Molly Santana's Night of Wonders Kept the Mosh Pits Going in Dallas

Even on the outskirts, a mosh pit is still pure chaos.

There are people running in circles, jumping and ramming into each other, recording shaky videos in action with their phones. The only pit conductor is on stage, instructing fans to open that shit up before a euphoric electronic lead kicks in. The countdown starts from three, two, one. Now run this back for an entire setlist.

Rage rap is a subgenre that’s associated with rappers such as Yeat, Playboi Carti and Ken Carson. Molly Santana, the 20-year-old Los Angeles-based rapper, has been one to watch as a woman in rap’s underground doing a sound that blends punk, rage, trap and alt-pop with a high-energy, hyper-feminine touch. Influenced by Chief Keef, Lil Uzi Vert, Speaker Knockerz and Bladee growing up, Santana separates herself by being real and boundary-pushing. 
Santana is on her first headlining tour to support her sophomore album, Molly and Her Week of Wonders. The 15-date North American run stopped in Dallas on Wednesday. The album is inspired by the 1970 Czech film Valerie and Her Week of Wonders. It features 17 tracks that explore dreamlike, surreal textures through Santana's baritone voice, a unique instrument she uses to bring a grunge aesthetic to her music. All of these reference points could make her seem inauthentic, but it is quite the opposite for the artist who studied fashion design in Japan. She is taking what she likes to create something fresh.

The Cambridge Room at House of Blues is a perfect setting for Molly fans to release pent-up youthful energy while looking cool. Before anyone hit the stage, the crowd had already formed a mosh pit, going crazy for anything Ken Carson or Yeat. When Showjoe showed up, he didn’t have to do much but serve up his best mosh pit songs to keep them raging. As hip-hop debates who is the better lyricist between Lupe Fiasco and Kendrick Lamar, the underworld is brimming with names ushering in a new generation of hip-hop. Showjoe did little rapping on the mic, letting the reverb effect do its thing when he shouted his get-money rhymes. This put this crowd into overdrive for the songs “Bands Up” and “Woke Up Neon.”

“I heard they go crazy in Texas,” he said. “I heard Dallas specifically likes to rage the fuck out.”

As Slowjoe confirmed after surveying the crowd, fans came from Austin, Wyoming and Oklahoma to be at this tour stop, a testament to Santana’s loyal fanbase who keep coming back. His set was a taste of the shot of adrenaline that comes when Santana gets on stage, moving the crowd with “Extra,” “Baptism” and “Vendetta.”

When Santana finally came on, almost everyone’s phone went up, ready to record her entrance. She opened with “Piss Me Off” off Molly and Her Week of Wonders and the place went absolutely nuts. More moshing. More jumping around. Bodies pressed against each other. The energy never went below 100.

Santana kept playing more songs off the album like “Cayenne” and “Unstoppable.” She cut the music for Santana fans to express how much they loved her, the silence an odd calm before another storm. She was happy to be back in Dallas, too. “I love you so, so much. We gonna have a great night tonight,” she said.

There’s an ongoing narrative in hip-hop that the unpolished, internet-rooted rap has overtaken the genre since the SoundCloud boom, moving away from its tradition of being a platform for revolution. Sometimes, you get a diamond in the rough like Santana, who is an amalgamation of her influences and is on trend with what's hot right now. She’s not necessarily a lyrical MC like Rapsody or Doechii, but what she brings to the table is unadulterated fun that creates a hypnotic and infectious effect.
All night, we chanted “Go Molly!” It didn’t matter if it was “Black Ops,” “Greenlight,” “Windows Up,” or “BRB” with Showjoe; it was a nonstop mosh pit and guys carrying girls on their shoulders with little time for rest. Santana even acknowledged how hot The Cambridge Room was getting, as the sweat off the fans generated more heat. But she was thankful for all the “beautiful” people who came to be with her.

She didn’t stop repeating how much fun she was having, making us believe she had a soft spot for Dallas. She would hopscotch between dance and vibey songs, delivering a melodic flurry of hits: “Life I Chose,” “Want” and “Talk to Me.” “So Right” was arguably the best song of the night, and it had everyone locked in.

“I see you singing all the lyrics, it makes me so happy,” she said. “So wholesome [seeing] men singing the girlie songs.”

Once she got back to the turn up, it felt like we were transported to Rolling Loud. When she did her more orchestral songs, full of booming trap, it felt like watching early Chief Keef before he blew up. “Out My Body” was another outstanding song that fans loved, as was “Chain Swangin.” If Keef hasn't heard of Santana yet, he's gotta tap in with her ASAP.
She cut the sound again for another moment of silence, her Japanese black grill glistening before speaking again. She admitted her time was coming to an end and that she was losing her voice. She couldn’t quite kick being sick for the past week, but she still made it to Dallas and was grateful for everyone in the room.

Santana ended on “Weekend,” thanking her fans and telling them she loved them. As “one more song” chants rang loud, she delivered another trance track with her SoundCloud loosie “Lost.” She didn’t need to sing these lyrics; people were just appreciative that she gave them one more.

“Go Molly!” they chanted again, just as loud as before.

“I love y’all,” she replied, throwing up a heart. “I’ll be back soon, I hope to see you again.”