Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Wale brings the go-go to NoHo

Sunday night was a night of stalling at the Pearl Street Nightclub. The main act, Washington, D.C.‘s premier hip-hop ambassador Wale, took hours to finally hit the stage, finally relieving the crowd of its duty of cringing through most of the opening acts.

This may be a bit too extreme of a judgment ‘- there were some pleasant surprises that made the night bearable and even memorable, but a large chunk of the show, sponsored by Northampton‘s Unite Footwear and Apparel, was dedicated to uninspired acts and awkward interaction between the stage and the audience.

The first surprise of the evening came right away as, after a brief introduction to the show by the evening’s MC Rec, Detroit‘s Big Sean appeared onstage. The show certainly had not been advertising Big Sean on the bill, but apparently Wale decided to take him on tour. Big Sean is best known as a member of Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music label. According to Sean’s MySpace, the rapper met West in 2005 through Detroit radio station 102.7FM where he freestyled for him.

Eventually Sean gained notoriety for his mic skills and his song ‘Getcha Some’ was featured on West’s 2007 ‘Can’t Tell Me Nothing’ mixtape. The song also appears on Sean’s mixtape ‘Finally Famous.’ Sean performed five tracks, including ‘Getcha Some’ to end his energetic set.

The night then went into a downward spiral after a brief freestyle battle. D.C. quartet Spirit Animal were close to horrendous, chugging out some clunking form of nu metal mixed with failed attempts at rap rock. Their frontman, known as the Gray Kid, pranced around stage like a caricature of a romantic comedy villain, splitting his vocals between poor rapping, angry bellows and trying to sing.

Toward the end of their set the Gray Kid announced he had two more songs. ‘No more songs!’ an audience member demanded. While Spirit Animal went on with their final songs, few were happy with it.

Next, Colin Munroe took the stage to perform three songs ‘- an awful rendition of Kanye West’s ‘Flashing Lights,’ ‘Cannonball,’ a track he did with Drake (currently mentored by Lil’ Wayne, also of ‘Degrassi’ fame), and another which was hardly memorable.

After these two disappointing acts (one of which was not on the bill), one would expect Wale to save the night. This was not the case yet.

The following hour consisted of another rap battle that failed (Rec called for two female MCs, but he only got one and she said nothing except ‘meow’), another battle that succeeded (one participant commented on high drink prices at the bar) and another appearance by Big Sean who freestyled and then proceeded to dive into an autograph signing fit. He signed everything ‘- fliers, posters, ticket stubs, hands, hats, even shoes.

Rec then stretched the wait even further, even calling a couple of members of the crowd to come up and tell jokes, which were awful. After endless attempts to pump up the crowd and get them to yell for Wale, the rapper’s Go-Go band UCB filed onstage. Eventually the lights dimmed and D.C.’s finest finally materialized.

UCB dazzled, pounding out funky island rhythms with the help of a raging set of congas manned by a gentleman referred to only as ‘Slump.’

Right away, Wale let the audience know he was making up a song on the spot. He gave Pearl Street three options as to what he would rattle off a song about. In so many words, the choices were women, alcohol, and marijuana. After multiple inquiries to the audience to find out what the theme would be, Wale decided he was too drunk to tell what vice the people were cheering for. No matter, he made up a song about all three.

Wale went on to perform ‘Rising Up,’ the track he cut with the Roots last year, as well as ‘The Feature Heavy Song’ and ‘The Artistic Integrity’ from his ‘Seinfeld’-themed ‘Mixtape About Nothing.’

Toward the end of Wale’s set, the performance once again devolved into autograph signing, as Wale and Big Sean armed themselves with Sharpies to take on hoards of fans with outstretched arms, hopeful of getting something inked.

The whole show ended rather abruptly, house lights illuminating before Wale even left the stage. This whirlwind night of ups and downs was surely something to remember, just not as a whole. Wale’s set stands as a lesson, however ‘- ‘fashionably late’ is still in.

Ian Nelson can be reached at [email protected].

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