Photo courtesy of Frankie Vergara
Stopping in cities such as Atlanta, Boston and Chicago, Future brings his friends along for the ride.
When discussing which artists went on memorable runs in 2022, you’d be hard-pressed to dismiss Future from those conversations.
Along with winning his first-ever GRAMMY Award as a leading artist for Best Melodic Rap Performance (“WAIT FOR U”), the Atlanta superstar has never slowed down. Even during his down years, his presence is always missed. From guest features to the success of his latest LP, I NEVER LIKED YOU, Future is yet again thriving through another amazing run in his 10-plus year career.
With the exception of festival headlining sets and pop-up appearances, it’s been quite some time since Future has gone on tour. In support of I NEVER LIKED YOU, Future hit the road in January to six cities across the nation for his “One Big Party” tour. With supporting acts such as Kodak Black, Trippie Redd, EST Gee, Polo G and more, Future didn’t take the phrase “One Big Party” lightly.
On Jan. 20, Future and friends made their way to Chicago to perform at the iconic United Center — home of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks. This stop’s headlining acts were Kodak Black and Future, but Kodak could not attend due to his obligations at Paris Fashion Week. Nonetheless, Future still made it his initiative to put on one spectacular show.
Kicking off the show for Chicago was Houston native Lil Jairmy — known for his collaborations with Lil Baby and Future — which was a great way to kick off the show. Keeping the energy high and getting everyone on their feet was his main objective, and he did just that and was able to keep fans entertained for the entirety of his opening set.
Next up was Babyface Ray, one of the biggest rising stars coming out of Detroit right now. First gaining major traction with his Unfuckwitable tape back in 2021, Babyface Ray has been on a crazy run ever since and has been fairly consistent in making sure that his music is always in rotation. With Detroit and Chicago being so close geographically, his set was yet another one to keep the crowd intact and served as a great introduction to what was still yet to come.
Straight out of Louisville Kentucky, EST Gee was next up on the lineup and his set was nothing less than amazing. His stage presence was top-tier, and many would never guess that he is still a rapper who is still on the rise as well. Making a grand entrance to one of his best songs “5500 Degrees”, EST Gee made sure that he let Chicago know that he’s here and here to stay, and the world will remember his name forever. With a few of the supporting acts missing from the setlist, that being Doe Boy, and Kodak Black, it was now time for Future to make his arrival.
As the stage lights dim, the huge screens lit up as Future makes his grand entrance, performing none other than “712PM”, the iconic intro to his album. Sporting a puffer coat and a huge puffer mask, which he has been seen rocking lately, This song perfectly blends into the second song on the album, “IM DAT N****”. From this point on, Future would begin to take us on a trip down memory lane by performing many of his legendary hits across the years.
While still keeping it modern and performing songs from his latest project, he made sure that he satisfied every era of Future fans that were in attendance. For the fans of his DS2 album, “Stick Talk” and other classics were performed; instantly bringing people back to the time and place they fell in love with those hits. Being sure to not lose the newer fans, “Puffin On Zooties” and “For A Nut” were performed as well, keeping that energy fresh and making sure that there was enough hits to go around.
With it being Chicago, and Future being one of the most legendary acts in the game, it was no doubt that he had some tricks up his sleeve. Coming to the stage next would be none other than G Herbo, to perform some of his legendary hits. While the surprises didn’t end there, the Hometown Hero himself, Lil Durk, was next up and he lit the entire United Center up with his performance. Not only performing his hits, he even performed “Crazy Story” by King Von, so he could have his moment at the United Center, even though he is no longer with us.
The second half of Future’s set was everything that he delivered in the first half, and then some. This is where he went in for the kill and performed some of his greatest hits ever. “Fuck Up Some Commas”, “Life Is Good”, and “Wait For U” all got some love during this part of his set. Ending the night on the highest note possible, Future ended his set with “March Madness”, which many would agree that this is a Top 5, maybe even Top 3 Future song of all time. From his 56 Nights album, “March Madness” was part of the iconic Trilogy that he released that year, and was definitely at the absolute peak of his career.
What made this night special, and what this show means to the culture is more than just a big celebration. This tour was more than just a bunch of popping artists who are all sharing the same stage. We all know by now that Future knows what the future (no pun intended) of the game will look like, and who will be the leaders of the new school when he is no longer active.
That being said, every artist that performed on this tour are all acts who have amazing star power and the ability to be the next leaders of not only street rap, but the game as a whole. Every person on the tour has a feature from Future, from “Chickens” with EST Gee, to “No Security” with Babyface Ray, and “Voodoo” with Kodak Black. That alone lets it be known that these are not just a bunch of randomly selected artists on this stage. These are all artists that Future had worked with personally, and that he believes will be the future of this generation.
“One Big Party” — while short and sweet — was able to accomplish so much in just six stops across the nation. One thing about Future is that we never know what he will be up to next. Who knows; he may even do another mini tour to let more fans across the country witness the greatness that this beholds.
