Rick Ross show: Teflon don or ‘the flop don’?

Promoted as the biggest show to grace the Kenyan music scene so far this year, the Rick Ross concert last week has received mixed reviews from those who attended. HILARY KIMUYU looks back at the visit, from the star’s arrival in Nairobi to the night’s performances.

HYPE

He came, bawsed and eventually took to the stage, but was all the hype that had been building up for months lived up to? Hip-hop has had “hypebeasts” before the word was even properly invented.

Sometimes, whether or not it is truly deserved, some rappers generate so much adulation and excitement so fast, that an epic let-down is inevitable.

American rapper William Leonard Roberts II — popularly known as Rick Ross and revered for his lyrical prowess and for pulling major crowds with his popular chants — landed in Nairobi last Friday for his maiden performance.

Flanked by heavy-set bodyguards, he waved to the crowds as he was directed towards the press conference area. Despite the battery of journalists who had camped at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) for hours waiting for him, the presser lasted less than 15 minutes.

Annoyingly, he only answered one question before being whisked away to his hotel by police escort and a convoy of sleek vehicles, ranging from Range Rovers, to Mercedes Benz AMG, BMW i8, V8 Land Cruiser to Sparks, from Ongata Line Sacco.

“I’m excited to be here; will make sure me and my team make the performance a moment to remember forever,” he said.

SHOCKED FANS

Yes, many will remember his performance. Many of his local fans were shocked at an “unfamiliar-looking” Ross, which forced some cheeky Kenyans to run a side-by-side comparison of his all-glammed-up posters and his “ordinary” look.

Others even demanded that the rapper clears the air on why he looked so different on arrival at JKIA.

The "Purple Lamborghini" hit maker has had a rough year thus far, being hospitalised and placed on life support in March. While he seemed to be doing well after recovering from his health issues, Rozay reportedly suffered a setback just hours before he flew for his Kenyan concert, experiencing seizures and difficulty in breathing before a performance in New York City prior to his April 23 performance. A representative of Rick Ross on Tuesday strongly denied the reports, saying there were “no health issues at all” with Ross during the NYC trip.

The “Bawse” has a history of seizures. In October 2011, he was hospitalised after suffering two notable seizures on two separate flights. He was placed in intensive hospital care for a time and was aided by an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine (ECMO) to buttress his heart and lung functions.

NRGWave, the organisers of the event, looked like they missed the cue on how to hold a big event. The microphones malfunctioned when the curtain raisers were on stage. Revellers could not tell who the security mandated for the event were because they had no uniform. The only difference between the VIP area and the regular section was a tent and a few tables placed strategically.

'RAW DEAL'

From the VIP section, one could see scuffles on the other side as people either fought or were being robbed because the few bouncers could not control the crowd. A few fans managed to jump on stage to try and take pictures with the rapper, catching his security unawares.

As expected, there was a traffic gridlock, the venue was muddy and there was a one-hour delay before the main act walked on stage at Carnivore grounds.

His curtain raisers, who included rapper Khaligraph Jones, got the fans going with their hits, while crowd puller Nyashinski gave his best to the sold out audience.

NRG Radio host Mwalimu Racheal was the MC of the night, but he also failed to live up to it. Rapper and Mwalimu’s radio co-host, Timmy T Dat, also did a few numbers.

The rapper walked on stage at exactly 2.30am and wasted almost 10 minutes prancing and parading himself, with some of his songs playing in the background.

Even when he finally started rapping on the mic, he just walked up and down the stage while jumping on a few verses here and there as his songs played in the background.

An hour later, he was off the stage after lip-syncing some of his famous hits, never mind that fact that some of his fans forked out Sh9,000 just to watch him live.

To some, Rick Ross delivered beyond their expectation. Others who have been to several shows wondered if that is all he had to deliver when compared with the immense expectations that were heaped on him.

Die-hard Rick fans felt it was close to a raw deal, save for the novelty of a rap star coming to Kenya.

He focused on his collabo’s rather than his singles. He also was keen to make the crowd chant his signature grunt “Huuh” and ask them to shout back his new Kiswahili name “Tajiri” and “Rozaay”.

REACTIONS

When the star was onstage, he often embraced that horrid hip-hop tradition of playing abbreviated versions of the hits. But one would never know that, based on the shortened version performed in concert.

Traditionally, hip-hop live acts have never been easy, with only a few artistes managing to perfect the act on stage. And on Saturday it was clear proof of that challenge.

At the end, the show felt like a dry run. There was a startling lack of cohesion or inspiration despite having been billed as Nairobi’s most anticipated concert this year.

Allen Ochieng paid Sh10,000 for the show. He complained that for that much the show was not well organised.

“The sound was poorly set-up. Performers were literally competing with their pre-recorded background vocals and tracks. Most of the time you had to listen to the beat so you could know which song they were performing. The only good thing about the Rick Ross show was his performance. Dude gave it his all. Everything else was poor.”

Another attendee shared his feelings, “Rick Ross’ was an ish-ish performance. Man was just lip-syncing. At least he wasn’t shady and performed for 20 minutes... Timmy T Dat of "Kasabuni" gave a better performance than Rick Ross. Things like that shouldn’t happen. Poor show,” said Davis Ndolo.