Chicago R&B singer-songwriter BJ the Chicago Kid recently released a soothing R&B album entitled 1123, and the album is very magnifying in various aspects. Speaking about the album, it is a recollective journey on the identity of Black culture and the singer takes us on a journey through growing up in Chicago and how growing up changed his views on love and relationships. The album features prominent artists such as Offset, Afrojack, Rick Ross, Anderson .Paak, and much more. And the album brings a lot of interesting topics from songs like Champagne, Feel the Vibe, Time Today, Get Away, and Closer. When the singer announced that he was going on tour, I was very excited to hear what he has to offer, since BJ the Chicago Kid is known for performing well live and having a unique style toward performing. The singer took his show to Toronto’s own Velvet Underground and brought Rayana Jay and KAMAU to bless the stage as his openers.

Starting off the show was Atlantic Records-based artist KAMAU, and he opened up his set with a meditation to the crowd and wanted the crowd to meditate with him and experience the energy needed for positivity and feeling relaxed in a neutral state of mind. He also gave a good message to the crowd before his set that breathing is essential to human life and that we should all be grateful that we are breathing today. He did a cover of OutKast’s Hey Ya, and he did the cover with stronger drum basses, an added choir chorus, remixed vocals, and many unique vocals. He did a variety of things, including rapping, singing, vocal uprising, beatboxing, and poetry. His unique and positive energy is what the crowd needed since they are much needed to be ready for BJ the Chicago Kid’s set. He can also freestyle well and manage to hit the right notes and flow, depending on the style. He reminds me of certain artists like Chance the Rapper, Khary, and Duckwrth due to their unique energy, different takes on rap music, and positivity as well

After KAMAU’s set, Rayana Jay started the show with as many slow songs as possible, but bringing an interesting style to her music with her Bay Area lo-fi infused beats, with the crinkling piano sounds and the unique echoes with her tracks. She was an amazing dancer and taught the Toronto crowd a variety of steps, including the nasty roll, the Bay Area slap, the basic two-step and much more. The crowd then vibes with her style and started dancing along to the beat and style of the music. She was spotted with an all cheetah-print jumper and seemed to be in her zone when she performed. She has a great soprano-alto vocal range and did well with the sad songs that she performed as well as the positive, lofi R&B songs. She seemed to be very comfortable with the music that she performed and she has some great vocals in her sound.

Once the openers finished all their sets, the moment is where it all began when BJ the Chicago Kid started off the show on a great note by performing some great tracks from 1123, such as Feel the Vibe, Champagne, Get Away, Closer, and much more. He was rocking an Auston Matthews jersey with a blue bandana, washed-up blue denim jeans and a pair of Nike Cortez sneakers, as a way to show love to the Toronto crowd and to bless the show with style. He came with his pianist and drummer and brought a lBJ the Chicago Kid @ Velvet Underground  – Toronto, ON, Canada (SUPPORT: Rayana Jay & KAMAU)t of great vocals, amazing vocal ranges, stellar crowd participation, great stage energy through his dances and bops and much more. He can sing very well and has a great vocal range and he can be consistent through song to song and remain positive with his music style.He had some positive energy and felt comfortable performing all the songs he enjoyed making and made sure everyone in the crowd enjoyed it. The crowd was dancing, vibing with the beat, and doing their two steps as BJ the Chicago Kid gave great melodies with his music and much more. He had an intimate presence when he performed and he made sure that his style can relate to everyone. As well his subject matters about love and relationships hit deep with the fans and all. For his encore set, he performed a special track he released last year entitled Nothin’ Into Something. BJ the Chicago Kid will continue on his tour until November 30th, 2019 at the House of Blues in Chicago, Illinois. You can find out more at https://www.bjtck.com/.

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BJ the Chicago Kid

KAMAU

Rayana Jay

By: Joshua Habtwold | Exclusively for @Music, Why not!

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