“King of Trap” comes to G-Town
Clifford Harris Jr., better known by his stage name T.I., performed at the Guelph Concert Theatre as part of his Us or Else tour.
The bill, presented by R-Evolution Media and Guelph Underground Movement, was filled with Southern Ontario hip-hop artists and groups, with five separate acts taking the stage before T.I.
Fordy & Steezy Knicks, SplitVizion, Gon Gotti, and the Hive Mind Collective spent their sets showcasing their skills and hyping the crowd up, but the energy was raised to another level by the final opener, Robbie G.
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Robbie G. brought the Guelph Concert Theatre alive with his lightning fast flow and insane energy. When he was on stage, it was difficult to tell who was having more fun—the performer or the audience. Even a slight tech glitch couldn’t trip him up as he got everyone in the crowd pumped up for the main performance of the night.
T.I. jumped on stage and the audience erupted. Known for hits like “That’s All She Wrote” ft. Eminem and “Dead and Gone” ft. Justin Timberlake, T.I. is a major name in the hip-hop scene.
Along with Young Jeezy and Gucci Mane, T.I. helped popularize the sub-genre of trap music, a fact which he reminded the crowd of by calling himself the “King of Trap” throughout the night. T.I. opened his set with “Rubber Band Man” from his 2003 sophomore effort Trap Muzik.
After over 20 years performing, T.I. hasn’t lost any of the drive or energy that allowed him to rise to the top, and he got the crowd moving as he danced across the stage to “U Don’t Know Me.”
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The concert was taken to a whole new level when T.I. pulled out one of his greatest hits, “Whatever You Like.” As one of the most popular songs of his career, the crowd sang every word, almost drowning out T.I. in the process. With nine studio albums of material, T.I. played it smart by mixing some of his newer, more unfamiliar material, with classics from his backlog like “Bring ‘Em Out” and “What You Know.” These throwback songs were the ones that got the biggest reaction from the audience, with the crowd dancing along with T.I. and singing out the chorus whenever it came around.
Aside from the music, T.I. took time out of his set to talk about the issues currently going on in America. After telling the audience to work hard, get an education, and follow their dreams, T.I. hyped the crowd back up while also urging his fans to judge others based on their words and actions, not their appearance.
“If you think a person should be judged by their character, and not by the colour of their skin, then make some noise!” he said before launching into one of his other monster hit, “Live your Life.”
T.I. closed the show by showing his appreciation for the fans who came out to support him at the Guelph Concert Theatre. “I want to thank everyone for welcoming me to your hood,” he said before taking his final bow and leaving the stage.
Photos courtesy of Mike Farkas/G3 Designs.