Rae Sremmurd Concert Review
Rae Sremmurd
May 28th, 2015
Uptown Theater - Kansas City, MO
As I made my way into a crowded Uptown Theater general admission section, I felt more cramped at a concert than I had in a long while. My friend and I were stuck about 15 rows back from the stage. In front of us were two big dudes dancing and whipping their arms to each song that each of the four interchanging DJ's played (which altogether made up about every Top 10 rap song of the last year). Behind us was a group of very loud, restless, and drunk college girls. One girl remarked to a friend, "stop looking so SOBER!" The perfect, sweaty setting for hip-hop show.
Honestly, I was a little out of my element. Most shows I got to right now are made up of 15 minute punk sets where you get to hang outside in the fresh air afterwards. But since Rae Sremmurd create a very exciting, energetic brand of rap music, I was willing to battle it out with the kids I hated in high school for four hours.
The first opener, Griz Lee, a white teenage rapper from Topeka came bounding onto the stage with almost no notice. His set was a surprise to most in attendance because there were no opening acts listed on the official ticket, flyers, or event page for the concert. Lots of kids anxious to see Rae Sremmurd (and not realizing there would be four more opening rappers) booed Lee for the entirety of his 10 minute set. While not boasting a huge level of originality, he did end up having arguably the most enjoyable set of any of the openers that night. As he performed he jumped up and down incessantly with his Smokey The Bear-style hat flying off of his head to be caught and held on his neck by a drawstring.
Kansas City rapper K-Town entered the stage with urgency. The rapper and his associates jumped down off the stage to give high fives to fans and mean mug the audience while standing on top of the speakers on the floor. His brand of trap music, while also not overly original, did energize the crowd momentarily.
Other openers included swag rap try-hards Lucky Garcia and Yung Scar, both of which were poorly received. Yung Scar had some of his crew throw out CD's of his music to the crowd as he performed but were unpleased to have some of them thrown back on stage in protest.
After Yung Scar left the stage one of the DJ's announced there would be no more openers. Nonetheless, a very curious T-Rell ventured onstage moments later. He told the audience that he had been informed that they didn't like R&B. He then went on to serenade us with no backing track, covering songs by R. Kelly and others. While mobbed by onstage camera-holders and t-shirt throwers, he then performed a song entitled "Bye Felicia," an allusion to the hit movie Friday. The chorus was made up of T-Rell screaming "bye Felicia" multiple times and having the crowd scream it back. It gave me a bit of a headache by the end, but lots of people in the room seemed to enjoy it. After a more somber song entitled "My Dawg", dedicated to his fallen friend, T-Rell exited the stage.
After that, a DJ announced that Rae Sremmurd was in fact "in the building." A minute later, Rae Sremmurd's DJ had set up his laptop, sparked a blunt and cued up "Lit Like Bic," off the duo's debut album "SremmLife." The entire song played before the two rappers came sliding onto the stage, but they wasted no time after that. "No Flex Zone," Sremmurd's first radio hit had the crowd moving right away, rapping about every word back to them. Shortly after that, Swae Lee and Slim Jimmy invited all of the ladies up onto the stage. And they really meant all of the ladies. I'm convinced they would've allowed every lady in the theater onstage if the security guards didn't start blocking their way up there. With at least 50 girls in tow, they plowed through their set which included nearly the whole "SremmLife" album. Their onstage antics included drinking straight from a large bottle of alcohol and hosting a twerking contest between a handful of their new girlfriends. The night ended with the rappers (who are also brothers) thanking the audience and closing with the song "No Type."
After questioning if I had spent my $30 wisely for the first 3/4ths of the show, I was very relieved on the ride home. I had caught one of the most energetic rap shows I'd seen in a while and seen the group before they move on up to venues like The Midland or opening for someone at the Sprint Center. If you get the chance to see them and are weighing out the financial risks, I'd say you should "blow sum mo" and go catch the gig!
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