Contrary to the usual weekend celebrating at Uptown hot spots, Miami students flocked to Brick Street last Friday to see rapper G-Eazy perform his latest hits. While plenty of people pushed their way to the front rows, I was able to secure the perfect location to watch G-Eazy steal the stage.
I’ll admit, I barely knew anything about G-Eazy before the concert. His name has appeared on various social media sites here and there, but I never researched his music. All of my knowledge came from my boyfriend who extensively praised him after watching him perform the opener at a Hoodie Allen concert last year. From then on, plenty of car rides were consumed by G-Eazy’s rhymes, but I didn’t listen too intently.
When I heard that G-Eazy was coming to Oxford, I impulsively jumped at the opportunity to secure tickets. While I wasn’t his biggest fan, I figured my boyfriend would enjoy an early birthday present.
After a long duration of waiting at Brick, openers Kurt Rockmore and Rocky Fresh entertained the audience. However, their songs were somewhat repetitive, and they did not truly capture my attention. Audience members appeared to enjoy the two, but their performances were not impressive.
At this point, I didn’t know if I would enjoy the rest of the night. However, the anticipation for G-Eazy’s arrival was palpable as we waited a long two hours for the main event to begin. An equal ratio of males and females alike chatted about their excitement for the rapper. When the band finally made its entrance, cheers erupted from all sides of the bar.
The twenty-four year old rapper appeared confident and strikingly handsome while sporting black leather, a gold necklace, and Ray Bans. He initiated the concert by performing one of his top songs, “Ladykillers”. The audience jumped for joy as he continued the performance with other crowd favorites, and plenty of rap-alongs ensued. He conversed with students between songs, took snapchats on fans’ iPhones, and high-fived screaming girls who scrambled to the front row. Surprisingly, he was a pretty cool dude.
After completing a quick Google search, I discovered that the California-raised rapper’s real name is Gerald Earl Gillum. While I can see why he adopted a new name for his music career, he rocks gelled hair better than Hairspray’s Link Larkin. Not to mention he has some pretty awesome renditions and remixes of some ancient tunes, including the 1960’s jam, “Runaround Sue”.
While it appears that he is commonly assigned the “college rap” label that Mac Miller and Asher Roth seem to carry, G-Eazy’s music is no ordinary frat rap. Having already produced three albums, seven mixtapes, and three EP’s, Gillum is the real deal.
Although most rap music fails to capture my interest, I became quite the fangirl after one hour of G-Eazy’s suave personality. His style embodied a mixture of Eminem and Macklemore with a vintage twist, and his interactions with the audience were captivating. Before leaving the stage, he announced that he truly enjoyed his time here in Oxford, and that he’ll definitely be back again in the future.
I highly recommend checking out his music or attending a live performance. This concert was certainly worth paying for and I had an incredible time!
..And I think my boyfriend enjoyed himself too.