Concert Review: Larry June Will Be A Hip Hop Megastar
There is a secret ingredient to massive success in the Hip Hop Game, one that goes unbeknownst to even Hip Hop stars themselves. The ingredient is youth. It is the ability to tap into the angst and invincibility that comes with be young and genuinely feeling like tomorrow is guaranteed so today can be lived fully as if more is to come. Larry June goes straight for that “never die” sentiment, which made him a huge hit with the college-aged crowd standing before him at Webster Hall.
College students or those between 18-24 may not seem like the most marketable or profitable group, but they are the heartbeat of success. As seen with my Meadows Fest review, it is the young that are willing to sacrifice a meal to buy a concert ticket and have music feed their soul. Thus, as I watched Millennials with, literally, their college backpacks jump and up and down as if their souls were on fire, I knew Larry June is going to rise the ranks of the Hip Hop Game. His capacity to make an audience lose their mind and inhibitions to just absorb his song is uncanny, and will further his unprecedented path to stardom.
As for the music of June, it is not revolutionary, or an attempt to change the current stratosphere of the Hip Hop industry. Instead, June wishes to do that with his persona which is an endearing mixture of personal friendliness and an openness of wounds. Since its conception, Hip Hop has been speaking on black oppression, and elaborating the emotional, social, and mental weight that systemic poverty and violence can do to a soul. Larry June’s music is just another extension of Hip Hop’s core, which is why he does not aim to change the essence of this genre’s music, as much as to add a new spokesperson. And from his performance last night, he should be sincerely welcomed.
June approaches the stage like he is an army ready to conquer it with a brutish, unforgiving force. He wants the stage to remember his name and the day he marked it forever. There is a fire in him that is determined to make his presence both memorable and approachable, and explains why can lighten the fire inside his audience. He spikes spirits by promulgating “Yes, Lord!” in between conversations with the crowd, and has no problem stepping off the stage and “moshing” in the pit that developed in the middle of the audience. People were getting lost in his music, but June never lost focus in making sure they did. He wants his moment to be all about him, in the best of ways because, despite his sole snatching of the limelight, he only wishes to be warm with his viewers. He is the perfect mix of friendly and ferocious on stage.
All in all, I predict great things for Larry June, and his prosperous future. I am will not be surprised all the heights he achieves because he has the youth behind him. Thus, anyone who can motivate the young can have an eternal career. Click Here for more information on Larry June and to buy his record Orange Season.
