Zach Burger is a sophomore audio telecommunications major and writes ‘The Drop’ for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Zach at zaburger@bsu.edu.
If you're familiar with the music of Three 6 Mafia, you likely know its southern hip-hop style. And if you're a fan of the style, you would have thoroughly enjoyed the Juicy J concert.
On Oct. 6, downtown Muncie welcomed Juicy J and a few other acts, such as B-Swift and DJ Bizzy, to the Horizon Convention Center.
As one of the founding members of Three 6 Mafia, Juicy J found his “in” early in the '90s. Last year, he released his third solo album "Stay Trippy" after four years of releasing several mixtapes and working closely with Wiz Khalifa.
The show began at 7 p.m., commencing with several opening performers, including B-Swift. Acting as interim emcee between acts, he took on the duty of making sure the crowd was amply “turned up” and even gave away a $500 cash and prize package to the “Hypest” concert-goer.
Later on, he hosted a Nae Nae dance-off; five audience members competed for votes by applause. Everyone on stage was either taking selfies or tweeting them at some point in the night in response to B-Swift's “put your phone up” call.
After busting out a couple of crowd-pleasers, DJ Bizzy halted the music to Juicy J coming out and asking to kick out a freestyle. After 16 bars, he paused, surveyed the audience, spit another eight, and then DJ Bizzy, donning a Metal Fingers shirt, got busy.
Juicy J's own attire included a black leather jacket and what looked like black leather pants, shades throughout the show and a white kerchief trailing out of his back pocket.
The southern hip-hop and trap blend Bizzy had been pushing out only got stronger from this point on. Throughout the show, Juicy J showcased songs from "Stay Trippy," including “Show Out” and “Bandz a Make Her Dance.”
He also broke out several older tunes like “Holy Ghost,” “Dark Horse” (his collaborative song with Katy Perry) and other songs from his career with Three 6 Mafia, allowing for an audience sing-along.
The Never Sober theme of the tour shone through with Juicy J's favorite drink shout-out: the crowd voraciously responded with applause at the mention of fireball cinnamon whiskey.
Most of these antics got the crowd going, present company included, but the lowest part of the show came directly after when he removed his chain, announcing it was a gift from fellow business partner Wiz Khalifa.
He asked the audience if he should give it away - “Yes!” - would Wiz be upset if he gave it away? - “No!” Fans shouted and reached for him as he made like he were going to give it away, then replaced it around his neck and turned his back to the audience.
I've seen many bands who joke with the audience and even heckle the rowdy, drunk ones, but the time he took building up the “joke” made it seem he was actually going to do it – I, for one, fell for it, and judging by the faces of the dejected hopefuls who were reaching for him, I wasn't the only one confused and a little put off by this egotistical display.
Before and after the last song, Juicy J made sure to encourage everyone to listen to his new single, “Ice,” and ended the set by walking off and leaving the DJs to tear down.
I definitely got all I was expecting from this Juicy J concert, but Juicy J himself wasn't the one to deliver. Though I went away satisfied, it was only thanks to the entertaining dance contests and DJ Bizzy's pure-trap, crunk mixes.
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