Lupe Fiasco and his Steppin/Lasers tour rocked through Charlotte North Carolina on the campus of UNC Charlotte this weekend. Bobby Ray (B.O.B) opened for Lupe Fiasco and what turned out to be a very high energy show. The two artists performed 3 hours with a quick 20 minute intermission in between the 2 acts. The combination of Bobby Ray and Lupe Fiasco seems to work very well because both have deep ties and interests in the rock music genre.
This trend is seeming to follow across the Hip hop genre. Jay-Z and others are on tour as well and you can see electric Guitars, awesome stage presence and Drum sets popping up everywhere. The live show is evolving more and more towards stage diving and crowd surfing becoming commonplace at rap shows.
The great thing about this tour is it seems to be totally interactive. Lupe put fans on the spot and lets them help him out with sets while B.O.B or his people return tweets (@bobatl) and talk to fans in the front row during the performance. Even more impressive was the fact there is a message behind the theme of the show.
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On lupefiasco.com and his blog you can keep up with everything Lasers and find the meaning or read the manifesto. There is even a uniform for what is shaping into a war on the current status quo of hip-hop music and culture. It is like Fiasco’s track ‘Dumb it Down’ is coming to life. The number one mission of the Lasers movement is to end the glamorization of negativity in the media.
However mainstream hip-hop has a stronghold. Lupe,friends and the FNF crew are behind enemy lines and their message of revolution is way off the beaten path. Currently, negative images generate the most album sales, the best venue selection and the largest fan base. The Lasers have a long road ahead of them but they are accepting the challenge one city at a time.
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The music is easily accessible to anyone that likes music. If you have to describe it you would call it hardcore rock with better lyrics and wordplay. This war may end up in a whole new genre of music and live show.
The next few stops for the Steppin/Lasers tour are scheduled for Massachusetts on the 24th and Texas on the 26th and 27th of April. You can find more on B.O.B and a link to his new mixtape with Roc Nation artist Wale on globalgrind.com as well as photos of the Steppin/Lasers tours’ stop in North Carolina.
PHOTOS by Leroy Mikell (http://www.meant2shinephoto.com/)
