Mountain View’s Shoreline Amphitheatre has seen its fair share of hip-hop royalty, but Friday night’s “Lil Wayne: Tha Carter VI” concert felt like a time capsule cracked open — not gently, but with smoke cannons, blinding lights and literal fire. The show was a reminder that some artists never really leave the stage; they just wait for the right night to take it back.
The evening with opener DJ Tlew, who warmed up the crowd with an energetic forty-minute set. Then Tyga appeared: a surprise to me, given I hadn’t realized he’d be on the bill. But any confusion evaporated into excitement the moment he launched into “Juice,” followed by “Ayy Ladies,” “Deuces” and his career-defining “Rack City.” From there came “Loyal,” “Ayo” and a slick closer in “Taste.”
Tyga thrived in the space between club banger and playful braggadocio, working the Shoreline crowd like a seasoned hype man for himself, cycling through hits built for collective movement. His go-to crowd prompt — “Make some noise for yourself one time!” — became a kind of running joke as he repeated it nearly a dozen times. Nevertheless, the energy stayed high, the smoke machines did their part to maintain the atmosphere and the amphitheatre loosened up for what was to come…