Smaller venues may pale in comparison to the grandiosity of a stadium or arena, but it makes up for that with the intimate proximity with the artist. The Underground definitely provides that intimacy. The photo pit occupied a 3ft wide trench between the stage and the crowd. I shared that space with three other photographers and security…fun. The crowd was a mixed bag. It was mainly teens hugging the barricade with the age level rising further back.
The crowd was very impatient once they flooded through to the floorspace. They chanted “NLE” way before the first opening artist appeared on stage. I wasn’t prepared for the number of opening acts. In order of appearance there were sets performed by, Lil Eazzyy, Unghetto Mathieu, Scorey, Gino, and Baby Hot. Each were able to build on each other’s energy and keep the crowd entertained until NLE Choppa torched the stage.
NLE Choppa is very young, so he didn’t need to warm up the crowd. Majority of the audience is just as youthful. He came out to his version of “Beat Box”, which of course everyone knew word for word. I suppose I should mention a small mosh pit grew in response to this record and got out of hand which then caused a slight delay in the show. It’s only one song in! I was able to get the first three songs in while fighting off the screams and flails of young women just over the barrier. The only real pause in the ride was the moment NLE started a contest for dancers to his hit record “Sl-t Me Out”. After that, it was back to the dynamic display of his sound and style, pure melodic violence over hard hitting trap drums.
NLE CHOPPA
Photos + Review by Ramel Bocker | Exclusively for Music, Why Not!
