Flosstradamus’ massive HI-DEF YOUTH tour is underway and this past Friday saw them touching down in Toronto. Alongside Whethan, Towkio and Slushii, the duo delivered yet another unforgettable show. Kicking off at 7pm, it was an early start that was kind of refreshing. It allowed almost enough time to head downtown, grab a quick bite and go to the show without waiting around in between (8pm would’ve been perfect). I rolled in around quarter to 8 and (sadly) Whethan had just finished. Towkio’s DJ had just took the stage and was warming the crowd up. As Towkio’s voice came over the speakers the excitement built. He took some time to introduce himself off stage, before coming out and rocking it. His verse over Flosstradamus ‘Original Don’ remix had everyone hyped and teased for the main event. As he repped Chricago he gave a special shout out to Chance The Rapper before moving into ‘Heaven Only Knows’. The track saw Towkio’s best delivery of the night, truly owning the song and the stage. To close things out and really get everyone hype, he delivered ‘G W M’ and had the place going wild.
After a brief intermission it was time for Slushii to jump behind the decks. As the music began to play out Slushii came out with a mic and delivered autotuned vocals over the track. The move proved to impress the crowd and had many screaming from the jump. At this point I have to mention I was not a Slushii fan going into this. He seems like one of those DJs who is overly reliant on a gimmick, that blew up way to fast. That said, his set managed to alter my perception for two reasons: he killed the crowd and he can actually DJ. His blend of future bass, dubstep, trap and smash hits came together for a set that set the place on fire. He rinsed out fan favourites that ranged from ‘Panda’ and ‘Crank That,’ to ‘Wonderwall’ and ‘It’s Tricky,’ all while dropping them into some of the hardest trap and dubstep sounds out. He managed to do this while keeping the energy up and the transitions smooth. I may have gone into the set with little expectation but left quite impressed.
Finally it was time for Flosstradamus to take the stage. With the covers pulled back, you could finally get a good look at the towering structure that is their stage. As a video introduced us to HDYNATION, Autobot took his place atop the massive perch moving a powerful spotlight across the audience while YehMe2 came out waving their flag. Flosstradmus have some of the highest production value in the trap scene and from the outset they made that clear. Rather than a b2b DJ set, Floss deliver a DJ and MC performance. It’s a high energy affair that is simply put: turnt. Tracks like ‘Crowd Ctrl’ and ‘Underground Anthem’ gave the OG fans what they desired while proving they’ve aged exceptionally. Herobust’s ‘Broccoli’ flip had everyone singing along and smiling while a ‘Came Up’ rework delivered a nice blend of inspirational and banging. From there it was their signature blend of rap meets electronic sound with tunes like ‘The Next Epsiode’ and ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ being mixed into some heavy drops. As they pulled out the Oski x Apashe x Lennon flip of Backstreet Boys’ ‘Everybody’ they found the perfect blend of turnt meets cheesy nostalgia. They may have pushed the latter a bit far when dropping ‘Macarena,’ but hey people seemed to enjoy it. Bringing it back to their bangers came ‘Soundclash,’ the record set the place on fire inciting a massive mosh pit in the center of the venue. It was the ideal pit; intense and aggressive while still being respectable. The pit never really eased up from then on with tracks like ‘Bottle Swervice’ keeping it alive and booming. The show served to prove why Flosstradamus are one of the biggest acts in the genre. The scale of their show is well beyond most DJ sets and the selection allows to appease a broad range of fans from trap OG’s, to new fans and even those of a more mainstream liking.
