The moment we had all been waiting for arrived Friday night at Enterprise Center. Cash Money and No Limit joined forces to bring New Orleans hip hop to its unofficial French sister city. Now the quality of the show depends on who you ask. Some folks got their whole life, while others were giving “they could have kept that” energy, with most of the shade directed at No Limit. What I will say – and all the folks who suffered through whatever that was No Limit brought to the STL in 2019 will vouch for me – is that Friday’s concert was an improvement by leaps and bounds! St. Louis gets a bad rap for being a funny acting audience. However, the soulful army that marched up Clark Street in all kinds of camo gear despite the shenanigans of the last “show,’ let everyone know that we are No Limit soldiers for life. What I will also say is that Cash Money and No Limit let somebody who didn’t rep for either squad show them up. Boosie’s bite-sized set gave me exactly what I expected from him and that box. Juvie got it in for Cash Money, too. Now some of y’all were complaining about the energy level of No Limit like they’re not 30 years in the game. I’d like to see some of y’all try to hop around like you did in the 1900s. I can’t even wake up like I did 30 years ago. I kicked the covers off too aggressively the other morning and thought I was gonna have rent a motorized scooter!
Two hip hop shows, two hits. Now, I’m gonna keep it a buck and say I had my doubts about what the crowd was gonna look like for Show Me Fest 2 with DaBaby and ‘nem at Chaifetz the day after No Limit and Cash Money had us on 10 at Enterprise Center. But clearly one has nothing to do with the other. I also should’ve known that Phil and his Liquid Assets crew have been in the game long enough to know what they are doing. The mamas, daddies, aunties and uncs were at No Limit/Cash Money. I’m also gonna include grandparents for that Hershel who popped in camouflage overalls. He looked like he had a deer laid out in the back of his pickup truck waiting to be skinned. But this post is about DaBaby, Moneybagg Yo and their fans so let me get back to that. The nieces, nephews IG baddies and another term for young men who have the capacity to cut up that is NSFP were deep up in that Chaifetz! When I tell you the way I kicked on Friday and Saturday was like night and day – but I had a time both evenings. I don’t know what Moneybagg Yo’s hair is going through, but he was blinged out! If I wore jewelry that heavy, they would have had to push me up on stage in a wheelchair. DaBaby showed us that him jumping from a two-story stage was not a one-off. He hopped up in that crowd like he used to run the hurdles or did gymnastics in high school. And thanks DaBaby, for recognizing that STL is a city full of baddies. The way I grabbed a hand full of air and said, “And is! Period…” you wouldn’t have thought that I was old enough to be everybody but Moneybagg’s mama.
A different day party. As fine as Cornell Young IV is on “A Different World,” that screen does Shaquille no justice! Let me describe my experience of seeing him in real life thanks to Action St. Louis and Morgan Casey’s Voter Day Party. It was like I had been watching a 540p TV for decades before I hit a lick on a Black Friday 4K flat screen. Aaron Pierre Jr. is something to see, just like his non-biological father! And so is Cornell’s actual biological brother David Vann, who was on deck for the afternoon. Dudes with locs are not even my jam, but I will make every exception for him. And he had the nerve to have a cute personality too. I was batting what’s left of my Salute lashes like I really had a chance! He came back home to get folks energized about going to the polls, and the party was the exact right vibe. I want to shout out Kayla, Ohun, Morgan and everybody else involved with doing their part to get the young folks out to vote. And I’m really hoping that y’all slide up to your polling station like y’all stepped to the left and right at The Marquee! And shout out to Andre and Melanie for making your girl feel like I never left, even though I hadn’t been through in a minute. I won’t stay away so long next time.