Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty
By Friday afternoon, Fader Fort was wrapping up its three-day run at SXSW with a Hip-Hop heavy roster of young stars to include Queen Key, IDK, Flipp Dinero, Megan Thee Stallion and Young Nudy.
Space filled pretty quickly for the Fort’s final day. Members of the press bickered with security about having to stand in line for access and music fans wondered if they were even in the “right” line. Regardless of the logistical issues outside, the show went off without a hitch. Queen Key sauntered out in an all black Versace outfit and proceeded to run through tracks from her 2018 LP Eat My P*ssy. From “My Way” to “Spenda Night,” Key walked the stage, back and forth, only stopping once every few bars to rock in place, a slight smile creeping across her face. “N*ggas wanna f*ck me / F*ck Key…,” she started. And one woman in the crowd hollered, “Hit ‘em with that ‘ugh’ like he ugly!”
Source: Ismael Quintanilla / The FADER
As the sun set, newcomer IDK graced the stage in front of an audience that seemed to have been patiently waiting on him. His set list consisted of a healthy variety — from the bounce of “MORAL” to the conscious narrative of “Maryland Ass N*gga.” Although he was wearing a rubber mask at one point, the rapper primarily controlled the crowd with his words and the drive behind his lyrics.
Flipp Dinero hit the stage shortly after and the vibe of the Fort shifted. College girls were out en masse and the bar was running out of mixers. Dinero was ready to bless the people with what they came for, the party was set to begin. He jumped offstage fairly quickly to give his fans a more intimate experience. “I got a couple thousand on my neck / I got a couple thousand on my wrist…” The crowd bounced along, there was a wave of bodies bobbing up and down as the Brooklyn rapper ran through a few favorites and then Dinero made a special invite. “I got my big brother with me!,” he shouted. “My mentor is with me. I want him to come bless the crowd real quick. It’s only right. This TX right? So this how the f*ck we doing it…” Houston’s own Trae Tha Truth walked out from backstage to deafening cheers. It was the third time this writer has seen him brought out during other sets at this year’s SX and the response is always the same: Texas loves Trae.
Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty
Megan Thee Stallion was up next, repping just as hard for Houston with her cowboy hat and over the knee western boots. She skipped around with the set list, pulling from her most recent project Tina Snow. Megan stormed through “Neva” and “Hot Girl”. “Don’t be mad hoe / Get a bag hoe…” She would stop every few moments to drop down into a light twerk. One man within earshot, shouted, “Gotdamn!” His companion smiled in agreement. Other man, noticably inebriated, was overheard repeatedly asking a woman who was recording the performance on her phone. “Aye bruh. Aye. Can you send me that? That video, can you text it to me?”
By the time, Megan moved into “Big Ole Freak” and the accompanying Al B Sure sample dropped, there was a whole new surge of energy radiating throughout the crowd. Grown women lost it and screamed the lyrics in unison: “Aye / Big ole freak / Big booty, big ole treat / I’ma make him wait for the p*ssy / Hit it till you big ole skeet…” Raunchy lyrics and fitted corsets notwithstanding, the woman just knows how to spit. She has the confidence and the personality to carry a headlining position amongst her peers and on Friday night at Fader Fort it was appreciated. Megan the Superstar.
In fact, the show could’ve ended with Megan, Young Nudy was the very last artist to perform and between his stage presence (or lack of) and drab song transitions, we couldn’t tell if the East Atlanta native was just drained from the show schedules all week or if it was something else. He walked out on stage, held his head down and jumped into a few songs from 2016’s Slimeball project to the third installment of that series, which dropped last year. Nudy ran through “Yeah Yeah” and “Hell Shell.” He did a few more but it was as if he just had to get through the list. Once he finished with a somber, “Thank y’all. Be safe,” the audience just stood around waiting expectedly. It took awhile for people to understand that the show was over.
The DJ equipment was being disconnected but the background music was literally switched over to folk music before anyone started to move outside of the venue. Strange ending to an otherwise dope week of music at the Fader Fort.
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Photo: Getty
Source: HipHopWired.com
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