Future Concert Review

Future welcoming us to the Xanny Family

This week has been an exciting one in the world of mainstream hip-hop. Drake and Future announced a co-headlining tour that would be making stops in arenas across America this summer (including Sprint Center). The two released their collaborative album "What A Time To Be Alive" last year and Drake released his long awaited album "Views" on Thursday night. So who better (than Drake) to see during this momentous week than Future?

As soon as the clock struck nine, Future's DJ came on stage to introduce the rapper as an opening track played. After a minute of that, the lights on the stage turned Future's signature purple (yes, Prince did it first, I know) and a thunderous lurch of bass rolled across the gymnasium as the rapper emerged and jumped into "Thought It Was A Drought." The crowd of around 2,000 went nuts. The majority of fans were college-aged (the show was on the UMKC campus) and nearly all of them were fighting to get as close to the Atlanta trap star as possible (and document the entire process on Snapchat).

Dreezy

Over the course of the next hour Future treated the sold out crowd to nearly thirty songs. One may ask, how does a rapper do thirty songs in one hour? Someone who attends rap shows would answer: they don't play the whole songs. Concert purists may cry foul at this practice, especially those who are used to rock shows, but many young music fans couldn't care less if they don't hear the chorus repeated two more times or the entire intro or outro to every song. You get the best, one or two minute-long slice of the track and then it's on to the next one. If that's something you can't stand, you probably didn't have the best time, otherwise, Future put on one of your favorite shows of the year.

Many laud Future for his consistency and they are right to do so. The man has had five gold singles and two platinum singles in the last three years. Grabbing songs from several of his recent albums and mixtapes ("DS2," "Purple Reign," "What A Time...," "Beast Mode," "56 Nights," "Evol," and "Monster"), as well as a few for his "day one Future fans," he set loose a parade of hits in a way that I can only compare to bands like The Rolling Stones or The Who when they play to stadiums of aging white people. He isn't called Future Hendrix for nothing. He performs with power. The guy is a rockstar.

Throughout the set, Future trotted around the stage, casually hitting dance moves with mostly his arms and upper torso (Future came up in the hood, not a boy band). While it's often clear that some rappers only tour to make an easy dollar or promote their new album, it was pleasing to see that Future was often smiling and at least tried connecting with the crowd a few times. He cares about his fans. "Make some noise if you got a 2.0 grade point average!" shouted the rapper at one point. The one song he really got down to was "Fuck Up Some Commas." Seeing Future beaming while grooving and dabbing on top of one of the large floor speakers was worth the price of admission alone.

DJ Hoop Dreams

The opening act for the show was Dreezy, a Chicago rapper and recent Interscope signee. Dreezy took the stage with two girls wearing bandanas over their mouths, wielding baseball bats. Chicago builds them tough. The rapper stumbled over lyrics in a couple of her songs, but the material was solid enough and she kept a positive attitude. While her only charting song so far is an R&B song with singer Jeremih, the highlight of her half-hour set was easily the opening track, her vicious and viral take on "Chiraq," a Nicki Minaj and Lil Herb cut from 2014.