KID CUDI, BIG SEAN AND LOGIC at the Air Canada Centre, Thursday, October 3. Rating: NNN
Logic took the Air Canada Centre stage in front of an intimate crowd, but didn’t let that kill is vibe. The Maryland rapper -and recent Def Jam signee-nimbly ripped through his material showing off a lightning-fast flow.
At 7:40 Big Sean bounced into view and ramped up the energy, performing Mercy and Dance (A$$), then climbed atop a speaker to deliver his verse from Drake’s All Me before finishing with the GOOD Music collab Clique.
By the time Cudi emerged punctually at 9:10 pm – boasting an elaborate, larger-than-life set-up resembling a moon cave, wearing a spandex spacesuit complete with glowing orb on his chest – the crowd had filled in and the love-in began. Performing material from his three studio albums, the hip-hop/house genre-bender interacted with the crowd often and reminded them that Day ‘N’ Nite blew up in Canada well before America. “Y’all kept my lights on,” he said.
Mr. Rager – “dedicated to all the fucked up kids like me” – and Up, Up & Away were highlights, and Cudi’s Pursuit Of Happiness encore felt like a dance party that nobody wanted to end. Big Sean came out to close the show with First Chain before they both disappeared into the cave. All told: a 90-minute escape from reality.
