Last night, the State Fair went hip-hop. A stage that typically sees the biggest names in country music was instead taken over by one of hip-hop’s most rising stars: Drake. After support from Tino, Jumpsmokers, New Boyz, and Iyaz, Drake finally took the stage around 10:00 P.M. and opened strong with “Forever,” a collaborative single Drake did earlier this year with Lil Wayne, Eminem, and Kanye West. Instead of jumping right into the more vocal tracks from his June 15 album, Thank Me Later, Drizzy kept the energy up in the beginning of his set with more hard-rapping, including Young Jeezy’s, “Lose My Mind,” a track he and Drake performed together live at this year’s BET Music Awards.
As the night went on, it was clear Drake has fully embraced his role as hip-hop’s heartthrob of the moment. Between songs, he spent a lot of time talking up and complimenting the women of Naptown, using tracks “Find Your Love,” “Fancy,” and “Unforgettable,” to tell them about his longing single heart. I’m not sure what Drake’s other tour stops have entailed, but it’s possible he came close to finding love in Indy last night after bringing one lucky girl up on stage for some more intimate wooing.
If that wasn’t enough, the night took another twist when Drake surprised fans by bringing fellow Canadian superstar, Justin Bieber, out on stage halfway through the show. Bieber had done the same for Drake at his own Indianapolis show a night earlier at Conseco Fieldhouse, where the two performed Beiber’s hit single, “Baby” together. No singing from Bieber last night at the Fair, but he did come back on stage several times, once to help Drake point out more beautiful girls from the crowd during “Best I Ever Had” and again to finish the night with a pretty solid drum solo during Drake’s last song, “Over.”
I’m not sure how many of Drake’s fans will be jumping on the Bieber Fever bandwagon after last night, but I’m positive quite a few more will be tweeting #FreeWeezy than before. Drake paid tribute to his mentor, Lil Wayne (incarcerated until November), by shouting the tagline throughout the show and asking fans to rap Wayne’s lines along with him during, “I’m Goin’ In.”
So…my thoughts?
It was great. I’ve said it before (really, check the links below) and I’ll say it again, Drake is one of the more talented artists doing music right now and I was excited to be a part of a live show. He’s one who’s changing the game of mainstream hip-hop right now and I can’t wait to see what he does next. After a hard rocking show, Drake’s parting words were simple. Three things—Young Money forever, Free Weezy, and as he thanked Indianapolis for one of the best nights of his life, he advised fans to get home safely and to “Thank Me Later.”
i was there , and damn he killed it . Drake keep it up . & dont forqet ta come back ta naptown .
- Free Wezzzzy ;
Although I appreciate all music, after watching one video of him on youtube in which he dropped the F Bomb several times in the first 2 minutes I challenge you on the fact he’s one of the more talented artists doing music right now. Drake’s first studio album used more co-writers than the Spice Girls used on their first album indicating he’s nothing but an over produced puppet to sell music. The youth of today is an easy sell on a sound with little genuine backing it.