Man, where do I even begin with this one? Let me just start off by saying that this is definitely a show I won’t forget! These two really know how to make a crowd get lit, by all means, pun intended.
The Venue: The Verizon Wireless Amphitheater is pretty intimate if you ask me. It’s spacious enough to have your own space, but not enough to be isolated from the next chair over. If you’ve ever been, you know what i’m talking about. I happened to sit in the third row that night and my view was more than just dope. I should also mention that there was really tight security. At the entrance, they weren’t allowing in anything remotely professional, strictly point and shoot, and cellphones only, really. I happened to walk in with my DSLR and wasn’t stopped or anything, but very shortly after I took a seat it was spotted. I was asked to put it away or it would be confiscated. It might have something to do with the recent Wiz shooting(also why YG was most likely not allowed to show up), but I can’t say for sure. They were also uptight about all the 420 related activity, which is ironic considering Wayne was smoking a blunt the whole night.
Opening: Being Drake and Lil Wayne, of course they opened up with fireworks.
Lil Wayne opened up first, thanks to the voting app, with “Blunt Blowin,” “Steady Mobbin” and “John.” He gave a short introduction and walked off stage for his co-headliner to take his turn.
Drake came along, opening up with “Draft Day,” “We Made It” and “The Language.”
It only went uphill from here! Drake introduced himself and kicked off what was to be the “DrakeVs. Lil Wayne” show. He says, “ I go by the name of Drake. I rep that Young Money OVO Sound shit, and i’m here tonight with my boss, my mentor, my brother; he goes by the name of Lil Wayne. Understand that he is the reason that i’m on this stage, but tonight, in Irvine, California, I got one job and one job only, and that’s to roast this nigga alive for everybody to see.” AND OOOOH WAS THERE SOME ROASTING! Wayne jokes a lil about Drake and his Degrassi days. Drake defends himself by calling Wayne old. Wayne calls Drake soft. It’s all a back and forth from here. It’s all so entertaining and so smooth at the same time.
The Solos: After their short introductions and openings, they jump into their solos.
Lil Wayne starts off his first solo performing: “Mr. Carter,” “Swag Surf,” “Wasted” and “Ride 4 My Niggas (The Sky Is The Limit).”
Next, Drake comes on for his solo, consisting of: “Crew Love,” “Headlines,” “Show Me A Good Time,” “Over,” and “Headlines.”
Back to Lil Wayne: “Go DJ,” “Pop Bottles,” “Leather So Soft,” “Drop The World,” “Got Money” and “I’m Goin In”
Then again, Drake, with: “Pop That,” “0 to 100,” “Fuckin’ Problems,” “Versace,” “Find Your Love,” “Marvin’s Room” and “Hold On, We’re Going Home” I should mention that Drake floats off during into the audience during Marvin’s Room on what Wanye called a “stripper-pole.”
Then lastly back to Lil Wayne with: “How To Love,” “I’m Single,” “Mrs. Officer,” “Every Girl,” “Lollipop” and “Bitches Love Me”
NOW, TIME FOR THE RAP BATTLE.
The Rap battle: After a while of solo rapping the two decided to join each other for what could be quite possibly one of the funniest rap battles that could ever be witnessed. It wasn’t just some freestyle battle though. They went on to perform their hooks and verses from songs like “Bandz A Make Her Dance” or “No Lie,” trying to find out which has the best feature of the two. It’s a very relaxed part of the show; I would even go so far to call it a stand up because of the jokes these two were cracking. They even had a lil dance off somewhere in between there. Wanye goes on to perform his feature on “Make It Rain” and Drake retaliates with a two-fer I’m One One/No New Friends. Wayne fires back with “Duffle Bag Boy” and “Loyal.” After Wayne performs his verse on Chris Brown’s “Loyal,” he sits and mentions how he cant help it if he’s multitalented(referring to his dance skills). Drake laughs and Wayne continues to say, “My girl taught me how to do that. She’s cold, shout out to my girl.” After a short moment of silence, Drakes responds, “Fuck man, I don’t even know what to do now, Chris just always making shit awkward for me.” I’m not sure about you guys, but that is COMEDY. I guess all is well between the two nowadays. Drake follows the “Loyal” verse with his feature on YG’s “Who Do You Love.” In the end, the fans opened up there app and voted for the winner. Drake took the W for this one, tying up the score 15 -15.
They go on talking about Classics vs. Hits, old vs. new. It’s all about who’s better and topping the previous performance.
The Closing: The two go on to perform a couple songs of their own, back and fourth(“6 Foot 7 Foot” and “Rich As Fuck,” “All Me” and “Worst Behavior,” “No Worries” and “A Milli,” “Trophies” and “Started From The Bottom”) until they reach the last three songs of the night: The Motto, Believe Me and HYFR. Although, HYFR can almost be considered more of an encore of the encores. Wayne tries to walk off after Believe Me, but Drake pulls him back in asking if that’s really it. The two then proceed to perform the song that would close off the show with some dope fireworks and a lit crowd.
Summary: This show was definitely one for the books for anyone who was lucky enough to witness, including myself. But if you were not able to attend, don’t you worry, there are so many videos out there that will more than satisfy your curiosity about the show. The two took endless shots at one another while maintaining an enormous mutual respect towards each other. Wayne closes off the show with a few words on how he still able to be here thanks to Drake, whom acknowledges the same about his mentor. He also says, “we [the audience, Drake and himself] ain’t shit without the man up above, believe that” and “we ain’t shit without y’all.” The latter, of course, saying Drake and himself aren’t anything without their fans.
Who knew that rappers believed in God and were grateful for their fans… I always thought rappers worshipped the devil and were selfish, ill-mannered, individuals because they talk about sex and say bad words. Hmm, maybe society is wrong, who knows. – Daniel Brojas
