I stopped by U Street Music Hall last night to check out Theophilus London's sold-out show. He's an underground hip-hop artist with international reach who does a chilled out, hard-to-classify mix of backpacker/alt rap and new wave, seasoned with a dash of progressive R&B. There was a young, multicultural but predominately African-American crowd at the show, and he's going to be one to watch this year. I predict that with the right marketing of his Lovers Holiday EP and a more precisely defined musical ethos, he's going to crossover to the mainstream in a Kid Cudi kind of way.
The show was Brooklyn-based Theophilus' first D.C. appearance, and the brother was a model of how a hip-hop artist should act when they show up in our city. He didn't keep us waiting, radiated a constant stream of infectious, positive energy from the stage (my favorite quotes--"You progressive muthaf*kas out here on a Tuesday night!" "You guys are so f*kin' sexy and rad!") and gave much love to the fans, even tweeting that D.C. had the hottest women in America. :)
I was a little surprised that he's still using the term "swag," but other than that, the show was on point. He yelped like MJ at times and smiled and partied like it was his birthday, well, because it was--he turned 25 at midnight. He had only a DJ backing him onstage, but put on a satisfying show that had the crowd in a good mood, bobbing heads and singing along to "Flying Overseas," "Why Even Try," and "Girls, Girls $."
My photos were less than stellar--so no concert pics this time.
No comments:
Post a Comment