The Sycuan stage lights at Gallagher Square cast the audience in colors of blue and gold as Petco Park and the buildings of downtown tower over them. Rhythms of hip-hop and rap echo throughout the venue and fill Gaslamp Quarter with music. Hype, energetic and booming, A Boogie wit da Hoodie’s concert on Oct. 4 drowned out the noise of the city, immersing the crowd in bass so loud they could feel it in their bones.

Julius Dubose, known by his stage name A Boogie wit da Hoodie or “A Boogie” for short, is a rapper from The Bronx, New York, with 16.5 million listeners on Spotify. He started making music at 19 and has since then released eight albums, collaborating with artists such as 21 Savage, Offset and Future.

Even before A Boogie came on, concert-goers crowded the stage, feeling the beat of TheARTI$t, the opener who performed a few of her original tracks and hyped up the crowd for the night ahead.

Following the opener, DJ Ominaya took the crowd’s energy even higher, spinning tracks from rappers such as Drake, Cardi B and Chief Keef, in addition to songs he knew would get the crowd dancing, such as “Crank That” by Soulja Boy, “Teach Me How to Dougie” by Cali Swag District and “Just Wanna Rock” by Lil Uzi Vert.

As the crowd began to grow, DJ Ominaya brought out the star of the night to the stage.

“Put your cell phone lights in the air right now and light it up for A Boogie!” DJ Ominaya shouted.

Fans roared as A Boogie took the stage, fitted in diamond chains as he opened with his song “Jungle.”

The artist went on to perform tracks from various albums such as “Ransom,” “Me and My Guitar,” “Swerving” and “My Sh*t,” the single that led him to stardom. 

“I’m here for the vibes,” said Paris Muñoz, a second-year business administration major at San Diego State University, who added that she likes A Boogie because of “how much (she) can relate to (his songs).”

Her sister Mia Muñoz, also a second-year business administration major at SDSU, said she is the bigger fan in the family and asked her sister to tag along.

“This is one of my top artists. I’ve listened to him since I was in sixth grade,” Muñoz said.

“It’s a mixture of rap, but it’s also talking about real things that happen,” she continued. “Every kind of (person) can relate to it.”

A Boogie created an emotional moment when he paid tribute to PnB Rock, a rapper who passed away in September. 

“If you ever lost somebody in your life that you loved, I want you to shine a cell phone light to the sky for that person right now,” he said. “We’re doing this for our brother, gone too soon.”

A Boogie often asked the crowd to think about times in their lives when they experienced an emotion that the upcoming song was about, and if so, told them to “make some noise” or “put (their) hands to the sky,” taking advantage of the openness the outdoor venue created.

With an engaging stage presence that showcased his love of performing before a live audience, he moved up and down the stage making eye contact with the waves of cheering crowds.

“Right side, how you feeling?” he would say, followed by “Left side, how you feeling?”

Packing in as many songs as he could, A Boogie performed hits back-to-back, letting the crowd excitedly anticipate which one would be next.

“(A Boogie) is the youngest artist out of New York City with a diamond record,” said DJ Ominaya, who accompanied him on stage throughout the show. “He’s not just a rapper, he’s a motherf***** rockstar .”

When the signature beat of his song “Back At It” from the album “Hoodie SZN” started playing, the crowd went wild, erupting in noise as fans sang along to the well-known lyrics they had been eagerly waiting to hear live.

To close out his energizing performance, A Boogie had the audience form a giant circle to close in on and mosh when the beat dropped in “Drowning,” the song that got him his diamond record. The rapper performed “Drowning” multiple times while the crowd jumped enthusiastically, enjoying the opportunity to keep dancing.

“Thank you to all the faces that popped out today,” A Boogie said after finishing his last song, expressing his appreciation for all the fans’ support and showing out that night.