Recap: J.I.D and Smino Take Over Houston at Bayou Music Center

It’s official! The ATL invaded the HOU at the Bayou Music Center last Thursday night with the Smino x JID Luv Is 4ever tour. Smino and JID fans collided to create an atmosphere you have to be there to experience fully.

Each of these three artists gave their all to captivate the audience through their lyrical flows and ability to set different themes in their vocals. Atlanta up-and-coming MC SwaVay set the stage first in his set which lasted for about 20 minutes. In those 20 minutes, however, he was able to give a great glimpse of the energy which was to come soon. SwaVay would begin the night leading off with the track “Jugg Season.” The hype for SwaVay’s set reached its climax as he performed “GRAMMYS” off of his most recent album, ALMETHA’S SON which had the crowd getting more comfortable with the atmosphere and vibing to the music.

After a short 10 minute intermission between sets, St Louis’s Smino arrived to give a stunning hour and a half performance. Accompanied by a backup singer and a band who did an immaculate job supporting each track and spicing things up when the energy felt right, Smino’s set brought an amplitude of hype and momentum from the crowd as he performed. Some notable tracks performed that night by Smino included “SPINZ,” “Curtains” and “Anita” which displayed just how well Smino and the band meshed together. There was one moment in which Smino yelled “Hit!” and the band played a note all in unison, then increased the tempo so Smino could spit a freestyle. The closer for Smino’s portion was the performance of “No L’s” which was a highlight of the night.

After another 10 minute intermission came the final set of the night: JID’s. A lot of praise should be given to the lighting and effects of the show which really played an intricate part in both Smino and JID’s performances. The lights, specifically the hues and the way they were strobed, acted as another way to convey the tone of each artist’s tracks. The use of the dual LED screens shaped into a double-hearted infinity symbol was also a nice touch. During the beginning of the JID set where “Galaxy” began playing as a sort of interlude, the screens displayed stars to give a spacey, atmospheric feel.

From here, JID accompanied by producer Christo at the DJ helm would appear and kick off his set with “NEVER” from JID’s The Never Story album and then mesh different songs from some of his other projects. For instance, “151 Rum” and “Off Deez” from Dicaprio 2, “Down Bad” from Revenge of the Dreamers 3 album where he was featured as well as “Raydar,” “Dance Now” and “Kody Blu 31” from his recent album The Forever Story. By this point the hype among the crowd was incredible and reached its peak once the concert came to an end. JID would end the night by performing “Stick,” a track that appeared on the Dreamville collab album D-Day which had the entire building on their feet, jumping to the rhythm of the beat with JID flowing and the keytarist of the band shredding.

By the end of the cold night, the crowd at the center of the performance hall were sweating. One girl even passed out from exhaustion and had to be escorted by security. These artists gave an energy-filled performance, and certainly they will be back to give an even greater one in the future.