Up-and-coming R&B artist Chase Shakur filled up the Voodoo Room for his sold-out show on Wednesday, April 30 with fans buzzing in anticipation for the night’s performance.
San Diego marks the fourth stop on Shakur’s “Wonderlove” tour for his album released Feb. 7. The 24-year-old from Atlanta is a rapper turned singer whose genre blending style is a fresh addition to the alt-R&B world.
For the first half of the tour, Shakur is joined by opener Genia, whose mix of pop and R&B brought a lively energy to the crowd ahead of the main performance. Her strong vocals left the crowd enthusiastically cheering and got everyone moving around to the beat.
For the most part, Shakur worked through his newest album in the same order as the tracklist, opening the concert with songs “LIMERENCE” and “UNDERCOVER ANGEL.” He was met on stage by the cheers of the crowd and most of the audience yelling the lyrics.
“I love the vibes,” Shakur told the crowd after finishing his second song.
Shakur got the crowd bouncing their hands up and down to his song “WANT U” which speeds up with an ending inspired by electronic dance music. While playing the intro for the next song, “2ofUs,” Shakur asked the crowd, “You know the first line right?” The crowd proved him right as they immediately shouted out the opening lines. During the song, he also instructed the crowd to put up two fingers, matching the song’s lyrics “guess that makes two of us.”
“This one’s for the day ones, if you came with a newcomer you better teach them,” Shakur said to introduce “Comes With The Damage,” a song from his first project “It’ll Be Fine” which was released in 2022.
Before getting back to his new songs, Shakur sang a few more songs from this project including “Honda Civic ‘98,” “Want Me” and “Pray Slow”.
Smoothly transitioning between songs like “LUV IN DA 6,” “FAIRYTALES IN MIDTOWN,” and “SEX N SADE” the crowd came out of its shell with each song. By the time Shakur reached “FACE IT,” an uptempo song with hints of house music energy, everyone was moving around more and clapping to the beat.
An unexpected but vital part of the show’s energy was DJ Roos, Shakur’s DJ who helped get the crowd hyped before the performance and also provided adlibs and commentary during the show.
During the song “MHMM,” Roos instructed the girls in the crowd to wave their fingers in time with the backing vocals of “mhmm mhmm.”
“I know y’all got like 10 dudes in your DMs that you don’t want to talk to right now,” Roos playfully commented.
Toward the end of the show, Shakur took a moment to slow it down and brought out a stool to sing from for “CAN’T BLOCK DA SUN,” “you’re so lovely” and “A SONG FOR HER.” The audience created a sea of flashlights for “CAN’T BLOCK DA SUN,” creating an intimate atmosphere that allowed for Shakur’s vocals to shine as the crowd quieted down to take it all in.
“Thanks for taking that moment with me,” Shakur told the crowd after, “let’s speed it up.” He then transitioned to some more fan favorites, “Too Far Close” and “x’s n o’s.” The latter had DJ Roos coming out from behind the deck in order to jump around with Shakur and encourage the crowd to do the same.
“Till next time,” Shakur tells the audience before disappearing backstage after “x’s n o’s” though he isn’t gone for long. Shakur, keys player Daniel Barrett, DJ Roos and Genia all took the stage again to throw roses out to the women in the crowd for the last song, “FOCUS ON ME.”
As the crowd reluctantly filtered out of the venue I overheard a fan talking to his friend about the night. “I’ve seen artists like him, this is like seeing PARTYNEXTDOOR before he blew up,” he said. It’s clear that Shakur’s fans are passionate about his potential as an artist and are excited about what is to come for him.
Shakur brought an energy of authenticity along with his immense talent which drew a crowd of fans who are just as passionate about music as he is. It will be interesting to see how Shakur will continue to evolve and cement himself in the world of R&B.
