Photos by Joshua Chia.
It has been a little over seven months since Future set the ACC ablaze. Originally set for Budweiser Stage, the Nobody Safe Tour received an upgrade after Toronto was faced with historic rainfalls. After wrapping up a co-headlining tour with our 6 God, the Atlanta based rapper got back into the studio and delivered a one-two punch with FUTURE and HNDRXX.
Zoey Dollaz and ASAP Ferg got the crowd ready early on, and as more and more people began to file in it was the hometown boy who really captivated us all. With his incredible falsettos and raps that never missed a beat, Tory Lanez was truly impressive. With his entourage just off the stage filming his every move, you could tell he was having the best time performing for the home crowd. Lanez tapped into his family’s island routes and paid homage to Bob Marley covering “One Love”, which was the perfect segway into Tory’s Grammy nominated song “Luv”.
During the 2017, Golden Globes, Donald Glover (Childish Gambino) thanked Migos on national television for “Bad and Boujee”, calling them the Beatles of the YouTube generation, who did not get enough respect outside of America. The statement was incredibly bold, but certainly helped mainstream radio stations sink their teeth into the Atlanta based trap trio. Weeks after Glover’s comment “Bad and Boujee” became the number one song on Billboard’s top 100 dethroning Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You”. The crowd was electric as they welcomed Quavo, Offset and Takeoff to Toronto for the very first time. Accompanied by amazing background visuals that featured JFK and Jackie Kennedy during their song “Deadz” and throwback NBA highlights during “Pipe It Up”, Migos quickly proved that they did not mess around. The trio wrapped up their first performance in the Six, with “T-Shirt” and “Bad and Boujee”.
When used to it’s full potential the stage set up for this concert was huge, LCD screens all in the background, enormous speakers for boom effects, as well as pyrotechnics that would soon be introduced. As the light dimmed, the LCD screens began to boot up, displaying images you might see in the event your computer is hacked. As a “Nobody is Safe” disclaimer is displayed, the roar of the crowd could have blown the roof off the ACC as Future emerges from the shadows. With a lofty, yet impressive 30-song setlist Future got ready to please fans who were there from day one, and those who maybe just picked up his double album this year. From “Draco” to “Super Trapper” with a little bit of “Rent Money”, a little rivalry between each side of the arena began to kick in. Future wanted to see who could go the hardest.
During the Summer Sixteen Tour, Future compiled a medley that featured “Same Damn Time”, “Move That Dope” and Ace Hood’s “Bugatti”, which was one of my favourite parts of his set. I am so glad he decided to add it to the Nobody is Safe Tour set list. The night was truly just beginning as ASAP Ferg returned to the stage bring the crowd to a “New Level”. Considering we were in the infamous 6, the question on most people’s minds concerned that of the 6God himself appearing for a surprise cameo. However as the intro for “Jumpman” began and Drake’s background track kicked in you could feel the disappointment for a few seconds, and then it was quickly back to the man of the hour. There was about a twenty-minute intermission mid-set that brought out DJ Esco, the true hype man of the show. Between dropping beats and bringing Tory Lanez back on stage, Esco truly kept everyone entertained as Future recharged.
The entire evening felt like you were out clubbing with your closest friends (all 19,000 of them), and as Future returned with “Coming Out Strong” the entire arena sang The Weeknd’s verses back. Nearing the home stretch Future asked every single person to turn their cellphones lights on, which is usually what you get during a slow ballad. However, as the lights illuminated the ACC and the beat of “March Madness” dropped things certainly got… (dare I say it) pretty lit. It was the perfect transition into “Mask Off”, which has been climbing the charts for the past few months. Anytime you leave a show and hear concertgoers talking about what had just transpired during their hour commute home, you know you’ve truly done it right.
