With banger after banger after banger and some “M-M-M-M-Maybach Music’s” in the cut, Ricky Rozay hit The Guvernment stage this weekend, packing years worth of hits into an hour set that nearly knocked down the venue walls pre-mature to its upcoming demolition set for January 2015.
The night started off more like a jam (presented by Flow 93.5 FM) than a hip-hop show. Heels and tight dresses packed into the two-story club as drinks flowed, backwoods smoke billowed around through the thick air and couples grinded to trap music. Everyone else seemed to stand by the bar, g-checking each other. There were no openers as time ticked towards 12.
Life-sized cut outs of Ciroc, Belaire Rose and Rozay himself framed the stage as the crowd turned up to the 50 per cent French Montana and 50 per cent Drake that the DJ spun. Rumours circled through the venue that since French Montana was in town with his new bae Khloe Kardashian, both hosting the MMVA after party at Muzik, that he would grace the stage with Rozay, and the DJ’s constant shout-outs seemed to only confirm the buzz.
But no Frenchie.
Rick Ross billowed onto the stage as camera phones flashed off his shades and many chains and the Boss immediately dived into hits from “BMF” and “Hustlin” to “I’m Not A Star”, “Diced Pineapples” and “Devil Is A Lie”, taking breaks in between, as the Maybach woman called out repeatedly. He took selfies with fans and quite a few moments to advertise his black bottle champagne and Ciroc, almost like he was conducting commercials in between songs.
There was nothing spectacular about Rozay live as a performer, however. He seemed to be lip-synching, sweating and grunting profusely, but with stand out verses on “I’m On One” and “Aston Martin Music”, his Boss presence was undeniable.
Rozay proved yet again how he has earned his longevity in the game with fire verse after fire verse. But hits don’t necessarily mean an artist can rely on great music to present a quality show. Some effort would have been nice.
He took a moment to bring out boxing champion Jean Pascal who flexed with his championship belts, but no one seemed to know or care who he was. People came for the music.
The set length was disappointingly short for those who had spent the $90 to see him in concert, especially since many of his newer songs weren’t even performed. How are you going to have a Mastermind tour and not perform the album Ricky? He closed off the night by playing Meek Mill’s newest single “I Don’t Know” as everyone looked around confused and began to leave.
Regardless, Rozay proved yet again how he has earned his longevity in the game with fire verse after fire verse. But hits don’t necessarily mean an artist can rely on great music to present a quality show. Some effort would have been nice.
As for those that felt like they didn’t get their money’s worth, well they stole the cardboard cut outs from the stage. [Insert grunt.]
Words By. Samantha O’Connor + Photos By. Candace Nyaomi
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