Tyga
25th January 2019
Trusts Arena, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Richard Myburgh.
Tyga rolled into Auckland City yesterday morning and immediately made the news – but for good reasons only; the Californian rapper being greeted with a traditional pōwhiri which he followed up with a pūkana of his own. Fast forward a few hours and Tyga soon had Trusts Arena wrapped around his little finger as he delivered a set to appease fans of both his old and new school music.
Dressed to impress his devotees poured in through the doors, VIP ticket holders immediately making their way to the front barrier to stake out best viewing position for their favourite artist. Starting the night off with a little kiwi flavour however was TY (aka Tyree of Smashproof); cutting an impressive figure on stage he soon had the audience on his side with a set that had a little something for everyone. Taking the crowd back to 2014 with ‘So What’ TY soon delivered his latest track ‘Spend It’ featuring none other than Avondale’s own MELODOWNZ; a sweet mix of hip-hop and R&B the song has plenty of good vibes to it. Finishing his set off with ‘Right Now’ and ‘Turn Me On’, TY certainly did himself proud.
To bridge the gap between TY and Tyga, NZ icon DJ Sir-Vere was on hand to deliver a heady set of tracks to keep the masses entertained. Dropping everything from ‘Win’ by Jay Rock through to the almost riotous ‘Mo Bamba’ by Sheck Wes his set mixed together artists from A$AP Ferg through to Gucci Mane before taking it old school with a little Dr. Dre’s ‘The Next Episode’ – hell even a little ‘Caroline’ from Aminé made its way in there. While no-one can argue that DJ Sir-Vere doesn’t know his music, as time edged on the crowd soon became hungry for Tyga, the DJ set possibly lasting just a tad longer than it should have.
Soon enough a call for fans to light up the room with their phones was being made, the arena plunged into darkness as excited screams from the large contingent of ladies pierced the air. Illuminated from behind by a giant screen displaying an angel defeating a demon across the letters LK – no doubt a reference to his own clothing label Last Kings – Tyga appeared in sunglasses and dripping in bling, his microphone almost in competition with his fingers for what was covered in more ice.
Bringing out the big hits early, Tyga knew how to get the Auckland audience on his side as he threw down tracks such as ‘The Motto’ featuring Drake as well as ‘Swish’. ‘Dip’ featuring none other than Nicki Minaj who just recently gave her own killer performance for Auckland fans had the ladies in VIP displaying some dance moves of their own, while on stage, Tyga was surrounded by a troupe of patent leather clad dancers who brought definite heat to the performance. But it wasn’t just the ladies who were on fire, pyro cannons lighting up the room and adding yet another element to what was already turning out to be an exceptional performance.
Breaking up his tracks with calls for the audience to make some noise for everything from having a good time to being there with their best friend, Tyga took it back in time for his day one fans, ‘Make It Nasty’ and ‘Get Her Tho’ seeing many in the crowd prove their worth by rapping the words. The hits kept coming as Tyga worked the stage, ensuring that corner to corner was covered as he hyped up the crowd with ‘Faded’, the ever popular ‘Rack City’ and ‘Ice Cream Man’ from his mixtape Fuk Wat They Talkin Bout. Often known for his collaborations, Tyga proceeded to drop three tracks that all feature Chris Brown; ‘Bitches n Marijuana’, ‘Loyal’ and ‘Ayo’ certainly all popular with the fans despite the recent controversy surrounding Brown and his latest allegations.
Heading into the home straight and Tyga decided to have some up close and personal time with his female fans, more than twenty ladies from the floor being brought up onto the stage straight after Tyga’s 2018 single ‘Taste’ which saw him achieve his first Top 40 hit in over three years. Asking his DJ to play ‘Bodak Yellow’ from none other than Cardi B who recently headlined Bay Dreams, the ladies gave it everything they had before Tyga dropped his sizzling latest offering ‘Girls Have Fun’ – his New Zealand fans obviously stoked to being hearing such fresh new material live. Double dipping into his set list, Tyga once again banged out ‘Dip’ and ‘Swish’ as he jumped down into the pit and rapped into people’s phones while making his way along the barrier – no doubt blowing up many followers Instagram pages – before leaving the stage and the bevy of ladies on it…
Displaying undeniable rapping skills and an ability to command an audience while keeping his shirt on Tyga may be famous for his relationships with reality stars – but it’s his music that talks loudest.
Were you there at Trusts Arena for this high energy hip hop show? Or have you seen Tyga perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
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