Kicking off the Sunburn Arena series leading up to the highly anticipated 15th edition of Sunburn Festival, the Arena series couldn’t have kicked off better than with a stellar 2-city tour of Hip Hop great, Wiz Khalifa.
Remember the times when Wiz Khalifa had just made his way onto your playlists on those beat up iPods back in school, when Black & Yellow was the official gangster beat for the youngsters back then? For many that attended Wiz Khalifa’s 2-city tour in Delhi and Mumbai over the weekend, it was a long awaited moment, where they got to finally reminisce those earlier hits while also singing along to his newer numbers.
The multi-platinum record winning rapper was in the country for his 2-city Sunburn India tour in Delhi & Mumbai on 14, 15 September. Eager fans flocked to both shows in numbers of 10,000+ attendees in both cities.
The Sherp lived his fan moment at the Mumbai concert, where Wiz Khalifa sung out to a horde of eager revellers, all of whom were seen crooning to the rap mogul’s chart-busting hits, from start of his 90 minute set until the very end.
Opening for his Mumbai concert were local hip-hop talents such as Ananya Birla, Emiway Bantai, Monica Dogra, Ishani x Bobkat, and THEMXXNLIGHT.
The only hiccup before an otherwise flawless night, was the time it took to enter the venue. The organizers could have done better to keep lines organized with volunteers or staff guiding people where to go, as entry after getting our LDA bands and passes took up almost 45 minutes. Although gates opened around the 4pm mark, crowds continued pouring in well after 8pm too.
Once in, the Sherp had reached just in time for Emiway Bantai who had taken to the stage, eager to please the local crowd with his recent sensational gully rap hits. The energy of the desi rap star through his most popular number, “Machayenge”, was exactly what the crowd needed to get pumped for Wiz Khalifa’s set.
The American rapper made his way on stage to a raucous cheer urging him on from the audience sections eagerly waiting for a glimpse of him. Wiz Khalifa announced, “This is going to be the most memorable night since it’s my last night in India” before he broke out with “When I Grow Up”, which had the crowd singing along among cheers all through it. His set followed with popular numbers such as “Black and Yellow”, “We Own It”, “When I Grow Up”, “Sucker For Pain”, “Promises”, “We Dem Boyz”, “Roll Up” and “Young Wild and Free”, among other hits. He closed his set with a slowed down rendition of his famed hit, “See You Again”, which adequately accompanied his sign off to India, only until next time.
Donned in white jeans, a T-shirt and a sporty cap, Wiz Khalifa played to the whims of his audience, shaping his set around their requests that came in unison and also got the crowds scrambling for a ‘J’ as he flung inflatable RAW joint balloons into the audience. While there were a few incidents of people fighting over the inflatables, an adequate number of security personnel were present to keep the audience in control.
The fans were sprawled across the venue in the GA, VIP, and Fan Pit sections, with the exclusion of exclusive VVIP and media lounges. The Fan Pit wrapped around the walk-way from the stage, and had the closest view of the rapper. The Sherp was in the VIP section, which had its fair share of attendees with the second best view in the room, witnessing Wiz Khalifa in all his glory.
While there were many notable celebrities present in the audience, Madhuri Dixit and Rajakumari were among the lucky few that got to meet Wiz.
Easily accessible food and alcohol points ensured that the attendees could be fueled for the night. The VIP section had 2 alcohol stall sections on either flank of the venue, which helped people easily maneuver to their nearest side. All in all, Sunburn Arena with Wiz Khalifa was the right kick off to Sunburn Arena and the anticipation grows high for Sunburn Festival which returns back to Goa, this December.
Karan Singh, COO, Percept Live states, “We are extremely pleased with the stellar response we garnered for the tour and we would definitely like to bring in more hip-hop acts into India 2020. Percept Live once again delivered a state-of-the-art spectacle owing to the ever-increasing popularity of the Sunburn brand.”
Overall, Sunburn Arena with Wiz Khalifa was a night to remember, and for many loyal fans, a glory moment they will long cherish for time to come. Closing his set with the promise, “I will definitely be back again”, Wiz Khalifa sure has his fans waiting for that moment.
Sherp’s Rating: 8/10
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