Powerhouse 2014: A Legendary Night For Rap And R&B in Philadelphia PA

Powerhouse
October 31, 2014
Wells Fargo Center- Philadelphia, PA

Powerhouse filled the arena with over 20,000 fans on Halloween night; the place was packed! There were certainly no empty seats in sight. Wells Fargo and iHeart Radio staff were kind and accommodating and kept things moving and as organized as possible throughout the chaos. Aside from waiting on a few artists, the night was fast paced. The lineup, however, was all over the place until the second half of the night when things finally began to go as scheduled. Philly’s own, Brotherly Love opened up pretty early. Though a lot of fans were there and able to catch their set, many fans unfortunately missed it. Shortly after, contest winner, Diamonds In Da Rough performed an incredibly short 5 minute set. The performance consisted of 2 male rappers and a interactive female DJ from Atlantic City, NJ. They did a great job setting the mood and amping up the fans for the rest of the night. Taking the stage next, hailing from Atlanta, was rapper, K. Camp. The artist kept the crowd going performing hit songs, Blessing,Cut Her Off and Oh No.

Kid Ink came out and tore up the stage playing great material including hit single, Body Language among others. Fans were going nuts as Ink appealed to the crowd, finishing out his 10 minute set. Jeremih switched up the mood, throwing a little R&B into the mix. He performed Birthday Sex, melting hearts all over the venue. Ladies were even tossing their panties on stage. The artist also performed fan favorite, Don’t Tell Em as well as other fun numbers such as, Down on me” and Ima Star. Following Jeremih’s performance, Powerhouse 99 took some time to honor Little League champs and Philly’s own, Taney Dragons’ baseball team.

French Montana, Bad Boy/ Coke Boys artist, came out swingin’ putting on quite a show. Montana had the crowd pumped up and rapping a long to hit songs, Ain’t Worried About Nothing, Pop That and Shot Caller. He played tons of other material including, Ocho Cinco and ever so popular, Marble Floors. Once the artist finished up his set there was another brief changeover. During this time, the Power 99 youth dance team came out to show their skill to the audience. They performed select pop dance routines to some of the hottest pop/hip-hop songs today.

Once the break was over, Ne-Yo and his dancers graced the stage in their Undead themed makeup and Halloween festive attire. He added a little more R&B into the night’s legendary lineup performing songs such as, So Sick, and Mario’s, Let Me Love You. He performed a variety of other great songs including hit song, Sexy Love. Next the artist included some Halloween themed music which ended up being Michael Jackson’s, Thriller intro, leading directly into his last song of the night. The talented musician ended his remarkable set with fan favorite and hit song, Closer. Migos came out shortly after, for a brief set in their decorative body suit attire. Fans were loving it! With an introduction by T-Roy and thousands of screaming girls, Jeezy, aka The Snowman, came out next. The rapper looked fresh in all white with his beanie and shades on exclaimed to the audience, “It’s gon snow tonight!” He played a solid 25 minute set keeping it diverse with both old and new material. Jeezy performs a great set with songs, SupaFreak, and Put On among others. Just finishing up with Put On, a city projection in the background, the rapper addresses all his “Real Philly niggas”. He followed with, “If your dreams don’t scare you, you ain’t dreamin’ big enough, homie”. Later, he had the crowd light up the arena for Soul Survivor followed by Go Getta and I Luv It. He continued his set by acknowledging every section of the arena telling the fans to “Make some noise! Can we turn this shit into a gangsta party tonight?!” Jeezy finished out a strong set playing more great material such as, My Nigga, and R.I.P.

J.Cole took the stage shortly after Jeezy and performed a variety of great material. Some of which he performed were, Nobody’s Perfect, hit song Work Out, and She Knows. Throughout the duration of his set, J.Cole gradually introduced his band. He also showed his appreciation by thanking his fans for their continuous support. He introduced his friend Bas, welcoming him out on stage to perform the next number. They perform Bas’s, My Nigga Just Made Bail together and dedicate it to Meek Mill. Trey Songz also joined later in the set for song, Crooked Smile in which he finished up the song acapalla. J.Cole finished out his incredible set with hit song and fan favorite, Power Trip.

T.I. comes out with Halloween spirit in his Grim Reaper mask, and shades, with his signature look; putting his beanie on sideways. This artist too, plays a variety of great numbers. Top Back, and 24’s, being a couple of T.I.’s most anticipated songs. A fight broke out side stage, later in his set. T.I. proudly acknowledged the activity following with something similar to…”You know it’s a T.I. show when there’s a fight side stage”. He continued his set with U Don’t Know Me and dedicates the following Whatever You Like to all the single ladies. Shortly after, he performs one of his latest records, Mediocre, dedicating it to all the bad bitches. He continued his set with more popular songs, even off his earlier albums such as Bring Em Out and What You Know. T.I. continued the supporting the freedom of Meek Mill’ trend that most artists participated in throughout the night. There is no denying that Meek Mill should feel loved by all the support he receives from his friends. Later, T.I. brings a bunch of friends and family out on stage, finishing out the set with one heck of a party! Special guest, Trey Songz, opened up the next set in his slick red & black leather jacket with Bottoms Up then played some slower jams winning the girls’ hearts. Songz takes his jacket off for an intimate performance of Dive In, and performing a fan favorite off his latest record, Touchin, Lovin. He wins over all the ladies in the crowd with his charming smirk and romantic lyrics. Songz keeps the crowd going with another hit, Na Na. 2nd special guest of the night, Chris Brown comes out in his Pharrell William inspired hat, red varsity jacket and matching red bandana tied around his leg, stealing the stage with his flawless dance moves. Both he and his dancers are full of energy as they carry out their incredible performance. Chris Brown performs a variety of great songs on both his old and new albums. Strip, Excuse Me Miss, and New Flame to name a few. He also performs hit song, Show Me featuring Kid Ink in which he invites Ink back on stage to perform it with him. Being two of the hottest R&B singers in the industry today, Songz and Chris finish out their phenomenal performance, bringing tons of screaming female fans to tears. Reigning from Philly, up and coming artist, Quilly takes the stage next.

Quilly performs his hit single, Real One that has received national radio recognition in addition to other material off his independent self-titled album. The crowd was very receptive and supportive of Quilly and his performance.

From NYC, Bobby Shmurda, up and coming rap talent, was up next. The crowd went nuts for Shmurda’s performance. His hit record, Hot Nigga, is doing so well it’s hit #1 on rap charts. Shmurda also performed a great set, finishing up with T.I., Trey Songz, and other Powerhouse performers, and friends joining him on stage for the infamous, Shmoney Dance, ending the show with a bang! The crowd danced along the rest of the night. It was an exciting night for Rap and R&B in Philadelphia PA!

Review by: Liana Marie

Bobby Shmurda