A month into an extensive tour run, G-Eazy and A$AP Ferg are collectively experiencing what every artist dreams of: selling out a New York City venue. Except, much like G-Eazy humbly recalled on stage last night [Monday, January 25], this is a little bit different than selling out the downstairs of Webster Hall.
While G-Eazy expressed gratitude for that career milestone he hit a couple years ago, being so happy to be able to tell his friends and family back home in California he sold out a show in New York, he took a minute to exclaim the magnitude of emotion he was feeling that this is Terminal 5, and how a performance originally slated for one night grew into three.
G-Eazy recruited A$AP Ferg, Marc E. Bassy and Nef the Pharaoh to join his headlining tour celebrating the release of his album, When It’s Dark Out, which dropped on December 4, 2015 and debuted at number one on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop chart. 2016 will have G-Eazy seeing a lot of the road, with a two-month-long U.S. run, followed by dates in Australia and Europe into the summer.
Just a week after previously gracing the stage for Yams Day, a tribute for A$AP Yams, who tragically lost his life a year prior to the date on January 18, 2015, Ferg was back on Terminal 5’s stage again with Yams in spirit. Yams kept a watchful eye on the performance, as visuals were projected on a giant screen behind Ferg, as Yams recorded voice blared over sound system, introducing Ferg’s track, “Let It Go.”
From the jump, Ferg had command of the audience, saying, “Can we turn this sh*t all the way up to 1000?” as he rapped joints off his debut album, 2013’s Trap Lord and from A$AP Mob’s catalog.
In addition to crowd favorite party anthems, such as “F*ck Yo B*tch”, “Shabba,” and “F*ck Out My Face,” Ferg switched things up a bit throughout his set, bringing out his protégé Marty Baller to perform their track, “Big Timers,” and Ferg collaborator Crystal Caines also blessing the mic with some fierce bars.
Ferg took a minute to dedicate his track “Tatted Angel,” saying, “This one’s for a real one. This is some real sh*t I wrote,” putting the spotlight back on Yams and calling for fans to put their lights or their cell phones in the air. The track is foreshadowing to a more personal side of Ferg, which fans will see a lot more of in his sophomore album, Always Strive and Prosper, with an official release date yet to be announced.
Ferg also performed his new single with Future, “New Level,” keeping the energy high, as he rocked the stage in a long black leather coat shouting out his family in the building and closing his set with the sign off, “Love, Peace and A$AP.”
In between performances, a stage crew broke down the giant screen backdrop and built a theatrical set for G-Eazy, which featured storefronts from a gritty, downtown city scene, and a character playing homeless resting on a graffiti-covered park bench before G-Eazy came out. The backdrop was well-produced, fitting the hip, rock-n-roll vibe G-Eazy goes for, with flashing signs reading “Girls, Girls, Girls,” “The Saint,” and “Motel.”
Performing songs off of his sophomore album, When It’s Dark Out, it was clear the audience was here for—and turning up for—G-Eazy. While Sunday night’s show saw Joey Bada$$ as a special guest, G-Eazy leveled up for night two’s run, bringing out the legendary DMX halfway through his set. As fans flipped out to the surprise guest, this was a moment in Hip Hop solidifying G-Eazy’s career in rap, as DMX gave the ultimate praise saying, “This is that underground sh*t! I see you out here doing your sh*t!” Following a brief-but-epic rendition of the classic “Ruff Ryders Anthem,” G-Eazy hyped up the audience trying to get him to do one more with DMX declining, saying, “Do your motherf***ing thing, tho!”
While one could assume the night was over when DMX left the stage, G-Eazy took another 45 minutes or so to go through his catalog, shouting out his day one fans and reflecting on his experience earlier in the night filming for an appearance on Jimmy Fallon.
“Can I take a picture to remember this night forever?” G-Eazy asked a sea of 3,000 people. “Remind me how lit tonight was a hundred years from now.”
This one was one for the memory books for G-Eazy and fans alike, with G-Eazy today posting it was hands down the best night of his life. Not too shabby for a Monday night, New York City.
Can’t put last night into words… From Fallon to the second night at T5, truly feel blessed. Best day of my life hands down ? @dkessler A photo posted by G-Eazy (@g_eazy) on
Image courtesy The Bnjmns