A$AP RockyA sold out crowd packed into Hordern Pavilion on Thursday night to catch hip hop royalty A$AP Rocky perform his first show back in Australia since 2013. Rocky, aka Lord Flacko, was welcomed back with open arms by the all ages audience, who were ready to hear material from his 2015 second album At.Long.Last.A$AP.
Atlanta prodigy Raury opened the show with a short but explosive set that immediately established the pace of the night. The 19-year-old exuded an infectious sense of confidence and flair up on the empty stage. He ran through his repertoire of eclectic, emotive rap songs, pausing between to tell to the audience tales of heartbreak and lost love.
Raury wrapped up the set with the crowd favourite, Devil's Whisper, ultimately leaving the audience with an inspired sense of optimism, or at least a grin on their faces. The stage is truly where this young performer belongs and it's hard to take your eyes away from the boy's impressive, theatrical dance moves.
The impatient crowd was chanting for Harlem rapper A$AP Rocky by the time he hit the stage. Very early on, he halted proceedings to have the adoring crowd passionately chant, "BRING TYLER," before launching into a rap about Tyler The Creator of the Odd Future collective being banned from Australia.
He made it through tracks from At.Long.Last.A$AP, which included a guest appearance from Raury to perform an acoustic version of single L$D, that was debuted on triple j's Like A Version.
The set took a turn when House Of Pain's Jump Around came on, followed by Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit and Rocky and his crew bounced around the stage, yelling and rapping sporadic, indistinguishable noises and/or words.
Fuckin' Problems, off the 2013 album Long.Live.A$AP, was the champion track of the hour-long set, a set that was essentially one continuous, chaotic force of noise and music. Was it slightly confusing and bizarre? Yes. But was it a good time? Always.
