Eric Bolivar, Stanton Moore, Robert Walter, Chali 2na, and Tony Hall

I first heard about Chali 2na from Jurassic 5, and thought I should check out some of his solo work being such a big fan on the band. His rap and his hop sound is original, and his lyrics are cleverly constructed and poignant. After listening to his music for several years, when I finally saw that he was touring, I knew I couldn’t miss my chance to see him live.

I loved the fact that he sang with a live band rather than a DJ or backing tracks, and they were an incredibly talented bunch. He was also great at interacting with his band, inviting them to perform solos, and letting them improvise around his vocals. It was awesome to hear this, as it’s not something that you’re able to uncover in a recorded version of a track.

He opened the show with the title track from Fish Outta Water, and encouraged everyone to sing and dance along, which he achieved without much difficulty! By the end of the first song he had already won over the entire audience, and everyone was cheering non stop. Chali 2na played a phenomenal set, and was great at pleasing and reading the audience. It was a great show, and I highly recommend checking it out!