Live Review

Rick Ross – O2 Apollo, Manchester

• 23rd Nov 2010

Rick Ross, for me, has dominated 2010. Early in the year I was lucky enough to go and see him perform live at 02 Indigo in London and it was a fantastic show; unfortunately this time around it was not the same. Since I last saw Ross live he has released two massive singles, ‘BMF’ and ‘MC Hammer’ and released one of the albums of the year ‘Teflon Don’ so expectations were understandably high. For one reason or another the crowd did not seem very receptive to the warm up acts, despite an entertaining set from Manchester’s own R.I.O., but the disappointment that Young Money artist Tyga didn’t show was clear.

When Ross come to the stage all seemed to be forgiven as he opened with the aforementioned ‘MC Hammer’. The bass was rattling and the crowd was jumping in the air, including myself. After performing some classic tracks from albums ‘Port Of Miami’ and ‘Trilla’, Ross delivered his biggest number ‘BMF’. The crowd ably contributed to the lyrics and this was the highlight of the night.

Following this, the atmosphere soured and the show didn’t pick up. A lacklustre reception for ‘Aston Martin Music’ and greetings of silence following the end of the subsequent tracks performed led Ross to sense the mood change. To close the show Ross performed ‘BMF’
again hoping to get the crowd back on side but for me it cheapened the performance doing it again. The crowd left the venue in two camps, one cheering and the other in silence. To say I was gutted was an understatement but I will continue to be a massive fan despite this flat show.