Lil Wayne is a ferocious showman. The New Orleans rapper is only 5 feet, 5 inches tall. But his commanding stage presence makes him feel larger than life. His distinctive rasp can fill any venue. And he recites each bar as if it were newly released.
Too bad you often have to wait longer than expected to see any of that.
At Saturday night’s AT&T Playoff Playlist Live!— the first of two State Farm Arena concerts ahead of Monday’s College Football Playoff national championship game — the Grammy-winning rapper showed up roughly two hours late to his headlining gig. His extreme tardiness outweighed his undeniable talent.
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
But before he even stepped on stage, Saturday’s concert was balanced with on-time sets and a few surprises. Rapper Quavo — and not the previously announced Muni Long— opened the show at 7:50 p.m. Yes, you read that correctly. A big artist who wasn’t initially on the lineup replaced another at late notice, as fans weren’t made aware until minutes before his performance. The news marked the second sudden change in the roster, after former headliner GloRilla ditched her set to make a “Saturday Night Live” debut.
A State Farm Arena representative confirmed Muni Long pulled out of the event and stated they weren’t provided with more information about the decision.
Good thing Atlanta has a Rolodex of rappers on the line in case issues arise.
The Migos star made an appropriate replacement, given the show’s existing hip-hop-heavy lineup and Quavo’s well-documented love for sports (Go Dawgs!).
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
The Lawrenceville native set the high-energy tone for the night, performing hits from each era of his career as a soloist, duo and trio. His 20-minute set included songs like “Turn Yo Clic Up,” “Hotel Lobby,” and Migos favorites “Fight Night,” Handsome and Wealthy” and “Bad & Boujee”. Before he left the stage, he told fans “the album is on the way.” He didn’t provide more details beyond that, but given Quavo’s 2024 singles that leaned on experimentation (the rock-heavy “Fly Away,” the Lana Del Rey-assisted folk song “Tough”), it would be interesting to see what comes of his next musical chapter.
Next to take the stage was fellow replacement act and metro Atlanta native Gucci Mane. For a little over 30 minutes, the East Atlanta Santa performed classics like “Both,” “Wasted” and “I Think I Love Her.” OJ da Juiceman, who struggled to stay on beat with the backing track, joined Gucci on stage for “Make tha Trap Say Aye.” Later in Gucci Mane’s set, the rapper slightly struggled to maintain the momentum at the beginning. The set started to feel more monotonous with each passing song, but he briefly recaptured the energy with his closing song “First Day Out.”
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Gucci Mane’s set ended at 9:15 p.m. Lil Wayne, the next artist on the bill, did not appear on stage until nearly 11 p.m., almost two hours after his expected 9:30 p.m. start time. The show started roughly an hour after its 7 p.m. start, anyway. But you’d think the main act wouldn’t exacerbate that timing by arriving even later. Think again.
A State Farm Arena representative said the venue was not provided with any reason for Lil Wayne being late.
However, the intensity of Lil Wayne’s penchant to hype any crowd became apparent as soon as he stepped on stage. “Mr. Carter” was an appropriate opener. The more I heard the 2008 song’s chorus (Where have you been? Around the world, and I’m back again / Cause they’ve been asking, they’ve been searching / They’ve been wondering why), the more the song felt like a makeshift mea culpa for his delay.
Regardless, Lil Wayne’s relentless energy, backed by live drums, fueled the early performances like “Money on My Mind” and “Drop the World” and the mixtape darlings “Let Do It” and “Surf Swag.”
Throughout his hourlong set, he made minimal audience interaction outside of telling fans how much he loved them. But for a rapper whose hits are endless, that didn’t matter. The engagement was all in the frequency at which fans recited the lyrics back to him, which happened nearly every song. Even his guest verses shined for just how memorable they were (“The Motto” and “Every Girl” were shining examples of that). In the middle of his set, he brought out close friend and Atlanta rapper 2 Chainz, who electrified the crowd with songs like “Birthday Song” and “All Me.”
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Lil Wayne ended his set with the more popular songs “Lollipop,” “6 Foot 7 Foot” and, of course, “A Milli.” But he didn’t exit the stage without sending an important message, referencing the fires in his city of residence, Los Angeles.
“We don’t need nothing but some prayers from you. We appreciate it.”
As he gathered his items to leave the stage, Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” played in the background. Lil Wayne has no shortage of talent and songs to carry a Super Bowl-level performance. But it starts to become irrelevant when standard concert etiquette is thrown out the window.
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
