It started in the rain, but the rain could not dampen the crowd’s enthusiasm, or their thinly rolled blunts. A silver tour bus sat parked right next to the line on the sidewalk to get in. When the members of Rae Sremmurd passed by, girls screamed and boys shoved pineapples at them out of respect, then returned to casually hitting their blunts before passing through security.
The Mississippi rap duo played a concert at Jannus Live in St. Petersburg on October 4. Lil Yachty, the Atlanta rapper and Yeezy Season 3 model, came along for the ride as well as a slew of opening acts, all part of the #SremmLifeCrew, or at least signed to Mike Will Made-It’s Eardrummer Records.
The rain stopped by the time everyone made it inside, and I could tell I was one of the oldest people in the crowd. Teenagers fixated on the dot on my hand, indicating that I was over 21, like it was an ancient symbol of bacchanalia or a really cool tattoo. Adolescent boys groped their dates. One young girl almost cried because her friends were pressuring her to talk to a boy.
Although the show started close to an hour past 7 p.m., the DJs sustained the hype through radio hits and telling the masses to put their hands up in the air. When the first opener, Impxct came out, the crowd was ready for action.
Impxct skipped and whirled across the stage, performing songs like “Get It My Way” from his upcoming first solo mixtape. Bobo Swae came on afterwards briefly, followed by Eearz spitting with an Auto-Tuned yawp that would make Young Thug proud.
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During Eearz’s “Work Ya Muscle,” a tallboy with Yachty-style cornrows in a Michael Jordan jersey freestyled a version right in front of me that I found to be better than the original. By the end of the set, Jannus Live’s patio was covered with crushed cans and plastic cups mixed in with a few carelessly discarded bottles.
The DJ stalled for about 20 minutes or so, telling the audience to yell out, “Lil Boat” whenever he did. When Lil Yachty finally came onstage, a cartoon of his face with fleshy cheeks and bug-eyed sunglasses appeared on the screen behind him.
He made it through a couple songs before shouting out to his fans in the audience who had waited out in the poor weather to watch him perform.
“Y’all stood out in that rain,” he told the crowd. “I wouldn’t have done that. If y’all stood out in that rain, y’all need to turn the fuck up!”
By 9 p.m., a guy behind me spilled half a beer on the back of my leg while dancing with a girl. Yachty performed songs like “Ice Water” and “Wanna Be Us” while dropping down to audience level and posing for the phones.
Fortunately, he got to his verse on D.R.A.M.’s “Broccoli,” a song containing one of the catchiest hooks of the year, and one of the most entertaining metaphors for weed I have ever heard.
Lil Yachty tried to get the crowd to create a circle mosh pit. He then played “Minnesota,” a low-key personal track that has Yachty’s voice going into falsetto at times to match the pitch of the piano sample. I don’t think he understands what “moshing” means.
Rae Sremmurd came onstage with cartoon alter egos all their own on the screen background. These caricatures suited the two artists well, since Rae Sremmurd and Lil Yachty are a bit cartoonish themselves. Yachty had his red beaded cornrows and goofy demeanor on full display, while Swae Lee donned a red fur coat as both members drank from a bottle of Hennessy V.S. These rappers have enough gimmicks to build them a lasting brand.
Throughout both sets, blunt smoke obscured the view and made the venue smell like pineapple and grape Swishers. I kept seeing the same kid who had suggested I buy him alcohol. I have never gotten into a fight, but two different concertgoers tried to provoke me for reasons as significant as a slight accidental shove and merely existing. I walked away wondering what kind of monster party these party monsters had created.
Still, the duo kept it light with hits like “Start a Party” and “No Flex Zone” and encouraged fans to Instagram the show. Screen graphics ranged from a giant Buddha for “Do Yoga” to a SremmLife Super Mario Bros., complete with a girl dancing in a cage, for “Throw Sum Mo.”
“No Type” came on, and suddenly a girl, and then two girls, from the crowd were dancing onstage with the crew.
The night ended with Rae Sremmurd and the crowd chanting, “Fuck Donald Trump!” The rappers told everyone to follow their Twitter for a potential afterparty. It seemed like most people had experienced enough of a party for one night though. Besides, they probably had school the next day.
This article appears in Sep 29 – Oct 7, 2016.
