WIZ KHALIFA / LOGIC 8.19.2022
Words and Photos By Faith Nguyen
The Vinyl Verse Tour Shows Out for Hometown Show in the DMV.
On August 19th a swarm of Hip-hop fans flooded into the large outdoor arena known as Jiffy Lube Live. Despite its rather remote location in Bristow, Virginia, over an hour away from Washington D.C., fans came from all over Virginia, D.C., and Maryland to attend the performance. Many opted to tailgate all evening in the spacious parking lots which surround JLL, an experience that attracts many to this stadium. While the sun began to dim, so too did the muddled sounds of various personal speakers in the fields, as the music from the main stage began to grow louder and louder.
Warming up the crowd were high-energy performances by up-and-coming hip hop artists 24k Golden and Rubi Rose, as well as sets by DJ Drama full of crowd interaction. Soon though, the crowd grew impatient, buzzing with anticipation for the double-headlining act. They, however, were soon met with relief. The stage grew black and cheers roared, then a massive LED screen lit up, illuminating a tiered platform with Wiz Khalifa at the top. He began the show with We Dem Boyz and Black and Yellow, two of the most popular of his many mainstream hits. The immediate VIP barricade, the seated crowd, and the countless others on the lawn behind them all danced, sang, and smoked along with Wiz Khalifa. His performance was filled with everything from references to smoking, to support of legalizing weed, to even him taking a hit of a massive bong mid-song. He even included his audience in the party, tossing both inflatable toy blunts and real joints into the crowd. Beyond this though, Wiz Khalifa’s crowd interaction and stage presence were incredibly impressive throughout the whole set. On stage, some modern rappers act too cool to care. But as he paraded back and forth on stage, showing off his muscles and playing with smoke cannons, it was clear that Wiz Khalifa is a performer who truly loves performing.
As Wiz Khalifa's performance wound down, the excitement in the venue continued to rise. The last act among the long list of performers that night was Logic, who, before the Vinyl Verse Tour, hadn’t played a show since 2019. Beyond this highly anticipated return show, the Maryland-born rapper and producer was also playing in the area in which he grew up. Both of these aspects drew the crowd's energy to a breaking point, which exploded the second Logic came running onto the stage. Jumping right into the verse of Keanu Reeves off of his 2019 album, it was clear that he had lost none of his talent and energy during his nearly 3-year break from music. Yet, according to Logic, the energy from the crowd was still not enough to justify the importance of his out-of-retirement, homecoming show, so he quickly stopped the music, playfully demanding more from his fans. “Let’s run this back!” he ordered, and as his track played for a second time, the crowd was pushed to even further excitement.
Logic’s performance felt different than a typical rap show. After each song, he brought the energy back down to a much more personal level, opting to tell stories and talk with the crowd in between explosive performances. Because of this, beyond jumping around on stage and rapping with insane speed, Logic’s set almost felt like a stand-up act. He humorously told of his childhood best friends, the restaurants he was fired from, and the trouble he got into as a middle schooler. The nostalgia that Logic felt being at his hometown show was very apparent, and it gave the whole performance a deeply personal feeling that seemed to resonate deeply with his fans. His songs were also interjected with shout-outs to various important people in the crowd. Among them were his step-mom and godmother, to whom he sang happy birthday; his neighbor, who fed him on nights when he had nothing to eat; and his hometown friends, who were the first to ever believe in his music. “These are my people!” he repeated and he pointed through the crowd. Whether it was the air of his hometown show, the presence of people who made Logic who he is, or just Logic's style of performance in general, everyone attending the Vinyl Verse tour that night felt like they were part of Logic's "people."
WIZ KHALIFA
LOGIC
