Charlotte’s Deniro Farrar produced a lot of mixed feelings. The small crowd was lively, but not nearly as into it as Farrar’s large crew who danced and shouted on the back of the stage. Farrar’s performance was strong, but the beats he rapped over weren’t as interesting as his recorded music.
Every song started and ended with nearly identical explosion and gun shot sound effects. The beats were obtuse and heavy handed whereas on his recordings they are dark, slick, and grimy. It seemed like everything was pumped up to juice the live performance, but it actually sapped some of the energy and meaning. “Old Tookie” went from sounding like a reflective warning to another boastful club song.
