Drake‘s Club Paradise tour stopped in Atlanta on an evening when strong thunderstorms could not derail the energy of 16,000-plus fans at Aaron’s Amphitheater.
After opening acts French Montana, 2 Chainz, Waka Flocka, Meek Millz, and J. Cole all performed their sets (which lasted 30-45 minutes each), Drake took the stage shortly after 9 p.m. and opened with “Lord Knows,” “I’m On One,” and “Over.”
He took time to pay homage to the city for supporting him before he signed with YMCMB. In 2009, Drake sold out Center Stage, a small venue. It was a tremendous feat for an unsigned artist who had only released a mixtape (So Far Gone). Drake thanked Atlanta by bringing out several prominent rappers from the city.
2 Chainz joined Drake on stage to rap his new single “No Lie.” He also performed “Gettin It” as T.I. made his way to the stage to rap his verse from the remix. With the fans in an uproar, T.I. stayed around to rap his hit “What You Know.”
T.I. exited the stage and Waka Flocka was the next surprise guest. He and Drake performed “Round of Applause” as pyrotechnics erupted on stage.
The final Atlanta-based rapper to join Drake was Future. The two rapped “Tony Montana” and “Same D–n Time.”
New York-based rapper French Montana also joined Drake on stage to rap “Stay Schemin.” The crowd erupted in unison when Drake rapped, “Kobe ’bout to lose a hundred fifty M’s, Kobe my n—a I hate it had to be him, B—h you wasn’t with me shooting in the gym, (B—h you wasn’t with me shooting in the gym).”
For the second half of the show, Drake rapped (and sang) several songs from his new album Take Care such as “Practice,” “Marvin’s Room,” “Over My Dead Body,” “HYFR,” and “The Motto.”
Drake closed his set with the lead single from his album, “Headlines.”
If you were one of about 2,000 who got a chance to see Drake perform at that small ATL venue in 2009, it was obvious that he the goods to be a superstar in music. His recent performance at Aaron’s Amphitheater was evidence of his superior maturation just three years later.–amir shaw
