Even with a missing headliner, the revolving door of popular hip-hop acts that was Super Jam 2016 was a win for audiences – and it’s presenter Hot 104.1 FM – Saturday night at Scottrade Center.
The popular summer concert show has developed a brand that seems to supersede the lineup as thousands of young people poured into the arena to hear a series of abbreviated sets from the artists behind some of their favorite radio hits.
After some mixes by the Hot 104.1 DJ Squad, relatively unknown Canadian rapper Belly kicked off the show.
Though Belly’s a Juno winner in his native country (Canada’s equivalent to the Grammy Award), most of the crowd – who was still in the process of arriving when his set began – had no clue what they were in for when he came on stage in a boxing robe that honored Muhammad Ali.
By the end of his mini-set, he had certainly earned some new fans, with a confident high-energy show that was polished well beyond his fame level.
St. Louis natives rose to the bar set by Belly for their contribution to Super Jam 2016 for the STL Mixtape portion of the show. So did Super Jam Madness winner Mark Q and hip-hop duo JGE.
DJ Luke Nasty, JR, and Dreezy were among those followed.
Of the lineup of rising rappers, Desiigner has the most buzz with his Future carbon copy hit “Panda.” With a set that began and ended with him pouring his water bottles into the crowd, he would be the most remember for his high impact presence as he stomped the stage down and bounced incessantly from start to finish.
The Super Jam audience would get a surprise snippet from The Rickey Smiley Morning Show co-host Da Brat, with Smiley providing hilarious support as a 1990s backup dancer.
Brat, fellow Chicago rapper/singer Dreezy, St. Louis own’ Mai Lee and singer K. Michelle were the lone females on the testosterone heavy roster.
K. Michelle was the only R&B representative among the mainstream acts, but she matched them pound for pound on the adult content by mostly focusing on her 2012 mixtape “0 [expletive] Given.”
Her set was the first of the extended performances and resonated well with the crowd – particularly the ladies. Michelle managed to hold the attention of the hip-hop loving crowd by keeping it upbeat, save for the mid-tempo moderate R&B hit“Can’t Raise A Man.”
The audience was vocal in their discontent with Hot 104.1 FM Operation Manager Boogie D’s announcement that there would be no Young Thug performance, but they quickly regrouped –mainly because the next act was on stage before they had a chance to let their disappointment marinate.
By the time The G. Unit squad led by 50 Cent settled into their set, Super Jam fans seemed to have forgotten about Young Thug altogether.
The label’s crew powered through a medley of some of the rapper’s most recognizable hits. He was billed as the Effen Vodka Legend Performer.
After an “In Da Club” encore, Rapper (and St. Louis Regular) 2 Chainz took the stage for what was the evening’s best showing.
He’s been to town four times in the past three years, but St. Louis rap fans don’t seem to tire of the Atlanta Rapper’s catchy “trap” style. The same can be said of the Super Jam 2016 crowd as they rapped along to every word of “All Me,” “Watch Out” and others. They happily rode with him back to his Playaz Circle days for a taste of “Duffle Bag Boy” and were on their feet for his “Birthday” finale.
Fetty Wap paled in comparison to 2 Chainz for his performance that was surprisingly brief, perhaps in lieu of time – but maybe not.
The length of the four song set was underwhelming, but the crowd didn’t seem to grumble as they made their exit, maybe because Wap had actually performed every hit he had to give.
