Win, win, win. That’s what Jay Rock continues to do with his killer performances for his current headlining, The Big Redemption Tour and Sunday night at Concord Music Hall in Chicago for the Chicago stop of the tour was no different.
Getting the crowd going with his opening track, The Bloodiest, off his recent critically-acclaimed latest solo album, Redemption, Rock had the crowd in it for much of the performance and knowing that the crowd likely wanted to party and have a good time, he asked if it was alright if he went into his collaboration, I Just Wanna Party, he was on from fellow Los Angeles native YG’s debut album, My Krazy Life. To which the crowd gave a resounding, “Yes!”
You know the Chicago crowd really went going when the Watts native did his collaboration for his hit single with Chicago native, Jeremih, Tap Out, sans Jeremih. Going through much of his Redemption album sans maybe two or so tracks, you know Rock couldn’t do a show without twice going back for his and TDE’s day one fans with his forever street classic, Hood Gone Love It featuring his longtime partner in rhyme and labelmate, Kendrick Lamar, as well as of course his collaboration from Kendrick’s groundbreaking sophomore album, good kid, m.A.A.d city, with, Money Trees. Going back to his second album, 90059, he also gave a performance of his Black Hippy collaboration, Vice City.
I don’t know if it was cause it was a Sunday show or maybe cause there was so many other shows going on around town and it also being a rescheduled date from the the original September date it was supposed to be, but a lot of the crowd didn’t really seem for as great as a performance as Rock gave to really get into the show till the very end. Which is of course when he did some of his most popular and mainstream records to date with, King’s Dead and of course, WIN, after he did the title track from Redemption.
Being a long time fan of Rock and all of TDE it is nice to see him finally getting a lot more of the not only worldwide critical praise he really only got from the underground and streets before, but from so many others as well. Which is why I wish as great as his performance was and knowing how much Chicago shows love to really great Hip-Hop artists as him, I wish the crowd would’ve been even more into it throughout the whole show like they usually are and not just only at the end, beginning and certain parts of the show.
For what it’s worth I thought the crowd was actually more into the show for one of Top Dawg Entertainment’s latest signees, REASON, for his portion of the show. With the newer emcee really having the crowd into it from the beginning to the end of his set in the way I expected them to be for Rock as well. Though I think REASON giving stories to explain how each record came about before performing each track or in between performing each track and that energy he had of being a new artist not many people yet know about helped him a lot too.
Chicago’s very own, Brittney Carter, who won the contest they have had throughout each city of the tour to open for Rock and REASON, gave a really solid performance in the very short six to 10 or so minutes she had too. Really catching mine and so many others ears in the crowd who were there from the time doors opened between 8 and 8:30, the way she commanded the mic and sang, as well as rapped so beautifully and soulfully during her time, she made the most of her opportunity and let it be known we will definitely be hearing a lot more from this very talented homegrown Chicago artist, who is one you can’t really put into a box. So be looking out for a lot more from this very talented voice throughout the city the rest of this year and beyond, as this is just the beginning of her sure to be great story. Which I’m sure you will see develop with a lot of support from us here at TheHipHopDemocrat and hopefully even more homegrown Chicago-based sites, newspapers and more beyond just Chicago as well too.