RICH HOMIE QUAN at the Phoenix, Tuesday, February 17. Rating: N
Nothing makes a rap show less enjoyable than poor planning, and unfortunately for the sparse crowd at the Phoenix on Tuesday, the Rich Homie Quan show was rife with it. By the time 25-year-old emcee took the stage 20 minutes after midnight, many fans had been waiting for several hours, worn out by classic hip-hop show misdirection (i.e., a DJ saying, “Are y’all ready for Rich Homie Quan? He’s up next!” before proceeding to bring out several more openers).
Despite the long wait, the crowd livened up when Quan took the stage to his celebratory 2014 hit Walk Thru. Through a deft combination of up-by-my-bootstraps tales of aspiration, fun-loving party jams, and emotionally bare love songs, Quan has outlived a massive song many suspected cannibalized his career (Type Of Way) to craft a compelling persona with a strong sense of upward mobility. He kept the hungry crowd engaged early on with popular mixtape cuts like They Don’t Know and Milk Marie, but it wasn’t long before the room slumped with exhaustion.
To make matters worse, Quan liberally checked his phone throughout his 25-minute set, his eyes most certainly on a clock that counted down the minutes until his contractual obligations were fulfilled. Not even the occasional flashes of trademark charisma that has endeared him to a broad swath of progressive rap fans could speak louder than that.
