Kid Cudi rocks the Carrier Dome

Cudi brings crowd to life after mixed reception to Damian Marley, Nas

The energy for the Block Party 2011 was in yo-yo form as anxious Kid Cudi fans waited for him to take the stage. Instead of the high energy throughout the night that was expected from the crowd of 15,000, the hype was visible at some times and hard to find during others.

A Syracuse University tradition, this year’s Block Party brought thousands of people out for the annually anticipated concert. After the Mayfest festivities in Walnut Park ended, the crowd of SU students made their way to the Carrier Dome for the performances.

It was easy to spot the crowd’s excitement when headliner, Kid Cudi took the stage. After constant chanting for his performance, the rapper came out to highly energized audience. He returned the favor with his personal interactions with fans.

The hype was felt all over the Dome, especially when Cudi brought an adoring (and a little inebriated) fan on stage to rap with him. The lucky fellow managed to get out a quick demand after his duet with the rapper, “I’m going to tweet you and you’re going to retweet me!”

Cudi had a pretty soft start, opting to perform his slower-paced songs first. He brought out fellow rapper and good friend, Chip Tha Ripper to perform a freestyle. After a few jokes and laughs with his band, he rocked the house with his high-energy jams like “Memories” and “Day ‘n’ Nite”

New artist, Tinie Tempah started off the show with his fast-paced dance hits. Even with the Carrier Dome half full, the U.K. rapper managed to get those who were there to jump out their seats and sing along.

The excitement really started to take when Nas & Damian Marley took the stage. Their two-hour set had the crowd energized for their previous hits but barely bopping along with their current jams. After a thirty minute wait for the two to perform, the crowd was brought back to life by DJ Green Lantern, who played throwback rap hits from the early 2000s.

When the pair arrived they performed a few songs from last year’s joint album, Distant Relatives. Veteran rapper Nas took a breather for an hour while reggae artist Damian Marley presented his own tracks. Not only did Marley bring out the lighters-in-the-air vibe, but marijuana clouds as well. His reggae songs, high-energy dancers and effortless flag-twirler did not have the audience too into the show. The ballad-style rhythms were not thrilling for most. Some sections on the second and third level began to sit down and watch the show from a less interactive position.

When Marley took a break and decided to let Nas perform his hits, the squatters quickly stood back up to sing along with his classic hits like 2002’s “Made You Look” and 1996’s “If I Ruled the World.”

The overall crowd reaction to night was a feeling of content with the five-hour music show. SU freshman Melanie Copeland felt the same way. “It was a pretty good concert. Kid Cudi was really good.”

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