Written and Posted by Israel Lerma
One of my favorite performances was the TDE showcase at Antonne's in Downtown Austin. The opening act was Yakiyn, a Dallas-born rapper who ranges across rap, R&B, and electronic music. Such a varied musician, he can do it all and plays a persona that I really enjoy. Seeing him open three times myself, he always wears his iconic mask and rocks his slogan your boyfriend f*cking sucks. When he went on stage, he did not need a warm-up as he was already ready from opening for Don Toliver earlier in the week. In a smaller more intimate venue, I saw a different side of him, as being barricaded made me connect to what he was saying much more. His voice sounds so clean through the mix, and his DJ does a great job of getting us hyped. The way he moves, rapped over the soul beat so simply, and kept his breath was so impressive that it makes him a top-notch performer. During his set, he even got into the crowd itself, from his own most pit and started performing. Here, everyone started going crazy, and being in my first mosh pit with the performer himself is just nuts! After such an exciting performance, and my favorite time I've seen him perform, Ray Vaughn was coming next.
Ray started with playing some of his debut album The Good The Bad The Dollar Menu. One of the most notable songs on here was the XXXL tee, which came off quite confident. His rapping ability live is actually insane, as being so close, I saw the passion flowing through his veins. The way he controls his breath and says every word, it was amazing to see his skills come to life five feet away from me. His rapping ability put us in a trance, showcasing his vibrant energy and overall control. Next up, he played Dawg House featuring Isaiah Rashad. This song had everyone locked in and made us feel like we were part of the TDE family. The track hit extra hard, built for that chant-back energy, where he knows exactly when to pull the mic away and let people yell it. Overall, his performance was one of a kind; throughout the night, he built momentum that the crowd loved. The way he punches his lines, reflecting on the good and bad sides of the West Coast, gave us not only a fun, hyped night but rap that made us reflect on our lives as well.
The crowd was so much fun and both artists even came down and moshed with us. Looking back at my videos, it is so crazy how they both started spitting with the crowd, and got excited with us aswell. After the show, I snapped a pic with Ray Vaughn for the second time, while he did not remember me, he is always such a nice respectful guy that is always down to converse after a show 🙂