RESPECT. Recap: "The Level Up Tour" in NYC With A$AP Ferg & Tory Lanez

A$AP Ferg & Tory Lanez has been all over the country performing for “The Level Up” tour. Now, they have reached the end of their tour and RESPECT was lucky enough to experience just how turnt the New York performance was last night at Irving Plaza.

Doors opened at 6.00pm and the set was scheduled to begin at 8.oopm. At most hip-hop shows, fans don’t start arriving until 8:30pm since these shows usually tend to start later. Not at this one though. I arrived early at 7:30 pm and although there wasn’t a line to get in, I understood why. Everyone was already inside. The floor was crowded to the back with fans waiting eagerly for the show to begin. It was already a hot and humid day to begin with in NYC, but stepping into Irving Plaza last night was like stepping into a sauna. The heat was scorching and it was a crowded group of fans.

The R&B singer Tory Lanez, came out first with a black t-shirt that had ‘New Toronto’ written on it. Not only did he dive into his mixtape songs such as “Juvenile Freestyle,” and “N.A.M.E.,” but he also took a moment to shout out the 80s and 90s babies. All of a sudden I heard Bell Biv DeVoe‘s “Poison,” playing and a whole crowd singing. Tory’s beautiful vocals added it’s flare of course when ‘It’s driving’ me out of my mind’ part of the song came on. Then the set switched up again paying homage to Ginuwine‘s infamous “Pony.” Once he was done covering some classics, he dove into his single “Say It.” The New Toronto singer isn’t only great at swooning the ladies with his voice and music, but he’s also a rockstar performer. This was my second time watching the rising star perform and his energy is still and is always at an all-time high. It’s no wonder Ferg wanted him on the level up tour.

Tory Lanez got the crowd so hype that once Ferg came on stage, everyone went crazy. Once you heard “Hella Hoes,” the crowd started bouncing up and down and marijuana smoke filled the air. It was probably a combination of the body heat and weed though honestly. As the Harlem native came out in a white robe, he took a moment to talk to his fans and mention how the show was close to not even happening. Due to the shooting at Irving Plaza last month during the T.I. concert, it’s a miracle this show wasn’t canceled. Other performances that were scheduled soon after the incident were canceled such as YG, Mac Miller, Vic Mensa and Joey Bada$$. Ferg made it be known that there is nothing but positive vibes and went on to shout out A$AP Yams.

Afterwards, he brought out a fellow A$AP Mob member and Harlem native, Marty Baller. With his Mob family onstage with him, the level of energy went from 100% to 200% and it was a nonstop jump fest with a lot flexing. One thing that definitely caught us by surprise was how Tory Lanez came back in between Ferg’s sets to perform more songs. I caught on right away to find that their show was a joint-set. I’ve been to a lot of shows before, but I have never seen a joint-set happen. I loved it. They took turns getting the crowd more turnt than they already were. Tory would come out crowd surfing performing “Real Addresses” and then would later come out hanging off the second floor railing screaming during “Diego” like a full on rockstar.

Ferg would come back getting the crowd completely out of their mind by performing his older hits like “Work (Remix)” and “Shabba.” Him and Marty Baller got everybody rapping the lyrics and their hands in the air. The night started as a sauna and turned into a hotbox with the smell of herbs everywhere. The Harlem Knight didn’t forget to perform gems off his latest album Always Strive and Prosper with tracks such a “Hungry Ham,” “Yammy Gang,” and of course “New Level” pumping up the fans.

The show closed out with Tory Lanez joining Ferg on stage to perform their only collaboration “Line Up The Flex.” Even though we expected the show to be a lot longer than what it was, the performances over all was turnt up on a completely new level. These two wild artists will wrap up their Level Up tour in Boston on June 24.

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