Outkast and YG Quietly Kick Off OVO Fest

Outkast, one of the most legendary rap groups of all time, got the chance to headline the first day of Drake’s fifth annual OVO Festival at Toronto’s Molson Canadian Amphitheatre. This year would mark the festival’s first successful foray into becoming a two-day event, after last year's first day was interrupted by Frank Ocean damaging his vocal chords and organizers slipping James Blake’s set to start the second day. This Toronto stop is one of over 40 music festival appearances that Andre 3000 and Big Boi have planned since they kicked off the fundraiser for their “We Wish We Had Invested In A Headphone Brand” foundation on April 18. The Toronto/OVO show was sandwiched between an appearance at Chicago’s Lollapaloozaand the Oya Festival in Norway, but it had the odd distinction of being one of the only shows where Outkast would be the main draw for the entire festival crowd.

Rap fans enjoy Outkast in the same way that religious people enjoy the Bible. Some enjoy the early works, some prefer the more recent material, and others enjoy a selection from both eras. But a very very small group of people love the entire collection, and they are the ones who see it as gospel. Looking around at the crowd for day one at OVO Fest, there was an overwhelming amount of fresh faces in their seats and packing the lawn, not one of which would be best defined by the words "old" or "wrinkled". These youths, eager to be seen in their monochromatic street wear brands and freshly bought OVO equipment, walked around the amphitheater making rap hands as the DJ played party starters like "We Dem Boyz" or A$AP Ferg's "Shabba Ranks." Judging by their age, most of those in attendance gave the impression they were simply there because they had bought the two-day pass for OVO, or that if they were there for Outkast, it was for the Stankonia or Love Below/Speakerboxxx era of the group, rather than the Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik one.

A few days before the event, an email from Live Nation was circulated, revealing that YG would be coming out at 7:40 before Outkast’s 9:15 start time, and that rumor held true, as the Compton rapper opened the show clad in a red Blue Jays jersey with "Canada" stitched across the back. YG crip walked around the stage, looking visibly joyous as worked through hits off his My Krazy Life album, opening with "BPT" before moving on to "Bicken Back Being Bool" and "Left Right" to the pleasure of twerking white girls all over the amphitheater. He performed his verse from Jeremih's "Don't Tell Nobody" while his hypeman tried to persuade all the ladies in the crowd to "show some titties" and ended up closing his short set by playing "My Nigga" and "Who Do You Love", the latter of which had conspiracy theorists in the crowd yelling that The Boy would be making an appearance. For an act who had the heavy burden of opening for Outkast, YG held his bool and did well with the young crowd.

After watching the recorded stream that was captured during their first performance at Coachella, it was difficult for me to get as excited as I should have been to see Outkast. At that show, they seemed to be going through the motions, moving around the stage without the energy or vigor that a younger act would. But what took the stage at day one of OVO Fest was so far removed from that first performance that I couldn't believe it was the same group. In fact, the only thing that was similar was the transparent cube suspended in the middle of the stage for the duration of their performance. Coming out in a white Warhol-inspired wig with extended sideburns and clad in a one-piece garbage bag-inspired suit, Andre 3000 took to the stage like lightning, jumping around as the drums kicked in for "Bombs Over Baghdad" with his partner in crime, Big Boi, who was draped in his own unique outfit made up of patchwork camouflage.

Backed by a five-piece band and a DJ, all of whom either donned sunglasses or black, Zorro-style masks, Outkast moved through hits from past and present to the complete adoration of the crowd. They rapped "Gasoline Dreams" and "Rosa Parks" with the type of energy that had the crowd eating out of their hands, so that by the time the chorus of "ATLiens" came on, everyone in attendance threw their hands into the air with the same level of carelessness that Bobby Shmurda reserves for tossing his hat. The duo let the music speak for itself, saving the long soliloquies for the next day at OVO Fest. Although, in a Drake-esque brainfart, Andre 3000 wondered aloud as to who would even think to invent panties in the first place after performing a solo set that concluded with "Prototype."

The entire night was calculated and performed precisely, with the litany of hits being broken up by a solo set from each member. Even as Bun B came out to accompany the duo for "International Players Anthem," it was done in such a deliberate fashion that it hardly felt like a surprise. And therein lies to problem: It’s not that seeing Outkast is particularly a terrible event or that it should ever be categorized as underwhelming. However, it felt more like an Outkast concert than Day One at OVO Festival. Though it's still new, the entire hype around this festival for the last five years has been the fact that it hinges on shock and awe, on the surprise guests and the one-of-a-kind moments that you won’t see anywhere else. Outside of the Bun B appearance, this Outkast performance didn't differ from the one that they performed in Chicago a day earlier, or the one that they'll perform in Norway in the following days. It felt like a tack-on event to extend the festival a second day. And though it may have been a legendary moment, it could have been made more special with the introduction of a surprise. On the other hand, they could always be stockpiling those for day two.

Slava Pastuk is kinda impressed, I guess. He could be more impressed. - @SlavaP

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Want a different take on Outkast? We saw them at Lollapalooza too.