“You want to go home or you want to keep going?” Metro Boomin asked the packed audience late into his set on Tuesday night (Aug. 8) at Billboard’s R&B Hip-Hop Live event at The Novo in Los Angeles. The answer from the crowd registered as an unintelligible roar — but it was clear they weren’t ready to leave.
The hitmaking DJ and producer, who most recently executive produced the Marvel soundtrack Metro Boomin Presents Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse — which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 in June — played for over an hour following Billboard’s 2023 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players event in honor of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. Joining him on the bill were “Players” rapper-vocalist Coi Leray and rapper Armani White (“BILLIE EILISH,” “Baazigar”).
Though he was the headlining act of the night, Metro made a casual entrance to the stage, sauntering out in white jeans, T-shirt and purple ball cap to take his place behind the boards. Over the course of the crowd-pleasing set, the hitmaker performed tracks including “10 Freaky Girls,” “Niagara Falls (Foot or 2),” “Creepin’,” “Umbrella,” “Minute,” “No Complaints” as well as Spider-Verse cuts including “Calling” and “Self Love.”
Metro also made several nods to his production work, performing “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” (a cut off Kanye West’s Life of Pablo), Post Malone’s “Congratulations” with Quavo and “Heartless” by The Weeknd.
Metro’s “Self Love” collaborator Leray (sporting close-cropped blue hair) preceded him on stage with an ecstatic set that included such hits as “Bitch Girl,” “Baby Don’t Hurt Me,” “Bops,” “Get Loud,” “Make My Day” and “Players,” which became her first top 10 entry on the Billboard Hot 100 when it peaked at No. 9 on the tally in April. The charismatic rapper was backed by a crew of fatigue-clad dancers, with one male member of the team executing some onstage acrobatics at several points during the performance. This being a Billboard event, Leray made sure to shout out her first Hot 100 entry “No More Parties,” which peaked at No. 26 on the tally in March 2021.
“This s–t real,” Leray said at the top of her set. “I remember when they say I was TikTok, hopped on Tiktok — now they say I’m [Billboard].”
Earlier in the evening, White pulled off spirited performances of such tracks as “SILVER TOOTH,” “Onederful” and “Thanksgiving.” At one point, the rising rapper referenced his big moment at Osheaga Festival on Saturday (Aug. 5), when Billie Eilish brought him out on stage to perform his hit single — you guessed it — “BILLIE EILISH.”
“I don’t know if any of y’all follow me, but I was on stage with Billie Eilish,” said White, clearly still drinking in the viral moment. “Some wild s–t, right?”
