Fader Fort has been the venue for some of the stand out moments from this year’s SXSW. Miley Cyrus joined MikeWillMadeIt on stage for an unlikely showcase, Chance the Rapper impressed and yesterday it housed a trio of acts all at different stages of their hip-hop development.
Big Sean has reinvented himself over the past 12 months. Formerly an also-ran with friends in high places (Kanye West), he’s become a much more interesting proposition. One of the first things that strikes you during his set is the number of huge songs that he’s appeared on. Mercy, Kanye West’s low-slung, bass-heavy bomb from his GOOD Music album, is perfect festival fodder, as is Clique and West’s cover of Chief Keef’s bellicose drill anthem I Don’t Like, all of which Big Sean added a verse to. The biggest moment in the set, however, is when he plays his own I Don’t Fuck With You, a song about not being bothered about, well, anything (sample lyrics: “I see you calling, I be makin’ it quick/I’mma answer that shit like: ‘I don’t fuck with you’”).
Migos have built up a following by releasing free mixtapes and creating catchy aggro songs about subjects such as wearing Versace. They will release their first album in June, and DJ reminds the crowd of that fact during every other song. The performance is about as subtle, with the trio stalking the stage flanked by an entourage that looks more like a stage invasion. Despite the huge presence on stage, it’s an underwhelming show, with the group going through the motions as they rattle through a noticeably short set featuring Fight Night and the topical Hannah Montana.
Finally, the second special guest is T-Pain, an artist who feels very much like yesterday’s man. If that’s the public consensus (he did win new fans with his intimate and Auto-Tune less performance on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert), T-Pain is here to defy it. He tells the crowd that he’s “here to remind them who he is”, which, despite the swagger with which it’s delivered, isn’t exactly a vote winner with the crowd, many of whom were expecting Kendrick Lamar after earlier apocryphal rumours. It’s a spirited showing replete with full live band, but you suspect T-Pain will have to do more than add a live band and some choreographed dance moves to shift his image from Auto-Tune messiah to bill topper.
