photo credit: sc knows

I had caught the first incarnation of Lil Wayne’s I Am Music tour in 2009, in which the support was lended by Young Jeezy, Soulja Boy and Jeremih, for better or for worse. Back then, Wayne was pre-sober, pre-jail and pre-probaton. His syrupy mindset was all but mentioned, but he managed to put on a great show – one of the better hip-hop performances I had seen. I had always been a Wayne fan from a distance too, as his musical output wasn’t always as fleshed out as Tha Carter II and Tha Carter III.

One Rebirth, I’m Not a Human Being, two mixtapes and a Carter IV later, I’m back at the Woodlands catching Lil Wayne perform again, this time with the aid of Rick Ross, Keri Hilson and Groupon. Also, it’s worth noting that this was the last night of the tour.

Hit the jump for the recap.

-grizzly

photo credit: sc knows

We arrived to the venue on time, per my discretion of wanting to not miss Keri Hilson’s performance. I wasn’t all that concerned about seeing her perform “Pretty Girl Rock,” rather to channel my best 17-year-old admiring a hot R&B singer. Turns out, September 11th brought added security, and after having everything but our balls, breasts and taints groped, we made our way into the venue near the end of Keri’s set. The silver lining here is that we missed out on sets from Far East Movement and Lloyd. We caught “Knock You Down” and the aforementioned “Pretty Girl Rock,” backed by a full band Ms. Hilson’s long legs, so I’m not upset.

photo credit: sc knows

Rick Ross requires no band, and all things considering, he hit the stage within 10 minutes. Rozay isn’t necessarily the most mobile emcee, but his bravado-laced demeanor, along with plenty of his signature grunts, were in full effect. Right off the bat, you get the impression that he isn’t exactly interested in putting in much effort into his performances. The songs that made the final cut of the setlist were all post Teflon Don, with the exception of set opener “Hustlin.” He chose to perform “9 Piece,” “MC Hammer” and “BMF,” all of which sound exactly like the previous. Let’s face it – it’s a good song, just not when reprised three times in a 40 minute time period. The setlist continued to be the downfall to his set, as he sluggishly moved and grunted through “I’m On One,” “Welcome to My Hood” and “All I Do is Win.” I was hoping for a glimpse of “Devil in a New Dress,” but I knew I was hoping for too much.

photo credit: sc knows

Rozay may not have captured hearts and turn heads, but he warmed the crowd up for the main event. Lil Wayne hit the stage on a skateboard, backed by an immense collection of LED screens projecting your typical miscellaneous fodder. Say what you will about Wayne – as his music isn’t exactly consistent, but he is a damn good performer. The lack of his drugs in his system was obvious. He was grinning from ear to ear, laughing and joking with the crowd, enunciating the words in song, and running back and forth from end to end. Seeing Wayne live held promises of a near two hour set, which would span from Tha Carter I all the way to IV. And in that sense, he did not disappoint.

photo credit: sc knows

While he did get around to performing songs like “Mr. Carter” and “A Milli,” he managed to touch base on one too many mixtape cuts, including cuts from both Sorry 4 The Wait and No Ceilings. Taking a page right out of Rick Ross’ book, he did his fair share of guest verses, including “My Life” (he brought The Game out), “Money to Blow” (he brought Birdman out) and “Every Girl”/”Bedrock” (he brought the entire Young Money shitstorm out). Other shortcomings included leaving off “Hustler Musik,” playing “Prom Queen,” and allowing his DJ too much time to talk. And while a 30-song setlist existed, the average fanfare of 1-2 verses per song was in full effect, so he was able to touch down on a lot of songs. “Steady Mobbin'” managed to make a 20,000 person venue sing along to expletives for 3 minutes, while songs like “Miss Me” had the crowd picking up all of Drake’s slack in his absence.

photo credit: sc knows

And back to the joking and laughing thing – it’s hard to relay the execution, but Weezy was outright hilarious. And I’m not talking about him “playing the guitar” and “skateboarding” and “wearing jorts” parts of his artistry. This man was in new form that night, joking with the crowd on a personal basis, interacting on a level you wouldn’t expect a star of his million-in-one-week-selling magnitude to do. For all intents and purposes, Lil Wayne is no longer a rap star, and we know this. His pop accessibility has become more obvious over the years as each Carter installment gets more watered down than its predecessor. But in any case, it’s safe to say that Lil Wayne’s pop stardom has taken him to heights that even the most elite of rap stars can dream of, and the I Am Music Tour is a huge indication.

photo credit: sc knows

[SETLISTS]

[Lil Wayne]

No Love
I’m Goin’ In
Look At Me Now
Bill Gates
Right Above It
A Milli
Got Money
Go DJ
Swag Surfing
Wasted
Ice Cream
Motivation
My Button
Hair Down My Back
John
I’m on One
Steady Mobbin’
Mr. Carter
Miss Me
Mrs. Officer
Prostitute
Single
Lollipop (Acoustic)
How to Love
Every Girl
BedRock
Drop the World
Prom Queen
Nightmares of the Bottom
6 Foot 7 Foot

[Rick Ross]

Hustlin’
9 Piece
Hustle Hard
Aston Martin Music
All I Do Is Win
I’m On One
BMF
MC Hammer
Big Pimpin’ (Bun B cameo)
A Rap Song (Trae the Truth cameo)
I’m a Boss