G-Eazy performing at Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA. December 14, 2016. Photo: Jared Stossel

G-Eazy
w/ Lil' Yachty, P-Lo, Rob Stone, Marty Grimes, DJ Amen
Oracle Arena
Oakland, CA
December 14, 2016

Back in February, I had the chance to photograph G-Eazy and review his show when he performed at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. This show was also sold out, and it showed me the true scope of G-Eazy's fan base and wide appeal: I'd had no idea how much of a superstar this guy was. But it was during this show that he stated something that would come true this very same year: "You guys have been with me when we sold out The New Parish in Oakland. Then The Warfield. Now Bill Graham Civic. I will sell out that motherfuckin' Oracle Arena".

Fast forward several months, and here we are. And no, I'm not referring to sold out as 'Sold Out except for the top levels that were closed off'. Every seat was filled. Every spot on the floor, all the way up to the upper level balcony. Show me a single artist that would be able to pull this feat off in the same amount of time that G-Eazy has; I'd really like to check out their stuff, if that's the case.

The show was filled with schedule guests, not including the stacked lineup of openers that got the show rolling: Too Short, French Montana, Jay Ant, Marc E. Bassy, E-40, Mistah Fab, Nef The Pharoah, Sage The Gemini, and Keak Da Sneak all made appearances onstage during the show. 'G-Eazy and Friends' was a highly appropriate name for this outing, and very similar to the event that he hosted during the Bay Area stop of his tour in San Francisco this past February (guests including Logic, Lil B, and Bebe Rhexa all made appearances during that one.)

The biggest things that I took away from this event had to be that G-Eazy is one of the masters of the modern rap community not just because of his music, but because he truly knows how to entertain and put on a show. I'm not sure what a G-Eazy show on the East Coast or in the Midwest is like, but here in the Bay Area, it's very clear that any time he is in town, his show is a spectacle to behold; one where there are no holds barred, surprises will happen, and he is the reigning king of the hip-hop world.