10.28.2013, 01:59 AM Concert review: Drake shows his sensitive side at Newarks Prudential Center Bill Denver For The NY Daily News Drake gave a low-key perforemance at the Prudential Center in Newark Sunday night. Drake rolled things out slow and steady at his Prudential Center concert in Newark Sunday. His raps often arrived in a measured flow — sure in delivery, with only fitful upticks to the manic or agitated. His music likewise stressed firm and deep rhythms that barely needed to strain, or kick into high gear, to make an impression. Bill Denver For The NY Daily News The Started from the Bottom rapper reveals much about his insecurities through his music. RELATED: DRAKES NOTHING WAS THE SAME, MUSIC REVIEW It’s a relatively low-key approach for someone whos sitting high atop the hip-hop heap. The Canadian rapper has the genres fastest-selling album of the year with “Nothing Was the Same.” Even so, both Drake’s CD and his show made sure to balance typical hip-hop chest-puffing with some of the qualities that set him apart from the start: sensitivity and nuance. Bill Denver For The NY Daily News Drakes performance took some theatrical turns. Even the name of Drake’s current roadshow poses a tentative question — “Would You Like a Tour?” RELATED: DRAKE HITS NO. 1 ON BILLBOARD CHART Bill Denver For The NY Daily News Drakes latest album, Nothing Was the Same, has done well critically and commercially. The awkwardness of the title reflects a conflict in the raps that dominated the night. In his opening song, “Tuscan Leather,” Drake claimed he’s the equal of his mentor (Lil Wayne). But by the next piece, “Headlines,” he was ruminating over the past insecurities that led him to exaggerate his accomplishments. Bill Denver For The NY Daily News Would You Like a Tour will bring Drake around the U.S. and Canada, until Dec. 18. RELATED: DRAKE SPORTING CALVIN KLEIN ON TOUR Drakes live presentation also straddled the line between the modest and the grand. He featured a gigantic, movable catwalk, able to lift him to the very top of the arena. At the same time, the star dressed in a nondescript cream outfit. That didn’t quiet the screams of the young females in the crowd. Drake, 27, remains a certified media heart-throb, as well as a teen idol. But his audience at Prudential Center bridged both genders and had (somewhat) older as well as younger fans. RELATED: KENDRICK LAMAR CROWNS HIMSELF ‘KING’ OF RAP, CALLS OUT DRAKE DURING BET HIP HOP AWARDS CYPHER The music they heard Sunday could be samey in tone and pace. But Drake lent the show variety with his periodic singing. Its a honied drone that sticks to the lower registers to signal reflection. And it pairs well with the dreamier textures of the music. The slow-burn intensity of the music, as well as the stars vulnerability, may be rare in rap but they’re not unprecedented. Kanye pioneered that approach on his “808s and Heartbreak” CD and tour. Drake has been viewed as a kind of unofficial Kanye protege, though his latest album has greatly outsold his mentor’s. More importantly, Drake has brought his own character and flow to the approach, and, in the end, that carried him on both the CD and onstage.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 02:42:28 +0000
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