Fetty Wap
With Post Malone
House of Blues, Dallas
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Fetty Wap and Post Malone have a lot in common these days. Both singer-rappers had breakout years in 2015, both rising up the Billboard Hot 100 and both doing so on the strength of viral hits. So it only makes sense the pair would look to capitalize on their growing fame by hitting the road together, in the form of the Monster Energy Outbreak Welcome to the Zoo Tour, which lived up to its name on Tuesday night with a sold-out visit to Dallas' House of Blues.
The last time we saw Fetty Wap, he nearly stole the show from headliner Chris Brown at the Gexa Energy Pavilion last summer. At that show the New Jersey native was all smiles and had the folks in the 19,000-capacity venue on their feet singing along to his viral smash hits “Trap Queen” and “My Way.” Things started off the same way Tuesday night in Dallas. The gleeful performer took the stage with all the house lights up, waving to the crowd as if he were on a parade float, with “RGF Island” playing. It was refreshing to see he hasn’t yet been hardened by a grueling touring schedule.
Fetty Wap was joined on stage by his partner in crime, Monty, who is featured on nearly half of his recently released debut album along with a gang of other performers from his RGF label imprint. The tour is billed as a Fetty Wap and Post Malone event, but the night felt more like a showcase for the imprint, with Post Malone making a special guest appearance. There were no fewer than six Fetty Wap-associated performers who opened the show in a messy, circus-like fashion.
It hasn't taken Fetty Wap long to establish himself as a bona fide hitmaker, following up his first hit singles with the just-as-radio-friendly tracks “679,” “Again” and “Jimmy Choo.” His approachable trap stylings, chock-full of addictive hooks and melodies, kept an adoring crowd plugged in throughout the hour-long set, but there were still plenty of peaks and valleys. Even as he made all the right platitudes between songs, like saying how much he loves the Dallas Cowboys, having to fill a headliner’s slot proved to be a harder task than jumping on a stage for 15 minutes and pumping out all the hits as he did last summer. Nonetheless, Fetty Wap did so with a fervor and enthusiasm that isn’t often seen from rappers, new or old.
Post Malone isn’t headlining tours yet, but from what he showed last night, he’s well on his way. Granted, in what was a hometown showing for the Grapevine native, it was hard to tell if the crowd reacted to him so enthusiastically because he’s from the area or because he’s a bona fide star in his own right. But given he'll next be joining none other than Justin Bieber on his upcoming national tour, which visits the American Airlines Center next month, it's safe to say Post Malone will be exposed to a whole new audience very soon.
Much like Fetty Wap, the last time we saw Post Malone was last summer at his sold-out homecoming show at Trees. At the time the lightning-rod artist only had about five tracks under his belt to perform. This time around he had enough to round out a solid 30-minute show, including the song “Window Shopper,” which is a reworking of a 50 Cent track of the same name. He admitted to the crowd that he made the song to address all the negative reactions to him and the hate he’s received since the breakout success of "White Iverson." As it turns out, when 50 Cent heard the song he recruited Post Malone to be featured on a song called “Tryna Fuck Me Over” that released earlier this year. Not bad for someone who was a complete unknown until February 2015.
Post’s stage presence hasn’t changed much from that Trees show. Just like he did then, he kicked off his set with “White Iverson” and was all smiles as he paced back and forth soaking up the love from the crowd. Unlike Fetty Wap, his momentum never sagged. The crowd remained at peak energy throughout his whole set as he performed “Tear$,” “What’s Up” and “Too Young,” which he dedicated to Bankroll Fresh, an Atlanta rapper who was killed over the weekend.
Although he felt like a special guest of the night, Post Malone brought out a special guest of his own in Big Tuck, who performed the Dallas classic "Southside Da Realist." That small gesture shouldn't go overlooked as it shows Post Malone does have an allegiance to the city even if a lot people here don't want to acknowledge him since he made his ascension in Los Angeles.
These two young artists both have limitless potential, and while they’re both working to put together catalogs deep enough to sustain substantial headliner sets, it’s only a matter of time before they get there. The support that Fetty Wap and Post Malone enjoyed from their fans at House of Blues, combined with the enthusiasm they both show for their craft and their abilities to shake off the one-hit wonder labels suggest they're both here to stay.