Travis Scott took to the FNB stadium this past Saturday for the South African leg of his Circus Maximus tour and he blew Johannesburg away. The tour, in its final stages, heads off to Asia for its conclusion, but not before Travis said of the Joburg leg, “Nahhhhhh yall set TONE”.
The rapper’s last performance in the country was eight years ago at the Ticketpro Dome where he shut Castle Lite Unlocks down after headlining with Bryson Tiller. This performance saw the same raw energy from the crowd, but on a much bigger scale. Parents escorted their teenagers to the show, veteran fans threw down in the moshpit with the younger crowd, a good time was had.
The day’s events were not without hiccups, though, as frustrated concert-goers bemoaned the hour and a half long delay before Travis got on stage where they were plunged into complete silence without any communication from the event organisers on the goings on. There weren’t any opening acts in the stadium, save for two DJs that were booed by the crowd for their lacklustre sets.
A pre-show experience, however, was hosted outside of the stadium at the Gold Rush Dome, where SA hip hop took centre stage. A-Reece, Kwesta, 25K and Touchline put on for their cities with their own catalogues, and also honoured the legends who have gone before us with a touching tribute. They took a moment to reflect on AKA, HHP, Pro Kid, and Riky Rick, who’ve shaped their individual journeys and contributed to the culture at large.
Travis Scott took to the stage, wearing merch with the South African flag on his arm, and gave the performance of his life. Fans raged stadium wide and he performed “FE!N” six times. At some point while performing “Goosebumps”, he also broke down into tears, overwhelmed with emotion.
