The anticipation built up as fans waited for rap artist/producer P-LO to finally hit the stage of the legendary New Parrish.
As an artist and producer, rapper P-LO affiliates under the music collective “Heartbreak Gang,” or as most people know them, “HBK.” Its group members include artist P-LO, Kool John, Iamsu, Sage the Gemini, Skipper, CJ, Rossi, Dave Steezy, Jay Ant, and Kehlani. All artists are Bay Area locals, which is at the heart of all their music.
After contributing to many HBK mixtapes and collaborating on several different albums from other HBK members, P-LO released his new EP entitled “Before Anything,” on Jan. 28 of this year.
After the release of the album P-LO not only played, but sold out his first headline show at the New Parrish in Oakland this past Sunday, Jan. 31. Openers 1 O.A.K, and Noodles (DJ Set), were the first to kick the night off- both being Bay Area collectives, so the crowd was not only hyped up but became even more excited for P-LO to perform. Both of these talented artists gave a unique twist to the start of the set. 1 O.A.K gave his touch of hip hop and R&B music and shared a few new songs from his unreleased album with the crowd. Noodles, whom is also the DJ of Heartbreak member Kehlani, gave her own spin to the set. Playing all the popular sing-alongs and adding her own touch to the music as well.
P-LO decided to open with one his most popular songs, “On One,” that features Kool John, from their collaborative album “Moovie!” released last year. It made sense for P-LO to open up with this song being that it is probably one of the most popular fan favorites and corresponds with the upbeat rap energy of the crowd.
From the first upbeat rap to some hit throwbacks of his, like “Every Night” and “Going to work,” P-LO reveled in his own unique and new style to this new generation of urban rap culture. The sound behind not only HBK, but P-LO himself, is based solely on the culture from the Bay Area- otherwise known as the “hyphy culture,” or movement.
P-LO reintroduces this Bay Area sound not only in all of his previous albums and music, but also into his new album with songs like, “In That” and “Days.” He is definitely on his way to proving that he could take the Bay Area’s distinct prominence into a lasting career.
He thrilled the crowd with performances from his new album, with songs like “Make It Last” and “Looked Up,” that tended to be a little bit more slowed down- definitely a change from the more upbeat music that fans are used to, but he still had every person in the crowd singing along. For other songs, he brought out a few HBK members like Jay Ant, and Kool John, which of course the show wouldn’t be the same without.
One of the biggest highlights of the show however was the guest performance from musical duo (Bay Area locals as well) Kalin and Myles. This new and popular song titled “Get it Get it Get it,” comes from Kalin and Myles new debut album that features P-LO on the track. The duo had really captivated the crowd during that moment and brought tons of energy to the stage- as always.
From his first solo tape “MBMGC,” to the collaborative album “Moovie!” and “Before Anything” (which is now featured on iTunes Hot Albums) he is probably the first successful Filipino rapper that people have been waiting for. His album serves up some of his greatest qualities as an artist, like his upbeat energy and mainly self produced quality. He has gained so much recognition through his music, predominantly throughout the Bay Area. Overall, P-LO represents what is known as one of the most diverse rap groups ever and is a huge inspiration to many up and coming producers or artists out there who also strive to make good music and evolve the urban culture that associates with the Bay Area. He gave such an unforgettable experience to all his fans on his very first sold out headline show and I assure you that every person in that room was thrilled to be apart of it.
