On Fri., June 26, RVA rapper, Milo Case (https://rvamag.comarticles/full/24810/milo-case-releases-debut-mixtape-the-ascent), turned 19.
On Fri., June 26, RVA rapper, Milo Case (https://rvamag.comarticles/full/24810/milo-case-releases-debut-mixtape-the-ascent), turned 19. He celebrated by performing a 30 minute set at Club Infuzion in Scott’s Addition. Following a string of rappers who ranged from decent to less than impressive, the 19-year-old did not have much to be intimidated by.
Four local rappers took the stage Friday night, but Milo Case stole the show. Despite technical difficulties and the nerves of performing for the first time, the rapper gave a memorable performance.
Initially, it was not difficult to tell that the young rapper was slightly unsure about what he had gotten himself into. Looking, at times, as if he did not know what to do with his hands or his person, he would retreat to the back of the stage. By the time the second song came in, however, he had eased into it, enjoying the crowd just as much as the crowd enjoyed him.
He exuded a comfortable stage presence and worked well to get the audience engaged, without being corny or forcing the connection. The fact that most of the people in attendance were there specifically to see Milo Case, did not hurt either. It made for a confident show which had everyone in the room following his every word.
The setlist featured some of the highlights from Milo Case’s debut mixtape, The Ascent (https://soundcloud.com/milocase/sets/the-ascent) including the track, “When the Lights Shut Off.” The song tells the rapper’s life story up until now and samples Kendrick Lamar’s “Sing About Me, Dying of Thirst,” from his first album, good Kid, m.A.A.d city.
Perhaps the most exciting part of the performance came when the club erupted in applause in the middle of the song. The rapper couldn’t hide the smile on his face after he rapped, “maybe I could go down in history making it in the big league from the inner-city negro league / that was the epidemic tried to stick to academics / and graduated the smartest nigga in the city limits.”
The crowd lost it, going off on a series of cheers and screams, half-way through the set.
<
By the time that “Bang,” the loud, catchy, trap music-influenced track came around, the entire crowd was fully on his side. With a simple, repetitive chorus that is the core of trap music’s identity, “Bang,” was going to be a sure-fire crowd pleaser, anyway. The audience ate it up.
