THE KID LAROI – ROD LAVER ARENA – MELBOURNE – Saturday 30.11.2024
Review: Craig Eriksson. Photos: David Harris Photography
Australian singer-songwriter and rapper The Kid LAROI is back in his home country for The First Time Tour and tonight it is his final show in Australia at Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne.
For a 21-year old rapper, what an incredible and inspirational musical journey LAROI has been on. With such a tough and challenging upbringing, he has shown the world that anything in life is possible if you are determined, persistent and talented. It’s hard to imagine that it wasn’t that long ago that this global rap superstar was living a hard life in Sydney’s inner-west suburb of Redfern in a rough housing commission block surrounded by drugs and violence.
Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard (the Kid LAROI) was born in 2003 to an Indigenous Australian mother and a French father. The Kid LAROI’s artist name, ‘Laroi’ comes from his connection to the Kamilaroi people through his maternal great-great grandfather who was part of the Stolen Generation. LAROI was raised in Redfern by his mother and uncle, but sadly his uncle was murdered when LAROI was only a child. They then moved to the mining town of Broken Hill in regional NSW where LAROI lived with his mother, brother and grandparents. LAROI attended private school in Adelaide where he started rapping at the ripe young age of 12. He released his first EP at 14, in 2018 was a finalist in the Triple J Unearthed, signed a record deal at 15 and dropped his first album at 16. LAROI gained international recognition from his association and friendship with rapper Juice Wrld who mentored LAROI while Juice was on tour in Australia. Over the past few years, LAROI has become close friends with Justin Bieber who has also mentored him and collaborated on the incredible song STAY which topped charts in more than 20 countries.
Tonight was an extra special evening for me as I was at the show with my niece, Kate. Looking around the arena, this seemed to be a common trend as we noticed some fans near us were as young as 7-10 years of age accompanied by their parents. The audience was a multi-generational crowd, predominantly a very young crowd. What I really enjoyed tonight was seeing and hearing all these young ones singing along enthusiastically with pure joy to literally every LAROI song.
The evening started with a fun and energetic DJ set by TJ Mizelle. TJ spun a lot of popular hip-hop tracks which the crowd thoroughly enjoyed and sang along to. Fans down in the moshpit were jumping up and down with their mobile phones raised in the air with the lights switched on. In the darkness of the stadium, this sea of lights bobbing up and down looked incredible as the DJ’s powerful bass vibrated through our bodies.
Sydney high energy rappers ONEFOUR came to the stage next. “C’Mon Melbourne, Make Some Noise!” was frequently said throughout their set as they jumped about the stage. There were 3 rappers out front of stage with a DJ spinning the tunes behind them. ONEFOUR opened with IN THE BEGINNING. Their songs are a continuous blend of high energy hip-hop, interweaving and overlapping rap, with each singer taking a turn at lead vocals. J Emz is the groups’ main voice and joined by Spenny and Lekks, they ripped out some cool songs like HOME AND AWAY; THE MESSAGE; HEARTLESS and SPOT THE DIFFERENCE. They mentioned Celly was unable to join them tonight as he’s in prison and had the crowd shouting out “FREE CELLY” as they then sang WELCOME TO PRISON. I’m told ONEFOUR’s documentary Against All Odds is well worth watching.
The Kid LAROI played the previous night at Rod Laver Arena and his sold out show had received rave reviews. LAROI is back again tonight for a 2nd sold out show. In a deafening manner, the young crowd erupts with applause to explosive levels as LAROI hits the stage dressed all in white and launches into crowd favourite BABY I’M BACK. The perfect song to kick start the night instantly created a beautiful, feel-good vibe in the arena, which remained throughout the rest of LAROI’s show. This song has a timeless sound, almost like a yacht rock intro mixed with some wonderful rapping.
LAROI mentions that last night’s show was the best show he has ever done and said that he intends to deliver an even better show tonight. The crowd can’t wait! He then leads into SORRY from his debut album. With lyrics: “No one ever told me what I’d have to sacrifice for fame.” The song best describes the surreal experience LAROI had as a young teen rapidly thrust into global stardom.
LAROI’s band consisted of a guitarist, drummer, keyboardist and DJ. Having a live band join LAROI added a lot of depth and richness to his songs with wonderful guitar riffs, deep bass, powerful drums and keys.
LAROI had the crowd in the palms of his hands. Considering his global fame, fortune and living abroad, he has not forgotten his roots, family and friends. LAROI planned this Australian Tour so that he could be with his family and friends for Christmas. LAROI engaged well with the crowd creating a deep connection. He asked fans to put up their hands if they came with their partner, best friend or family member and then instructed everyone to turn and face them and say how much you appreciate them. You can see he has remained a very humble, authentic young guy.
Tonight he captivated his young fans with a smorgasboard of his hits and judging by the fans sing-alongs, some of their faves were: GIRLS; BLEED; HEAVEN; LOVE AGAIN; WHERE DO YOU SLEEP?
During the evening, LAROI got quite emotional as he talked about the loss of one of his closest friends and collaborator, American rapper Juice WRLD. Juice had played a significant role in LAROI’s rise to fame and you could really feel the weight this loss has had on LAROI. He then led into the heartfelt song GO which was an emotional part of the evening.
LAROI mixed up the show when he and the guitarist sat down on stools and performed a few raw acoustic ballads. LAROI showcased his vocal strength on WHERE DOES YOUR SPIRIT GO? They then led into WITHOUT YOU which was definitely Kate and my favourite song of the night closely followed by THOUSAND MILES. This seemed to be a consensus judging by the response from everyone around us. These three songs showcased that LAROI is not just a rapper, but has a beautiful voice which crosses over into several music genres as his music comes to life.
ONEFOUR came on stage towards the end of the show as LAROI performed a cover of their song MY CITY. LAROI then sang STAY which was a collaboration he did with Beiber. Clearly this song is another popular and huge favourite with fans as they sang so loud it almost blew the roof off Rod Laver Arena. To finish a remarkable evening, LAROI came back out for an encore and played NIGHT LIKE THIS. During this song, confetti fell from the roof over the crowd creating a magical end to the night. LAROI thanked everyone for spending their hard earned money buying a ticket and coming to the show.
I went into tonight’s show with no preconceived expectations and not knowing what to expect and was totally blown away. LAROI played 20 songs over 1½ hours with wonderful choreography, lighting, pyrotechnics and some beautiful theatrical back drops. Nobody wanted this show to end. It was a triumphant, memorable show that had fans leaving in total awe.
SET LIST:
Baby I’m Back (Cover)
Sorry
What’s The Move?
Diva
Tragic
Deserve You
Where Do You Sleep?
Girls
Go
Bleed
Heaven
Love Again
Where Does Your Spirit Go?
Without You
Thousand Miles
Aperol Spritz
Always Do
My City (ONEFOUR cover)
Stay (The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber cover)
Encore:
Nights Like This
