Travis Scott - Grand Central, Miami

Travi$ Scott

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Better Than: Your fave videos of Travi$ Scott in action.

Live, Travi$ Scott is even raunchier than Youtube footage of his concerts would suggest. And this weekend, the 22-year-old Houston rapper had downtown Miami's Grand Central going absolutely bonkers.

"I do not like motherfuckers that sit down!" Scott yelled to the crowd. "I need to see some rage! Let's go!"

See also: Travis Scott on Why "This Trill Ain't Just Gold Grills and Sippin' Lean"

Travi$ Scott, at such a young age, already possesses the kind of stage presence that's downright frightening. He commands his fans with such authority. And rage, they did.

Records like "Uptown," "Quintana," and "Animal" have landed him major features with the likes of A$AP Ferg, Toro y Moi, Migos, and T.I., while Scott's production has caught the ear of industry heavyweights. He has been signed by T.I. to Grand Hustle Records, Kanye gave him a producer's spot on the Very G.O.O.D. Beats roster, and Epic Records secured him with a solo artist deal.

So in honor of Scott's stop in SoFla, Miami and Broward County brought out their finest, producing the show's promised "special guests." During his opening DJ set, producer extraordinaire Nuri got the crowd riled up with a series of short performances by the most stellar local rap talent.

Robb Bank$, Denzel Curry, Yung Simmie, Nik SB, IndigoChildRick, SpaceGhostPurrp and others took turns on the mike. Some were more spirited than others, with Bank$ performing a rather tired rendition of "On Me" while IndigoChildRick stole the whole scene with an awesome performance of "Poppin' Da Trunk."

See also: Miami's Top Ten Rappers on the Come-Up

The real surprise was SpaceGhostPurrp, who's been rather quiet over the past year, as fans have watched the breakup of his Raider Klan crew. But there seemed to be no love lost, as Purrp shared the stage comfortably with all the other special guests. Then, while performing "Ride 4 Me," Purrp showed off some acrobatics with a backflip from the speaker onto the stage.

Unfortunately, official opening act Metro Boomin "couldn't make it," according to Nuri, but that didn't stop Atlanta's Young Thug from dropping a warm-up set before Travi$ Scott took the stage.

Scott's set was rather short. He performed only four songs. But in that time, he delivered exactly what his fans expected from "rap's new radical" -- a riotously good time.

"I know you jump a little bit higher than that," Scott teased, before tearing into "Upper Echelon."

Then he asked the crowd which song they wanted to hear next.

"Don't Play," they yelled out at him. And Scott responded by bringing several fans on the stage, asking them to assume the "bless up" position, complete with prayer hands.

Next, the crowd wanted to hear his new single off forthcoming debut album, Rodeo and Scott took the request, ripping into "Don't Play," which flips a vocal sample of English indie rockers, The 1975, into a bass-riddled anthem.

"Jump!" commanded Scott of the fans that he'd brought up on the stage. This was his final order to them. And they obeyed, diving straight into the raging mob.

Critic's Notebook

Personal Bias: The set was rather short, only four songs. There's nothing that urks fans more than paying for a ticket, only to be greeted with a set that's the length of a club appearance. Even with limited time on stage, Travi$ Scott made the audience forget that they were only rocking with him for under 30 minutes. Having half of the up-and-coming rappers from South Florida come and show didn't hurt either.

Travi$ Scott's Setlist:

-"Quintana"

-"Uptown"

-"Upper Echelon"

-"Don't Play"

-- Daniel White

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