Live Review: Lil Uzi Vert, DJ Horizon

There's a palpable excitement among the groups of youths milling outside Forum Theatre.

One of hip hop's most divisive new talents is making his Australian tour debut tonight and the sold-out crowd are ready to go. Melbourne's own DJ Horizon has the coveted opening slot and keeps the already massive audience on side with a slew of modern hip hop gems. Post Malone's Congratulations, Drake's Know Yourself, Kendrick Lamar & Travi$ Scott's Big Shot, A$AP Ferg's New Level and Skepta's Shutdown are among the crowd-pleasers Horizon dishes up with a spirited display behind the decks.

The front of stage is absolutely rammed with kiddies hyped for the arrival of Philadelphia rapper Lil Uzi Vert. As one of the new breed of rappers who favour style and theatrics over lyricism, Vert is blurring the lines of what hip hop is with his intriguing hybrid musical creations. The self-described "rockstar" hasn't gone down well with the old hip hop heads but the youth are all about it as tonight's sold-out crowd proves.

It's no surprise that the general age of those in attendance is not much older than Vert's 23 years of age. The bars are infrequently busy as the kids push their way to the front, not wanting to miss a moment of the cult rapper's arrival. After ten minutes of hype from his DJ, everyone loses their collective shit when the diminutive rapper finally appears. Wearing charcoal cargo pants, his own tour T-shirt and a striped-green beanie, Vert sends the crowd into a frenzy as he walks on through a haze of smoke. The beat to Sauce It Up drops and has the mosh screaming and jumping as Vert rips off his beanie to reveal dyed-green dreads during follow-up 444+222. "Hello. Hello," the heavily pierced Vert cheerfully expresses. "You fucking ready? Let's see what's going on at the back."

What follows is a high on energy, short on substance set illustrating Lil Uzi Vert's career and the mumble-rap scene to date. Money Longer, Ps & Qs and Of Course We Ghetto Flowers are all solid tunes. One interesting character dressed in camo pants and a rashie raps along word for word as a video screen behind Vert plays trippy animations and images. A number of Vert's features get the live treatment, too, with his verse from Carnage's WDYW and Migos' Bad And Boujee keeping the vibe electric. Vert hardly stands still; jumping and running across the stage, sweat dripping from his forehead as he flashes his pearly whites in appreciation of the crowd's energy.

"So what do you guys want to hear?" he asks before breakout single XO TOUR Llif3 turns the pit into an orgy of sweaty limbs and camera phones. The emotional The Way Life Goes and Playboi Carti collaboration Wokeuplikethis follow before Uzi gets his DJ to play XO TOUR Llif3 again. This time Vert throws his mic into the crowd and lets them sing the words, but it's awkward and comes off as rather corny. His DJ spins a few more tracks including Neon Guts and Dark Queen as Vert raps some bars here and there, but generally seems like he's over it, letting the backing track do all the work. Next minute, he's clapping the crowd and heading off stage. It's an abrupt ending but not overly surprising. Vert has shown he plays by his own rules and does what he likes when he likes, and tonight is no different. While most fans seem to be gushing about his antics, playing for 35-odd minutes to a sold-out crowd who paid top dollar to see their hero just doesn't sit well. There's no doubting he's entertaining and the man can rap, but fans want to get their money's worth when an international act tours and tonight that certainly isn't the case.

Maybe if Lil Uzi Vert focused more on crafting a longer showcase of his talents rather than a snapshot of what he's capable of he might begin to get the respect of the wider hip hop community, and this reviewer.