The fifth or so time the DJ asked the crowd at the packed Ibiza nightclub Tuesday night if they were ready for Lil’ Wayne, it seemed more like a taunt than anything else. Finally though, Wayne strutted on stage, wearing a pair of shades, a black shirt and diamond necklaces, his entourage overflowing behind him. The front of the raucous crowd, separated from the stage by a narrow walkway, pushed toward Wayne and, in what must be every bouncer’s worst nightmare, Wayne told the bouncers to let them come. The crowd rushed to fill the gap, a woman in a wheelchair sitting in the front was swarmed, and the show was put on hold until the bouncers had settled the crowd.

Then the show, which seemed to be more about Wayne himself than his music, began at last. Wayne, who followed a strong set by D.C. rapper Wale, mixed hits like “Go DJ,” “Hustler Music,” and “Sky’s the Limit” (”This is my idea of positivity,” he told the crowd) with non-stop, self-centered banter. “How many of you are in love?” he asked the crowd. “How many of you are looking for love?” Then, he came to his point. “I’m going to make this easy,” he said. “How many of you are in love with me?” Later, he told the crowd to get out their phones and cameras and, his music on hold, struck various poses for a solid minute.

Wayne’s performance, full of his trademark bravado and showmanship, at times showed why some take his claim to be the best rapper alive seriously. When he stopped his boasting long enough to deliver several lilting raps acapella, he didn’t miss a beat. Other times though, the background track was unchanged from the record version of the song, with the unfortunate result of live Wayne rapping over studio Wayne. And his brief foray into the world of guitar playing left more than a little to be desired.

But his poor guitar playing hardly seemed to matter. Lil’ Wayne is known for not for his Hendrix-like skill but for his wit, his sense of humor, and, perhaps most importantly, his swagger. On those fronts, he certainly delivered.

Photos by Sam Sweeney, Blog Editor

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 16th, 2008 at 3:01 pm and is filed under Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.