The 2015 edition of Hip Hop Explosion, part of the Cultural Affairs Commission’s Hip Hop Congress, was officially called into session Thursday night.
Instead of stiff suits and flag lapel pins, this crowd consisted of a sea of colorful patterned shirts and snapbacks bobbing to the bumping beats.
The explosion started out with a blast.
Los Angeles rapper Hugh Augustine started out the night right, bouncing around the stage with his curly hair and round Harry Potter-esque sunglasses.
The opener also made a political statement during his performance, getting the crowd to chant “black lives matter,” a slogan of the protests against police brutality that has swept the nation.
Los Angeles-based rap group Warm Brew took the stage after, serving up spins off its first album “Ghetto Beach Boyz” and getting the crowd pumped up for the main event.
Warm Brew members Ray Wright, Manu Li and Serk Spliff took turns on the mic with a coastal sound that felt right at home with the name of their new album.
The three rappers stumbled and jumped around in a semi-choreographed dance that showcased their clownish, fun-loving personas.
The trio also brought back opener Augustine on their last track “Congregate,” coming out among the crowd and climbing on the barricades to drive their rhymes home.
The next MC up to bat was Long Beach native Vince Staples who performed songs off his first major commercial release, the 2014 EP “Hell Can Wait.”
Staples is associated with Los Angeles collective Odd Future, a group often credited with bringing the burgeoning alternative hip-hop movement to the masses.
Staples’ most powerful performance was the politically charged “Hands Up,” an angry manifesto against police brutality and racial profiling, during which he implored the crowd to put both hands up in a style reminiscent of the Michael Brown protests.
His hit “Blue Suede,” however, got the best response from the crowd. The track doubled as a message on the cycle of poverty and violence in the artist’s early life and a party banger for the audience.
But the biggest cheers were reserved for the lanky wunderkind Earl Sweatshirt, who dropped a handful of mixtapes and a critically-acclaimed top-40 studio album before he was legally allowed to drink.
In some ways, Sweatshirt’s performance on campus was a bit of a homecoming for the 21-year-old, whose mother is a professor at the UCLA School of Law.
During the concert, Sweatshirt treated the hungry audience with his own unique brand of mumblecore slant rhyme rap, words coming out fast in rhythmic monotone drone.
The headliner started with tracks like “Whoa” off his major label debut Doris and “Blade” off the mixtape “Radical” by Odd Future.
Sweatshirt’s energy started dipping while doing the older numbers, dropping to a low point with his biggest hit “Chum” off Doris. The rapper attributed it to his lack of attachment with his older music, then followed the speech with a quick session of new songs.
Staples’ return to the stage seemed to revitalize the audience and Sweatshirt as he performed his guest verse on “Hive,” with both the crowd and the headliner matching his fierce intensity.
The newfound energy corresponded with newfound elation with the crowd and the venue that continued on to the end of the performance.
“I love UCLA,” Sweatshirt announced after “Hive.” “I wanna kiss ya’ll on the mouth.”
Compiled by Kevin Truong, Bruin senior staff.