A$AP Rocky At Place Bell, Jan 13 2019

Photo: Kaya Martin

A$AP Rocky’s “Injured Generation” tour took to Place Bell on Sunday night to treat fans to a stadium show based on his 2018 album TESTING.  

A$AP Rocky is the most popular member of Harlem rap collective A$AP Mob that began to gain popularity in 2011 after the release of his debut single “Peso” and his Live. Love. A$AP. mixtape. The rapper has since gone on to become a fashion icon in the music industry, and has also been featured in several movies.

Rocky’s show started when his hype men, wearing one piece lab coats and disturbing face masks, asked that the crowd follow their every command, whether this be to smile, frown, or laugh. The stage décor focused heavily on caution tape, black and yellow safety hazard signs and testing cars: a theme that Rocky encompassed for his newest album. As “A$AP Forever” began to play to the crowd, the New York rapper ran onstage and began rapping. He was dressed in a red jumpsuit topped with a yellow vest, complemented by Bred Retro Air Jordan 1s and a face mask that can only be described as a crash test dummy mask that could have been made by Hannibal Lecter himself.  

Shortly after rapping to various of his newest songs, Rocky requested silence from the crowd and paid homage to his late friend and fellow Mob member, A$AP Yams. He dedicated his next song to him. When “Yamborghini High” wrapped up, Rocky left for a wardrobe change while his unreleased song, “Babushka,” played for fans while they eagerly waited for his return.

As “Gunz N Butter” began playing and the curtain dropped, Rocky performed over 30 feet in the air on top of a floating car. The cars were covered with fashion brand stickers such as Gucci and VLONE while also being covered in crude graffiti. The artist showed no signs of uneasiness while overlooking the crowd, and continued to dance and rap while maintaining his swagger. As he made his way down from the car and onto centre stage, Rocky used a soundboard to introduce his next song, “Distorted Records.” With a camera on top of the board that projected onto the screen with special effects, the artist’s DJing looked more like a video game than a mixer. From there, he continued to play “Fukk Sleep” and “Tony Tone,” interrupted only briefly to do 10 push-ups at the instruction of the female voiceover that narrated the night.

When the stadium went dark, an old school anti-drug commercial ran on the screens. Those in attendance chanted for Rocky who reappeared in the middle of the smiley face stage. He laid on the floor, as his red jumpsuit contrasted the yellow background, and sang “LSD”: his hit single from At. Long. Last. A$AP. However, the crowd’s energy was at its highest when Rocky asked if he could get into some of his wilder songs. At his request, a massive mosh pit opened up and exploded to the first chord of Rocky’s Skrillex collaboration “Wild for the Night”, making any fan who had bought seat tickets wish they were on the floor for such an occasion.

When Rocky finished playing three songs in which he was featured on,  he sent the crowd into another frenzy with his track “F**kin’ Problems.” Finally, the rapper left the final song choice up to the crowd. When their cheers indicated that “Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2” was the one they wished to hear, Rocky played one final song for his fans and apologized for having taken so long to come back to Montreal. He thanked the crowd for their beautiful energy and bid them farewell – until next time.