New York-based rapper Action Bronson brought something wonderful to the city of Boston last night. The rapidly rising hip-hop artist's headlining tour for his new record, Mr. Wonderful, made a stop at the House of Blues last night and it made for one of the most fun nights I've had in ages.
Bronson's New York counterpart Meyhem Lauren opened things up shortly after 8:00. My only previous exposure to Lauren's music was guest spots on a number of Bronson's tracks. None of the verses I'd heard from him left much of an impression, so I wasn't really expecting much from his performance. After seeing him live, I now feel like a schmuck for previously writing him off as a mediocre rapper who only does throwaway guest spots. Lauren is a fiery MC who serves as a refreshing throwback to the glory days of East Coast boom bap. He brings 110% intensity to every bar he spits and with his multiple a capella verses throughout the set, proved that he's one of the most talented dudes in the game right now. The one knock I have on his set is that he didn't do a single song all the way through. While the tightness of his rapping is undeniable, his set would've even better if he didn't cut every song he did after 60-90 seconds. That being said, Meyhem Lauren still ripped shit up and I plan on checking out his entire discography in the immediate future.
After about 20 minutes of non-activity, The Alchemist came out to begin his DJ set. While his DJ'ing solely consisted of him playing snippets of songs he's produced over the years, it was pretty cool to see one of the most prolific hip-hop producers of the past 25 years serve as Bronson's DJ for this tour. After The Alchemist did his thing for about 15 minutes, Bronson came out and proceeded to effortlessly command the room for the next 50 minutes. Bronson's performance was everything a rap show should be. He played all of his material all the way through, his rapping was flawless, he didn't use overwhelming backing tracks to cover up any flaws in his delivery and he had a stage presence that emanated high-energy fun. As this was the Mr. Wonderful tour, Bronson played a ton of material from that album. His song choices were spot-on as he played every single one of the best song on the record. "The Rising", "Falconry" and especially, "Actin' Crazy" were nothing short of magical live. What also struck me about the new material was how well it resonated with the crowd. Mr. Wonderful has been out for just over a month yet people already knew the words to every single song that was played from it. It may sound really lame to some people but I love seeing that type of stuff. It demonstrates a rare level of dedication and passion for an artist's music to learn the material by hear when it's brand new. Action Bronson is without question in the upper echelon of hip-hop artists I've ever seen perform and I will make every effort to see him anytime he comes to the area in the future.
Scores:
Meyhem Lauren 8/10
Action Bronson 9/10
Setlist:
Action Bronson:
Brand New Car
The Rising (w/Big Body Bes)
Terry
Actin' Crazy
The Don's Cheek
Big League Chew
Falconry (w/Meyhem Lauren and Big Body Bes)
? (w. Meyhem Lauren)
Strictly 4 My Jeeps
Baby Blue (w/snippet from Biz Markie's "Just a Friend" at end)
The Symbol
Easy Rider
Encore:
Contemporary Man
Encore 2:
Amadu Diablo (w/extended outro featuring the chorus of Tracy Chapman's "Give Me One Reason")
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