Most of Indianapolis was well aware when Lil’ Wayne entered its boarders, fans were lined up and have been waiting for weeks to see the rapper in concert in Indianapolis. This was definitely one of the most atisapated concerts in Indy for a while. I even talked to some people that had driven almost 10 hours for this concert, they claimed that Lil’ Wayne was the best rapper alive and would do anything to see him. While Lil’ Wayne’s claim to be the “best rapper alive” is open for debate, he has every right to bill himself as the “best rapper in a live setting.”
Lil’ Weezy presented the evidence Saturday at Conseco Fieldhouse, where he coiled his body in a boxer’s stance, he rhymed in raspy but understandable diction, he maintained stamina through a 90-minute performance and he made sure he and his estimated audience of 12,000 had a great time. The New Orleans native displayed these traits when he played Market Square Arena as a teenager in 1999, and he hasn’t botched the winning formula. His current tour, titled “I Am Music,” serves as a coronation in the wake of his multi-platinum 2008 album “Tha Carter III.” The 26-year-old rapper, born Dwayne Carter, is making the most of his time on top. His affection for cough syrup and a tendency to make crowds wait are infamous, but he arrived onstage clear-headed and at a punctual 9:50 p.m. in Indianapolis.
“Swagger” and “respect” were popular themes among the concert’s supporting acts, from Keri Hilson to Gym Class Heroes to T-Pain. It seems that one — the gaining of respect — should precede the other. Wayne’s reservoir of respect is deep, thanks to fierce anthems such as “Sky’s the Limit” and “La La.”
I hadn’t heard alot of Keri Hilson before this Indianapolis concert, but I was impressed at what she had to offer, probably still not a fan, but I’ll show her the respect she deserves as an artist. And as for Gym Class Heros, they are always good to see in concert. I saw them back when they were in Indianapolis for the 100.9 Santa Slam concert. A friend of mine that works for 100.9 got me a chance to meet them, and I’d have to say that they are some pretty cool people.
But back to Wayne, he paired the songs early in the performance, sharing his skewed view during “Sky” (“I’m probably in the sky, flying with the fishes, or maybe in the ocean, swimming with the pigeons”) and his grounded side during “La” (“I’m richer than all y’all, I got a bank full of pride”). Swagger shows up in all of Weezy’s work, but it was less appealing during the execution of a mutualadmiration skit with T-Pain. The stars fell all over themselves for 10 smarmy minutes of Wayne’s set, resembling the 21st century’s answer to Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.
Producer-vocalist T-Pain fared better by himself. His multi-faceted performance revealed him to be more than the Auto-tune caricature of pop culture. He even sang a ballad, “Keep Going,” with no electronic modification of his voice. Of course, hits of his own — “Buy U a Drank” and “Bartender” – and ones he wrote — “Low” by Flo Rida and “The Boss” by Rick Ross — did more to energize the crowd. Some would even commented to me that they feel that T-Pain almost stole the show, and that his performace was better than Lil’ Wayne’s. To me I have always been a Weezy fan, so I’ll leave that debate up to you.
content also contributed by David Lindquist
