By: Lilly Workneh
Nicki Minaj, Drake and Lil Wayne
are often the names many associate with the Young Money Entertainment music group,
but one underrated talent in the rap bunch may have just as much star
potential.
After releasing
several mixtapes, hip-hop artist Tyga took to the stage last Tuesday in Atlanta
and gave an impressive performance to an enthusiastic crowd.
Tyga’s concert at The Masquerade also marked the same day his latest album, “Careless World: Rise of the Last Kings”, hit stores. Which could also be one of the reasons explaining why hoards of young teenagers flocked to the doors of the venue hours before they opened at 7 p.m.
Following a brutal wait and annoying chants from overly hyped tweens, rapper YG eventually came to the stage to perform the opening act around 8 p.m. But if this beginning performance was any indication of how the remainder of the night would be, I would have been better of saving the money I spent on the concert’s half-priced tickets.
Instead, I stuck through YG’s unfamiliar songs, profanity and explicit lyrics and waited another agonizing better part of an hour for Tyga to take the stage. Eventually, around 9:30 p.m., the lights became dim, the crowd had settled and the instrumentals of “Tony Montanta” suddenly blast through the speakers as Tyga jumped to the stage in a clean Versace shirt and dark, fitted denim.
Feeding the young audience’s excitement, he followed the opener with his feature on “Roger That,” another hit record produced by Young Money also featuring Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne.
After playing more of his famous mainstream features, Tyga dove into some of his popular mixtape releases like “Make it Nasty”, “Rack City” and “B*tch I’m the Sh*t”.
The crowd seemed all too pleased as Tyga hopped around to each corner of the stage. At one point, he even jumped into the crowd and was immediately surrounded by bodyguards who physically prevented any heart-fluttering moments for the girls who squealed to touch the sweat-dripping performer.
But this wasn’t the only surprise Tyga had up his tattooed-sleeve. Hip-hop group Travis Porter made their way to the stage for their performance of “Ayyy Ladies” and they rapped lines along with almost every concertgoer at the venue.
And it was one surprise guest appearance after another once Last Kings artist Honey Cocaine came to stage next. This new female rap artist recently released a mixtape titled “F*ck Your Feelings”. Although the crowd wasn’t too familiar with her songs, her respectable stage presence engaged audience members who seemed to enjoy the loud voice from such a petite girl.
Along with Honey Cocaine’s feature songs, only a few of Tyga’s records were unfamiliar to me and a majority of them were of his latest album.
“How many of y’all bought my album that’s out today?” Tyga asked only to get a loud response from the crowd in return.
He followed this by asking, “How many of y’all downloaded my sh*t illegally?!” An even louder response came from the audience.
The crowd itself was a great mix of male and female but almost all were young high school students who had to abide to the city curfew requiring all kids age 16 and under to be home by 11:00 p.m.
And, in compliance with the law, the concert promptly ended at 10:30 after an hour-long performance from Tyga flew by quickly.
Although my taste for rap music is limited, I appreciate good performances when I see them and it is clear that Tyga has star potential.
Tyga put on a great show and he gave his best effort to please his fans. His delivery was admirable and can be easily compared to top rap artists like T.I. or Drake. This 21-year-old rapper has undeniable talent that obviously landed him with one of music’s most well known production groups.
Take his ambition, add it to his raw talent and marry it with his great stage presence and you have all the elements of a star who could potentially outshine the stunners in the game.
"Still Got It"
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