CHICAGO — Cochise is an artist designed for the mainstream moment.
Harboring that sought-after baby voice and some gleeful, upbeat production, the 24-year-old rapper has an array of tracks that have garnered him a steadily larger fanbase over the last half decade.
Songs like “Hatchback,” “Knicks,” “POCKET ROCKET” and particularly “Tell Em” found viral success on TikTok as much as they further defined Cochise as an artist of the moment.
Sporting a dripped-out trench coat with some golden Fendi glasses, Cochise proves his worth as a characteristic, energetic component of contemporary rage-rap on his latest performance run, “THE INSPECTION” tour.
Stopping at Reggie’s in Chicago on Saturday (Oct. 1), the crowd had all the trademark necessities of a 2022 rap show — except for that annoying whistle. Victorian-era masks, Lyrical Lemonade merch and even some stage divers transfixed the 400-person capacity venue into a much more vibrant, involved experience.
The fans showed up and showed out, crafting a mosh pit at any and all possible moments. With each beat introduction leading into the next song elicit oohs and aahs — and the occasional “YOOOO” — from the young, frenzied audience.
The excitement was as palpable as it was immediate, as you could just barely see Cochise through the backstage curtain as the intro to “MR.PROFESSOR” started things off with a bang. Attendees who I was just talking to were now jumping along to the fast-paced beat, with Cochise prancing and stunting on stage like the “MEGAMAN” he truly is.
At a certain point, Cochise instructed the sound and light engineers to “turn the lights off.” Dozens of iPhone flashlights bask the young star in the luminance of his fans, lending more intimacy to the show.
The day before the Chicago stop on “THE INSPECTION” tour, Cochise posted an Instagram story demanding that fans dress up in a trench coat for his next show. I spotted a group of them leaving the venue, telling them that I got a picture of them stage diving. To my surprise, this was a different fan in my picture, as there were at least five different tan trench coats dispersed throughout the concert.
Cosplaying as your favorite rapper and making TikToks about it is one thing. But doing it at their concert? That’s priceless.
“THE INSPECTION” Tour runs through Dec. 10 and his latest album is available now, with features from the likes of Chief Keef, Young Nudy and more. Tickets are available on his site here.
Check out ‘THE INSPECTION’ by Cochise below!
