It was a spectacular night at the Honda Center when R&B singer Chris Brown put on a superb show for all his loyal fans. All walks of life, young and old, patiently waited in line chanting “We want Chris. We want Chris.” People wearing Chris Brown's Indigo t-shirts weren’t shy in taking selfies as they posed next to Brown’s tour bus. The radio station Power 106 added to the hysteria by playing many of the artist's greatest hits.
Finally, the doors opened up, security checked everyone’s belongings and off to their seats they went. Inside the arena was another fiasco—people dancing, laughing and just having a good time set the mood for the night.
Dallas rapper Yella Beezy was the first artist to set foot on stage. With his glaring gold chain and his mellow chill look, Beezy wasn’t playing as his dropped tracks like "Restroom Occupied," "Bacc at it again" and one of his hit bangers, ‘That’s On Me,’ in which he talks about the problems that come with rising fame. Beezy's stage presence was majestic. He knew how to interact with the crowd. He even jumped off stage to shake people's hands. If that’s not generous then I don’t know what is. But this born and bred Dallas rapper is one guy to look out for.
Yella Beezy
Massachusetts rapper Joyner Lucas was up next. First, he introduced the audience to a small comedic clip on-screen of him working as a car mechanic. Basically he was talking on the phone with a loved one who he hadn’t seen in a while and was telling them he was living a luxurious lifestyle, but in reality, he wasn’t. Then, he gets another phone call that changes his life. A friend calls Lucas and asks him if he wants to go on tour with Chris Brown. Lucas is so excited, he tells his rude boss that he quits. Following that, the screen went blank and Joyner Lucas walked on to the stage. I personally thought this was a smart and creative way to introduce himself. He performed various songs like "Devils Work," "I Don’t Die" and his controversial song "I’m Not a Racist" that speaks about racism in America and how apart blacks and whites are in how they see things in this country right now. At this point, the audience stood quiet actually feeling what Lucas had to say.
Joyner Lucas
His immersive storytelling is at its finest and he demonstrates this as a student and a master at his own craft. Lucas would stop at certain points and talk about Chris Brown. He asked the crowd if there was anyone who could dance like or better than Chris Brown. Lucas brought up a young man who excepted his challenge. I honestly think he did really well, but Lucas said he was “Aight.” Overall, Lucas is brilliant in his lyricism and a great storyteller; this man has a bright future.
Los Angeles rapper and singer Ty Dolla Sign—who by the way is beyond talented vocally and lyrically—walked out on stage gracefully, confidently and with an LA “swag.” Ty brought out his guitar, put on his "stunna" shades, and hypnotized the room with “Wavy” while standing before a starry video backdrop, the supernova hitting every note just perfectly.
Ty can be either hyper or really chill so the anticipation can really be mysterious; you just never know what he could do next. Ty introduced many songs from his Beach House 3 album like "Message in a Bottle," "Love you better" and, personally one of my favorites, "Blasé" from his Free TC album. He also played "Paranoid." His DJ Dre Sinatra played all tracks and also hyped up the restless crowd.
The finale came with what Ty called his favorite song to perform, “Blasé.” Ty hopped off stage to give hugs as he walked around with his guitar. Smiling from ear to ear his presence was even more energetic than when he started.
He had declared The Honda Center a no-judgment zone, but the 1,000 plus people in the room were judging him and the verdict was overwhelmingly in his favor. Ultimately, he ended up giving his guitar to one lucky fan. He signed it and took a selfie with them. This show was definitely one for the books and memorable.
Ty Dolla Sign
Singer-songwriter Tory Lanez had an unstoppable performance that night. Singing a slew of his major hits like 2016’s "All the girls" to 2019’s "Feel it too," the Canadian born singer not only sang his lungs out, but he also served as a great MC and stage performer. Lanez is full of energy and life and had so much stage presence that he had the arena turn off all of the lights. Lanez then asked everyone to turn on their cellphone lights and hold them up in the air. Over 1,000 people participated while he took a selfie with them. Lanez never forgot the R&B artists who came before him and paved the way. He sang a couple hit songs from the '90s by many different artist, igniting his fans as they took a trip down memory lane. Lanez, a genius at what he does, paid homage to his idol Chris Brown and thanked him for the opportunity to perform alongside him to a sold-out crowd.
Finally the man of the hour, the one everyone came to see, Chris Brown appeared on stage in a silhouette formed behind the Indigo album. His back up singers praised him as he imitated some of Michael Jackson's dance moves. Chris Brown aka Chris Breezy, with his swagger and delightful boyish smile, left thousands of women screaming, some even saying, “Marry me, Chris” and “I love you!” And his vocals and raps were firm and showed strong excitement. Brown explained to his fans that his new album would focus on "energy, love, light, and happiness," saying that it reminds him of his previous albums Chris Brown, Graffiti and F.A.M.E.
Brown went on to say, “So y’all know my style. We just want to make sure y’all have fun, right? Y’all came here to party and have fun?” Even though controversy surrounds Brown, he seems to keep a positive attitude and doesn’t let any of it affect his performance.
Brown's new album includes 32 songs and an extended version. He only performed a few songs from Indigo and the rest were old songs from his previous albums.
The second half of the show saw Brown wearing a Dodgers jersey. He kicked off the show with the title track setting the mood for the dance-heavy activity. He then quickly followed with “Juice," "Take a risk” and “Girl of my dream” before taking the setlist back in time.
Overall, Brown put on a strong and solid show. His Indigo album lived up to its name. All of his 32 tracks are dance-worthy. Even though his personal life controversy took a major blow, Brown is in no way, shape or form ready to slow down. And Saturday night just proved that. Everyone left satisfied, knowing the show was worth every penny.
