Mavi flew into Minneapolis for his “Laughing so Hard, It Hurts” tour. Right, when I walked in I could feel the cool, relaxing energy. The DJ started playing vinyl records for the crowd and switched to newer music before Mavi. This was really interesting to see done live in front of a crowd, the sound quality was great with a little crackle, and it really switched the mood. Fly Anakin opened for Mavi and I could not have asked for a better opener. He put the crowd in the right mood with his similar style of music to Mavi but kept the energy up with his comedy. Fly Anakin is a rapper, record producer, and co-founder of the rap group called Mutant Acadamy. Fly Anakin cracked jokes in between his songs for example two of his songs had more energy so he called them his “Drake songs”. If you like Griselda or specifically Westside Gunn, I would recommend Fly Anakin.

Mavi all the way from Charlottesville, North Carolina, raps over smooth, relaxing, jazz/R&B beats. The beats almost sound like what I imagine my grandparents would eat dinner to. Mavi came out wearing a bright red hoodie with light-wash jeans, with iced tips on his dreads, and a diamond pendant on his necklace that caught your eye. His first song had the lyrics and the rest of his songs were rapped acapella as Fly Anakin did. Like Fly Anakin, Mavi was very likable and funny and he told stories in between each song. After the first song, he told a story about how the last time he was in Minneapolis he crashed a car. He said he hit some black ice and crashed a 2009 Denali Alto, which he booked under someone else’s credit card. He was worried about making it to his show so he hopped in an uber before the police had time to show up, and he made it to his show. In between songs, he made it known where he was from, he is 23 years old, he is a libra, and his relationship status is complicated. Mavi just got back from a tour in Europe, specifically Berlin, and he said it was his first time back at work in a while. He explained how he has the best job in the world and he loves to tell his friends how he is “this big famous rapper”.

Mavi also explained the meaning of songs, like a song he wrote about a girl he had a crush on in school or a song about heartbreak. His overall set was first, songs off his newest album Laughing so Hard, it Hurts, then songs off his 2019 album, Let the Sun Talk, and last were songs off his EP, End of the Earth. At the end, he played his hit songs like his track with Earl Sweatshirt, “EL TORO COMBO MEAL”, “Love, Of Money”, “Eye / I and I / Nation”, and “Time Travel”. He left the stage without playing his classic “Self Love”. The crowd chanted “Self Love!” and he peaked his head through the curtain and came back out to perform the song which had the whole crowd singing every word. If you like Earl Sweatshirt or the Alchemist, I would check out Mavi if you haven't already. We could tell Mavi is very comfortable on stage and interacting with the crowd, and I bet he had a ton of fun and so did the crowd. At the end of the night, it was just another day in the office for Mavi. Most people just show up to work, but Mavi showed up to rap, tell funny jokes and exciting stories, and showed how he fits the job description, and more.

Written by Kai Loiseaux-Purcell. Photos taken by Shreya Prabhu.