When four rappers, whose past antics include eating a cockroach for a music video and participating in oral sex on stage, announced a tour date in party capital New Orleans, fans anticipated great performances with a side of tomfoolery.
Madelynn robichaux, a guest to the show, bought her tickets immediately when the tour date was announced and traveled from Ft. Walton Beach to see the show.
“I hope it gets crazy and turnt,” she said.
Vince Staples kicked off the show with a handful of his most popular songs. The Long Beach, California rapper dissed the cops and initiated “F— the police” chants before playing “Norf Norf,” which has a chorus of “I ain’t never run from nothin’ but the police.”
Danny Brown, up next, was visibly more turnt than the crowd while he performed his most hyped up songs, like “Dope Song” and “Smokin & Drinkin,” running spastically across the stage with his feet hitting his rear. He paused every so often to return to his signature Captain Morgan stance with his tongue out and arm thrust upward with hand-horns symbol.
Before performing “Dip,” he inquired from the crowd, “Where the Molly at?”
The stage scene smoothly and quickly changed from a typical set up to a production only Tyler, the Creator could imagine. Giant, children’s toy letter blocks were spread across the stage reading “TYLER” and “GOLF.” A huge toy box filled with proportionally sized stuffed animals was in one corner and a box made to be an action figure’s packaging complete with a price tag and “Cherry Bomb” logo was on the other side.
He kicked off his set with the song “DEATHCAMP,” which is from his most recent album, but he played a lot of old hits, like “Yonkers” and “Tron Cat,” perhaps making up for his last New Orleans show, where he played few of his original hits.
His demeanor was like that of a small child having a tantrum in his toy room, as he stomped and screamed his lyrics.
Compared to previous Tyler, the Creator shows in New Orleans, last night’s set was tame. There were no mosh pits and no crowd surfers. Jasper, Tyler’s hype man and fellow Odd Future member, who is usually loud and outrageous, remained relatively quiet throughout the performance. The set was short and there was little communication between Tyler, Jasper, and Taco, who is Tyler’s DJ.
Though, as per usual, he called out members of the audience.
He sang “Happy birthday, f— you,” to someone. When it seemed like people were about to engage in a fight, he said “Y’all aren’t hard. Don’t fight. It’s not worth it.”
Tyler would transition his songs with beatboxing or by rapping a cappella. He didn’t stop for more than a second to catch his breath during his entire performance.
After his set, the production crew at Champions Square opened the barricades separating the crowd, deeming the previously coveted wristbands for pit access meaningless.
Last night wasn’t the first time A$AP Rocky, Tyler, the Creator, Danny Brown and Vince Staples have performed in the New Orleans area. Performing with The Mercedes Benz Superdome yards away, the rappers fed off of the city’s vibe.
Colorful lights flashed on Drew Brees’ face of the Saints poster displayed on the adjacent wall of the stage and women flashed their breasts mimicking the sights of Bourbon Street on Mardi Gras for A$AP Rocky.
A$AP Rocky paused his set to recognize New Orleans with an instrumental version of Barry Manilow’s “Bandstand Boogie.”
“I’m gonna need one of you girls with a New Orleans accent to read me a bedtime story tonight,” he said.
A$AP Rocky proved to be panty-dropper.
“I listen to a song [by A$AP Rocky] every night, and I just dream about him,” concert-goer Claudia Pilie said. “I’m either going to get arrested for trying to touch him, or I’m going to get kicked out trying to touch him.”
His set was filled with new hits, like “L$D” and “Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2 (LPFJ2).”
His stage set up was completely different than Tyler’s but equally impressive. It was composed of three levels and he climbed up and down them throughout the performance. The projections on stage changed from the sights of an acid trip to a street scene complete with a “Canal Street Station” sign to an old-school diner set up. It was truly a Broadway-level production.
He hyped up the audience his mainstream hits like “Wild for the Night” and “Shabba.” He went overtime on his set and kept begging Champions Square officials for more time to play, which the audience didn’t mind one bit.
Overall, each artist brought their game, and each reflected their individuality with their performances.
However, it was disappointing to see no interaction between the artists. It would’ve been great to see Tyler, the Creator feature Vince Staples in a song, especially since Staples has worked with Odd Future several times in the past, or it would have been interesting to see Tyler, the Creator and A$AP Rocky at least speak to one another.
But there’s still faith the four rappers will find themselves in a studio together at some point during their tour.
Guest Russell Kelly said “I kinda hope they would make like, maybe not even an album but a mixtape, A$AP and Tyler.”

Gallery • 18 Photos

Emily Brauner

Californian native, Vince Staples, performs as opener for the Rocky and Tyler Tour on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015 in Champions Square.