big ups.

Following on from his opening performance, A$AP went on to perform his hit Wassup from his debut mixtape Live.Love.A$AP before A$AP Ferg joined the rapper to perform his own hit Work and a medley with Rocky including Wild For The Night and PMW. By the time A$AP dropped Goldie the crowd was in raptures. Looking out onto the multi-level venue, ninety percent of the crowd had their phones out Facebooking, tweeting or Instagramming about the show. It was incredible to witness. To them, A$AP was godlike.

Half-way through the show a kid named Jack jumped up on stage and probably for the first time in Metro City history was not escorted off straight away. In fact, A$AP invited him to stay on stage, spoke to him and even went as far as to wish Jack's girlfriend in the audience a “Happy Birthday”. Not to mention the two times A$AP stopped his performance to a) stop a fight and b) tell guys in the audience to stop throwing ice at women. 

Before closing his set, A$AP took the time to thank his fans for coming out. Three things that stood out about the 24 year-old rapper throughout the entirety of his show were his humble attitude, his charisma and how much he appreciated his fans. In fact, he made reference to the aforementioned at various stages during his two hour performance. It was a testament to his character and left more than few patrons walking away from this show with a new level of respect for the rapper.

The closing moments of the show saw the crowd treated to A$AP and co performing his hit Fuckin' Problems. The energy in the room was electric as almost everyone sang along. The A$AP mob rapped over various other tracks before the show officially closed around 11:30pm. A$AP Rocky's live show boasted a great performance backed by nudity (from female audience members) and plenty of illicit materials being passed around the venue. Every teenager's dream.