The floor shook. Literally. The wooden floor of the Aragon Ballroom, Chicago’s north side entertainment venue kissing the shores of Lake Michigan, held the weight of the lit sold out Purple Reign Tour crowd, the second stop of the 22-city tour. Fans came out in waves on the unseasonably warm, but windy, evening to see Mr. “Paranoid,” Ty Dolla $ign, turn up on stage, alongside headliner Future.
Ty, born Tyrone William Griffin, Jr., described tour life as, “MARVELOUS! We out here going crazy! The fans [go crazy] when Future’s on and they do the same thing for me and Chicago is lit, first of all. God damn!”
Screams, cheers and cell phone lights greeted the Los Angeles native, as he dominated the stage performing fan favorites, including “You and Your Friends,” “Sitting Pretty,” and turn-up anthem, “Blasé.” Doused in energy and pure adrenaline, Ty’s frenetic 30 minute set, filled with heavy bass, call-and-response chants and even a brief crowd surfing moment set the tone for the remainder of the show.
See Also: Watch Ty Dolla $ign’s Performance of “Saved” on ‘Conan’
The Taylor Gang affiliate describes his sound as “all over the place, but cohesive.” The 30-year-old, who released two albums within one month of each other late last year, Airplane Mode and Free TC, describes how he’s different from his Hip Hop and R&B peers.
“What separates me from everybody else is I’m doing my own thing, I’m not trying to follow what anybody’s else is doing, I’m doing my own thing and that’s why people love it—that’s why they love Future because he has his own sound, same with Drake, same with Kendrick, same with Wiz—you got to be an individual, you can’t copy! It’s a lot of copy catting going on these days. When I was in high school, n*ggas was not going for that sh*t! I encourage individuality.”
What’s next for the rap star? According to him, he’s just getting started. “This year you can expect the re-issue of Free TC with new songs and I already got a whole other album ready. And I’m on tour with Future so you never know what’s going to happen – I got the studio bus *laughs* It’s lit!”
Check out when you the tour hits a city near you!
Photo credit: Khalid Ali, Dan Garcia
