A$AP Ferg & Tory Lanez
May 31, 2016
Marquee Theatre – Tempe, AZ
The heat wave that struck Tempe this week did not stop fans from waiting hours to see A$AP Ferg and Tory Lanez hit the stage at The Marquee Theatre. The two rappers have been co-headlining on The Level Up Tour this past month in major cities, such as New Orleans and Austin. Since Ferg recently released his sophomore album Always Strive and Prosper and Lanez is preparing the debut of his first album, this tour was highly anticipated. To get the crowd psyched for the duo to take the stage, J. Rob the Chief along with DJ Torch started off the entertaining night. The crowd loved interacting with the Phoenix native as he shared his music.
Opening up the night was Madeintyo (pronounced made in ty-o), whose name originates from spending the majority of his teen years in Tokyo, Japan. Although it was his first time performing in Arizona, Madeintyo was already well known among the crowd. Fans nearly sang every word along with this rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. His most popular songs of the night were Uber Everywhere and I Want. The crowd screamed in excitement when Tyo said, “I told you that Arizona was going to be the most lit!” Fans were so tired after turning up for Madeintyo’s set, that they chanted for water as the rapper left the stage, to which Tyo went backstage and grabbed a few water bottles to give the parched crowd. With his passionate energy, unique sound, and great stage presence, this 24-year-old rapper is definitely someone to look out for in the future.
Shortly after Madeintyo left the stage, Lanez brought the excitement of the crowd to a new level when he appeared out of the darkness singing Priceless. A$AP Ferg surprised fans by coming out next and singing his hit songs Shabba and New Level, along with special guest Marty Baller. Since the Level Up Tour is co-headlined, it only made sense that the two rappers switched off every couple of songs. This decision kept the energy level of the crowd up the entire night, and created a friendly competition between the two rap stars.
It was clear that the duo loved interacting with the crowd. At one point, Tory Lanez jumped into the crowd and was able to continue to perform standing while his fans held his two feet up. After spending quite some time crowd surfing, Lanez was accidentally pushed towards the front of the barricade to which Lanez yelled, “Do not push me to the f**king stage!” The Canadian rapper explained that he wanted to stay in the crowd because they were now family to him. Lanez seemed to love the attention from the crowd when he would ask, “What’s my name?” and wait for the crowd to eagerly scream back, “Tory Lanez!”
This show was not disappointing in the least. If anything, a few members of the crowd revealed how they wished the show lasted longer. Be sure to catch these two rappers sometime soon as they continue performing on The Level Up Tour across the U.S. throughout the month of June.
Review by: Jessica Padover
A$AP Ferg
Tory Lanez
Madeintyo