The Real Show
November 18, 2017
The Forum – Los Angeles, CA
The Real Show was back again for another year full of top Hip-Hop acts who all came together and packed the Forum in Inglewood, CA.
Cozz and Zoey Dollaz opened the night with short but strong sets, getting the crowd ready for what was to come. Jessie Reyez was the most unique performance of the night, from the way she sang to the way she commanded the stage, she is definitely someone that we’ll likely be hearing very much of in 2018. She kept the crowd excited and intrigued and was the shock of the night in terms of entertainment.
The show was moving along smoothly with quick transitions and not much time in between acts. Belly, who performed at last year’s Real Show was a fan favorite, kicking off his set with Might Not, a song he wrote for The Weeknd.
Young California was next and featured the station’s DJ’s who played some of today’s latest hits. But this wasn’t just another DJ act as they brought out special guests including Ty Dolla $ign, SOBxRBE, RJ Ommnio, O.T. Genasis, Rae Sremmurd and more. Young California did a great job entertaining the crowd with great special guests.
Continuing the night was Yo Gotti since Cardi B was apparently running late. It seemed better in the end because while Yo Gotti performed his hits, Down In The DM, Rake It Up and included his friends Rae Sremmurd as his special guests for the evening.
Cardi B had the entire building on their feet and anxious, awaiting her performance. She came out on stage with a couple back up dancers and smiled and stuck her tongue out to the crowd. She remained very upbeat and energetic throughout her 4 song set. Of course, she performed her most popular hit, Bodak Yellow but also introduced some of her “famous friends”, being A$AP Rocky and G-Eazy to help her perform No Limit. The crowd sang back every word to her and danced alongside her twerking. Out of all the performers, I believe she was the most highly anticipated of them all and delivered on all fronts.
Following Cardi B was French Montana who just brought the energy level pretty low, following Cardi B’s performance. She had so many people interested in her that it was difficult for French Montana to maintain it. However, following French Montana was the man of the hour, J. Cole who had previously had 2 sold out nights at the Forum.
With a full band, J. Cole came out to perform a short but exciting set, which I believe was cut short due to the hard curfew that the venue had set in place. While J. Cole went over the curfew by several minutes, I do believe his set was meant to be longer. With the time he used, he performed both his hits, as well as songs from his debut album, for his fans who had been there from day one.
While the time constraint forced some sets to be cut shorts, all the artists this year gave the fans what they wanted. This was definitely a show to remember full of special guests, entertaining artists, and a look at some up and coming talent that will become household names in just a few years time. We look forward to next year’s Real Show!
Review by: Nicole Lemberg
J. Cole
French Montana
Cardi B
Yo Gotti
Belly
Jessie Reyez
Young California
Zoey Dollaz
Cozz
