Spotify continued their series of Rap Caviar events in Chicago last Friday. Rap Caviar was hosted at Aragon Ballroom with featured artists: Cardi B, Playboi Carti and Lil Uzi Vert. Aragon Ballroom is an interesting venue due to the fact it is general admission. As soon as people enter, your “personal bubble” is popped.

The event was planned to start at 7:05 p.m. with Cardi B, but she was 20 minutes late. She claimed it was due to her having a cold. The crowd was not pleased and stood there while she tried to hype them up.  After pushing through her three songs, I was bored, hot and claustrophobic.

They had a DJ for in-between acts that helped me with the 20-minute wait for Playboi Carti. Definitely worth the wait. Carti came out to “Location” a slow song that still managed to make the crowd shake the ground. He then continued the hype with “Magnolia” a super popular song that turned the crowd to a total free-for-all. I had to fight to not lose my friend in the chaos. He then continued to play songs off his self-titled album “Playboi Carti.¨

Fans were hoping to see Uzi alongside Carti for “Woke Up Like This” and “Lookin” but Carti performed both solo. This is likely due to the fact that a day before the event Uzi tweeted that he wouldn’t be touring with Carti.

Carti finished and DJ Drama was planned to start right after him with no breaks. Drama continued the theme and was 40 minutes late. The DJ in-between played the same few songs that he did earlier, which totally brought down the hype. The crowd was hot, crowded and bored yet again.

When Drama finally came out he started his set with older Kanye songs. He had a Chicago-focused set and brought out fellow Chicagoan Vic Mensa. Vic performed two songs and left leaving us back with the under-hyped DJ.

Drama then threw a curveball and brought out Chicago drill rap artist Lil Bibby. Bibby took over the crowd and changed the whole dynamic with his four most popular songs: “How We Move,” “Kill Sh*t,” “Gang” and “Ain’t Heard About You.” DJ Drama and Bibby then left the stage and told us to wait for Uzi.

The crowd ended up waiting another hour in the hot, crowded ballroom waiting.

Lil Uzi Vert opened with “Sauce It Up” a song of his new album “Luv Is Rage 2.” He then brought it back to his older albums and played “Do What I Want.” After using those songs he used to bring the crowd to their toes he played “Money Longer. The crowd went crazy. After hearing those three songs I knew I was in for a treat.

Uzi then continued the Chicago music theme and told the crowd: “Let’s put on some real Chicago [music].¨ The DJ then started playing “Rollin” by G Herbo not as loud as other songs. As the intro played, the crowd was confused on why it was playing and just stood there waiting for what was next.

G Herbo, an up-and-coming Chicago drill artist, then jumped out on stage right as the chorus played—now just as loud as the other songs. This took the crowd by surprise and everyone proceeded to sing along. Then G Herbo played “Everything” off his new album “ Humble Beas” The song featuring Uzi is not a very popular song but still had the crowd jumping. He transitioned into another song off his new album “I Like.¨ He completely destroyed the mood with that slow song. Herbo realized this and proceeded to leave the stage right after.

Uzi then came back out and asked the crowd if we wanted to hear his old music. The crowd erupted in cheers. “7AM” and “Top” were definitely the favorites.

Overall, I will never be attending the Aragon Ballroom again unless it’s another crazy duo like Carti and Uzi. It was hot and super cramped. I left my house with clean white shoes and left with black shoes. My toes were smashed and I could barely walk the next day. The music was fantastic. All artist besides Cardi B kept the energy of the crowd high and made for an overall great concert.