Concert Review with PHOTOS: 6LACK

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CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL 6LACK GALLERY BY LEAH VICTORIA

By Zoe Reid

Artist: 6LACK

Date / Venue: Thursday October 18th, 2018 - The Powerstation, Auckland

Rising rap artist 6LACK graced New Zealand’s shores last night, performing his first ever headlining tour here. Ricardo Valentine (best known by his stage name pronounced as a stylised ‘Black’) despite only being twenty six years old, has such a strong maturity and streetwise wisdom about him. It was the young rapper’s first ever headline show in New Zealand after supporting Migos and playing Northern Bass Festival in 2017.

Considering his relatively fast rise to fame after hit single Prblms released in June 2016, he has built up quite a respectable fan base. Tonnes of excited teens and adults alike filled Auckland’s Powerstation for an unforgettable performance. 6LACK really focused on playing more slow and melodic tunes, with love songs aplenty. Even admitting to the audience “Y’all do know it’s the only thing I talk about right?”. Couples in the crowd were absolutely just loving it.

Balenciaga Challenge featuring Migos honcho Offset was an obvious crowd favourite. I noticed several patrons sporting Balenciaga caps themselves, which was really adding to the hype. Ex Calling and Free from his first album Free 6LACK went down way better with the audience than tracks from his recent album to be honest. It may just have been that they’d had more time to sit with them, as East Atlanta Love Letter was only released a month ago. 6LACK himself however could not have been more proud of his roots and where he came from, telling everyone how fond he was of “East Atlanta”, it was all love from the generous rapper, and everyone gave it right back.

He had a chance to let his vocals truly shine on the banger track Stan, and something about the way he moved on stage just drew you in to his vibe. You could hear the sincerity in his voice, he really comes across as one of the most humble and genuine rappers in the game right now. After seeing him in person I have a much greater appreciation for his lyricism.

6LACK is so much more than just a catchy beat and I cannot wait to see what he has offer in the future.