BestCoast Connection Tour Review – by Max Blackman

As YG’s DJ took the stage and began spinning tracks to pump up the crowd, you could sense the excitement in the air. Coming off a year of much acclaim, the Los Angeles rapper descended onto Silver Spring to perform some of his biggest hits – and that’s exactly what he did. Wearing his signature red “Bompton” fitted cap, and riding a modified BMX bike, YG entertained the crowd with his brash style and heavily synthesized beats harkening to the heyday of E-40 and Too $hort. The crowd was hyped throughout YG’s set, and songs like “Who Do You Love,” “Bicken Back Been Bool” and “My Ni**a” were particularly well received. He also had very good stage presence, engaging the crowd in-between every song. Whether it was to promote A$AP Ferg’s upcoming set, stir the crowd into an aggressive frenzy or holla at some pretty women in the crowd, YG kept everyone engaged. He even had some surprises up his sleeve, bringing out Instagram star “A Town” for a number of songs to hype up the crowd. After an hour-long set, and the throwing of multiple gang signs, YG sauntered off the stage with his posse and it was A$AP Ferg’s time to shine.

Without warning, a warm-up DJ set or any type of hype, the lights went down at The Fillmore. Chants of “A$AP!” filled the theater the first song from his past album Trap Lord played (titled “Let It Go”), and Ferg rushed onto the stage, elevating the energy of the crowd further and further. Wearing a white long-sleeved shirt covered in the Ferg-logo from his latest mixtape, he jumped around the stage solo and got the crowd riled up to launch into a more somber moment. With the recent passing of the founder of the A$AP Mob, A$AP Yams, Ferg paid tribute to him with a moment of silence and implored the crowd to “party like Yams would’ve wanted.” And that they did. Running through songs on his last album, latest mixtape and even extending into earlier content, Ferg kept the energy up throughout the performance. Ending his hour-long set with girls on-stage, balloons strewn throughout The Fillmore and raucous crowd wanting more, the show was action-packed with constant fluctuations in energy between songs the crowd rapped all of the words to.

Both YG and A$AP Ferg brought their all for this show in Silver Spring. After the passing of Yams, it would have been very easy for Ferg to cancel the show, but even as he said, that’s not what Yams would’ve wanted. He would’ve wanted everyone to have fun, turn up, and enjoy the show. And that’s precisely what the crowd did. The combination of Ferg and YG back-to-back proved better than expected, and although their music is not exactly similar, the same type of energy and feeling was there. It was a party in The Fillmore Sunday night, and YG and A$AP Ferg made it a must-attend event. This is definitely a show to see if either of the pair comes back to the area in the future, I know I’ll try to be there.

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