Drake's Would You Like A Tour?
With Future, Miguel, and others
American Airlines Arena, Miami
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Better Than: Any other damn rapper/singer/sexy motherfucker out there right now.
Drake the type of dude to write so many chart-topping hits that you start to forget, then jump on stage and do them all back to freakin' back until your panties are all twisted up and useless.
Drake the type of dude to bring icons of modern hip-hop out onto the round and make 'em drop some rhymes, even though it's not their show.
Drake the type of dude to give his tour a title that's a boastful question, 'cause he knows he's going to set one of the biggest cities in the world on fire, even if it's only a Tuesday. And yes, you want the freakin' tour.
See also: YOLO: Drake's Four-Step Guide to Life
For his confidently coined Would You Like a Tour?, Drake hit the road with buddies Future and Miguel, though we only got into the Champion Stadium (AKA American Airlines Arena) with enough time to catch the back end of Miguel's sexy opening set. He was up there humping his microphone stand and singing sweet nothings, backed by a full band with keys, drums and guitars. Already, the girls were screaming.
Miami's largest venue was packed and ready to represent. Because Miami the type of city Drake name-drops on, like, every other song. It's his home away from home, and we were going to show the Toronto boy that we've got his back.
After a short intermission, the stage was set for Drake to make his entrance. It was a minimal setup, a beautiful white canvas with a ring-shaped walkway in the middle, at the center of which there was a pit for the band. In a lot of ways, Drizzy seems to take his cues from Yeezy and work the whole stage mostly by himself.
It was just after 9 p.m. when Drake stepped out, going right into "Tuscan Leather," the thoughtful, sensual intro off his latest album, Nothing Was the Same. The set would be heavy with tracks from this instant classic, not that the crowd would mind.
He pranced about the shimmering stage in white pants and a white jacket. But after running through about a minute of "Headlines" and "Crew Love," the jacket came off. Crowd decibels reached murderous levels as Drizzy's well-toned arms made their first appearance of the night. Dude can get any chick in the 305, that's a fact.
Then after a reprise of "Tuscan Leather," he stepped to the mic and got real with us. "Let me tell you, I waited a long fucking time to play this building right here," he said. "I just want to let you know a few things. My name is Aubrey Drake Graham. I was born in a place called Toronto, Canada. I represent that Young Money Cash Money, and I want you to know it is truly an honor to be here with you tonight."
A ghostly image of the Toronto skyline lit up the giant LED screens as he dove into "Wu Tang Forever." The air was thick with lust as the boyish crooner sang out "it's yours." Dude is on his king shit.
Drake ran through a bunch of new songs, adding, "You know I just had to do a little test to see if Miami was fucking with that Nothing Was the Same, and you passed. But believe me, I understand where we at tonight and now that we got all that slow, emotional shit out the way, this is going to be a show you want to stand up for."
The classic raunchy swag of 305 classic "Doo Doo Brown" pumped through the speakers before becoming the backing track for Drake's verse on "Pop That." Oldie cartoon asses were shakin' like crazy on the big screen. He did all the Khaled verses, then went in on "Love Me," during which he brought out the homie Future for a little more stage action, lettin' the boy go in on his own anthemic "Same Damn Time."
But Drizzy wouldn't let Future go just yet. Seeing as we were in Miami, they had to throw down on that "Million Dollar Pussy." And of course, because the MIA is the current home of that Cash Money crew, Birdman and Mack Maine popped up to join them.
When the screaming died down and the guests left for backstage, Drake brought the tempo down for "Pound Cake," a huge hit from the deluxe edition of his new album. He ran around the stage, starting and stopping and waving his arms around like a boss at the top of his game.
Soon, he was joined on stage by the lovely lady Jhene Aiko in a white, flowing skirt. All the girls in the crowd were like, "Who's this bitch?" At least until she sang, and then they gave it up. Her voice was as beautiful in person as it is on the album, and she and Drake ran through the duet "From Time," one of our personal favorites.
Drizzy sat down as he sang, going in on the lyrics about his father and his personal trials as fireworks exploded softly on the LED screen. He gave space to Jhene to take the mic and do a solo breakdown before they both peaced for a break.
The band stayed to lead us through a slew of old favorites. We'd almost forgotten that Drake had all these jams, but they reminded us and played the choruses of "Successful," "Over," "Up All Night," "Miss Me," "I'm Goin' In," "I Want This Forever" and "Take Care."
Smoke billowed out onto the stage as the melodies faded, and the star of the hour emerged victorious once again.
"Where's all my Spanish people in the house tonight?" They yelled, as a young, bodacious babe walked onto the stage, she gave her hand to Drake, and once again, the women of the crowd scowled menacingly. This bitch in the pink skirt had everybody heated, because Drake was grabbing her neck, kissing her hand. Shit, he made out with the big-bootied lady before letting her go. Who doesn't want to hear Drake sing "Hold On, We're Going Home" to them? We were all jealous.
He went hard on "Worst Behavior" and ran around the stage like a madman for "Talking my Language." The crowd went wild as he dropped "305 to My City," then he announced the start of his favorite part of the show.
A giant scaffolding circle dropped from the ceiling, upon which Drake climbed and ran through the whole crowd shouting out zealous fans, starting with the right side, working through the left, and finishing with the middle. Sometimes, it was hard to even hear who he was yelling at through all the fan noise, but he did definitely called someone Mumford and Sons, and there was even a girl who came to party despite walking with crutches.
After walking back down from the scaffolds and shouting out his "I see yous" for a couple of minutes, he hit the stage once more and told the crowd about his fucking problem -- "Bad Bitches," of course. He worked it into the world-changing "The Motto" (containing his now-infamous acronym YOLO), then moved in "HYFR," but no one was prepared for the moment when the chorus popped up and Lil Wayne popped in.
It was fucking pandemonium as the little bastard swagged us out. And Drake called his mentor "the most important man in my life," then invited the legend to sing his own song right quick.
"This is your show," Wayne said, turning to the audience. "Is that OK?" The place lit up and he worked through his hit "Rich as Fuck" before giving it back to "Drizzy Drake."
"I just want to let you know," Drake said, "I am loyal to that man till the day I fucking die. I feel like Miami needs another anthem." Then we heard Aziz Ansari talking about how we ain't going to get no more Free Randy, and it was "All Me." Drake sang his verse, but continued until his "favorite part" of the song, going a-capella and singing Big Sean's verse along with the crowd. It is everyone's favorite part, apparently.
Of course, all good things must come to an end, and it's only right that Drake finished the set with a reflective moment. "Started From the Bottom" gave the crowd its monumental ending, and as the fireworks erupted on either side of the stage and Drake's family videos played on the LED screen, you could tell Drizzy was starting to get a big misty eyed.
Drake posed at the top of his walkway and just looked out at us, the images on the screen were washed out by white light. The last notes of the beat faded slowly to silence, and after one last pause, he made his way down off the walkway into the darkness. (Apparently, Drake doesn't do encores, so that really was the end.)
As an artist, he is hitting his peak. His performance was spectacular, his string of hits impressive. He just played American Airlines Arena for the first time ever, the biggest venue in his (second?) favorite city. And on the same night, his latest and greatest record to date just went platinum.
It's cheesy, but it's true. For this man, from this night forward, nothing would ever be the same.
Critic's Notebook
Drake's Setlist
-"Tuscan Leather"
-"Headlines"
-"Crew Love"
-"Tuscan Leather" (reprise)
-"Wu-Tang Forever"
-"Own It"
-"Swangin"
-"Pop That"
-"No New Friends"
-"No Lie"
-"I'm on One"
-"Versace"
-"Love Me"
-"Same Damn Time" (with Future)
-"Million Dollar Pussy" (with Birdman and Mack Maine)
-"Pound Cake"
-"The Motion"
-"Come Thru"
-"From Time"
-"Successful"
-"Over"
-"Up All Night"
-"Miss Me"
-"I'm Goin' In"
-"Forever"
-"Take Care"
-"Hold On, We're Going Home"
-"Worst Behavior"
-"The Language"
-"305 To My City"
-"Fuckin' Problems"
-"The Motto"
-"HYFR"
-"Rich as Fuck" (with Lil Wayne)
-"All Me"
-"Started from the Bottom"
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