Big Boi
16th March 2018
The Studio, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Chris Zwaagdyk.
After a long working week, there really is nothing better than a night on the town to shake off all those cares; but when you get to shake them off in the company of Big Boi himself … well that’s just taking your Friday night to a whole new level.
As the crowd slowly filtered in through the door of K’Rds The Studio and filled up the gaps on the floor they were treated to some old school stylings by DJ Spell, who when he dropped the track ‘Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing Ta Fuck Wit’ took many of the crowd back to just before Christmas last year when the legendary GZA graced the exact same stage.
Adding a little New Zealand flavour to the evening, the duo of Zee and Cader, better known as Times X Two hit the stage running, getting the crowd worked up with a chant of “When I say times, you say two!” – nothing being better for any act on stage than to have hundreds of voices replying back to them in unison. The impressive duo have been friends since school, expertly mixing together both their Arab and African roots with touches of their New Zealand upbringing and dabs of influences such as Drake. Throwing out ‘Way2Real’ to start with, it was an inspired choice for the opener as it soon had their fans going crazy in the front rows and the rest of the audience bouncing along to the upbeat tempo with just the right amount of bite.
With a live DJ, Times X Two worked every inch of the stage like their lives depended on it, Zee soon having to unzip his jacket as the heat in The Studio grew. After a second round of the Times X Two chant (always a good way of keeping your audience tied in close to you) the duo spoke of their debut EP Late Night Legacy, an extremely tasty little piece of work that has been receiving some pretty rave reviews around town. Telling their fans they wanted to celebrate it with them, a bottle of champagne and a couple of glasses were brought out onto the stage, Cader asking everyone to raise their glasses (or phones, hands, whatever was available) and toast with them, while Zee shared the love by pouring some champagne into the cups of those closest to the stage. Of course that meant that a few of those tracks made into the set list tonight, ‘121’ certainly proving popular. But it was one of their older hits that saw the place explode with energetic vibes (something that would be a running theme this evening, Auckland bringing the good sensations by the bucket load) ‘Bonita’ with its insanely catchy chorus highlighting just how good these guys really are. Interestingly enough the duo chose to finish how they started, once again rolling out ‘Way2Real’, the crowd (who had now swelled again in size) not seeming to complain as they really threw their backs in behind it. Keep an eye on these guys as the only place they can go is up!
By now there is barely breathing room inside the venue as a flood of people move towards the front in anticipation for what is likely to be one hell of a set.
As the DJ begins the setup, adjusting the display behind him with the ‘Big Boi’ logo with meticulous precision the crowd begins to rumble, chomping at the bit to get this night going. Those who may not have been looking at the stage at that exact moment certainly spinning their eyes around pretty damn quick as hundreds of voices broke out upon the appearance of the man himself. Looking absolutely fine in a longer line camo jacket, his eyes shielded behind aviators and his neck adorned by a heavy gold chain, Big Boi strode out onto the stage and raised his arms, taking the volume of the cheering up with them. Big Boi was not alone tonight, beside him the one and only Sleepy Brown (aka Patrick Brown). As a member of Organized Noize his talents are known far and wide; Brown having penned hits for artists such as Outkast and TLC – fun fact kids, you know that crazy catchy song ‘Waterfalls’ by TLC? You have Sleepy Brown to thank as one of the creators… For those in the audience who recognised him, the night just went up in value as together Boi and Brown were sure to bring the goods.
As the animated visuals for ‘Da Next Day’ (ft. Big Rube) played out on the screen behind them the duo almost grew in size, truth be told they are indeed larger than life. Unlike many tours, the set list for tonight’s show has been running around online and as Big Boi has been following it pretty faithfully, it meant that anticipation levels were even higher as fans waited for their particular track to drop. But in between were so many succulent morsels from so many different albums that you almost couldn’t catch your breath, the set churning out hit after hit.
As one half of Outkast, Big Boi has tasted Grammy success seven (yes seven) times, but that is not to say that as a solo artist he doesn’t kick proverbial ass either; Big Boi now with three solo albums under his belt – his latest Boomiverse released just last year, providing plenty of material which featured throughout the evening. Rarking the crowd up by asking Auckland to “clap their hands”, calls of “Y’all motherfuckin ready” being met with howls of delight, Boi and Brown had the entire venue pumping before they were even a few songs in. While the sound was a little dubious in places, the bass often drowning out all the little delicacies that are synonymous with Big Boi’s music for those down the back, Big Boi strutted his stuff and made his performance look effortless. There was a style and grace to everything he did on stage that is not often seen, a testament surely to his tenure in the industry. New tracks such as ‘Kill Jill’ (ft. Killer Mike and Jeezy) were certainly appreciated and embraced by the fans, however it would be a barefaced lie to say that Outkast favs ‘So Fresh, So Clean’, ‘Ms Jackson’ and the sing along classic ‘The Whole World’ didn’t completely rip the roof off as fans young and old, of all creed and colour raised their voices in unison to fill in the gaps every time Big Boi pointed to them.
Often any banter with the audience would lead cleverly into the next track, talk of Big Boi’s home state the precursor to ‘In The South’ complete with video of animated pimped out characters, while conversations of how they are “international players – we don’t do this shit for the United States, we do it for the whole damn world” lead into the aforementioned Outkast track ‘The Whole World’. After slowing it down a bit, the duo soon brought the pace again, asking the crowd if they wanted them to “speed it up a bit” before hitting them with the outstanding ‘GhettoMusick’ and then following it up with ‘B.O.B’ complete with giant animated snake head forking it’s tongue out towards the audience from the screen behind them. Sadly all good things must come to an end, the crowd, hot sweaty and riding a high obviously making Big Boi and Sleepy Brown feel the love, judging by the smiles on their faces. Despite their stellar performance, neither looked like they had broken much of a sweat – Big Boi who was on point the entire evening, both his vocals and lyricism of a standard so high that you almost had to pinch yourself, still looking as fresh as he did when he first walked out.
‘The Way You Move’ was another huge banger as the crowd happily joined in with the chorus every time Big Boi pointed his mic at them, the duo choosing to leave on ‘Kryptonite’; some hefty audience cajoling convincing them all to take the stage one last time for the UGK hit ‘International Players Anthem (I Choose You)’ upon which Outkast featured, scenes from the often hilarious music video playing behind them. After an obligatory selfie with the crowd, Big Boi bid all in attendance goodnight, salutations of peace and love filling the air as in true Georgian style he advised that he would be down by the merch desk shortly to do autographs and “kiss babies and shit”.
Without a doubt, Big Boi is a king and long may his reign ever continue.
Big Boi:
Times X Two:
Were you there at The Studio for this OG hip-hop gig? Or have you seen Big Boi or Outkast perform live at some other time? Tell us about it in the comments below!