Pic Playback: NNAMDÏ Takes On Baltimore’s Metro Gallery
Saturday, February 18 saw the arrival of The Windy City’s own NNAMDÏ, to the Charm City, when The Baltimore Metro Gallery played host to a concert in support of his latest record, “Please Have A Seat,” whose deluxe edition will be released on February 24.
If you’re unfamiliar, Being that this was the first time that I would be seeing this multi-instrumentalist indie music star, I wasn’t sure what I would be walking into, but entering into the doors of Metro Gallery, I immediately saw a crowd filled with a diversified fanbase, which immediately gave me a sense of comfort.
As his three person band began to file on stage, NNAMDÏ followed suit, taking center stage at around 10:15 PM. He wasted no time in lifting the lid off of new material from his album, as he opened the show with a new track entitled “Anti.” Being that this was only the second show of the tour, and he was unveiling new music, sometimes that can be a bit of a gamble and fumble on an artist’s part since he hasn’t “set into” the tour yet, but that seemed to be of no concern to this young Nigerian prince. Part of that could be that he is technically considered a “veteran” in the music business as he’s also celebrating the 10 year anniversary of his first album “Bootie Noir,” which coincidentally he didn’t perform any songs from.
The setlist consisted of songs from “Please Have A Seat“, with “ANXIOUS EATER,” “Grounded,” and “Touchdown” all appeared to be fan favorites. The crowd got most into it during “Dedication” as it required a call and response, with everyone having to yell DEDICATIOOOOON as loud as we could.
Throughout the night, NNAMDÏ effortlessly would switch hats from singer, to rapper, to musician (when he picked up his guitar to jam out with his band) and storyteller. Before the performance of his latest single “Sudafed,” he shared with us a story of how the song is literally about him sitting on a public transit train in Chicago and having a mental breakdown while reflecting on life choices. he even mentioned that his friend created his outfit for the night, but had the nerve to put a star right on the back where his ass was. “Wasted” was the PERFECT end of the set, as by that time most of the patrons in the concert venue were feeling well past being wasted and shouting the lyrics out in a drunken stupor.
What felt most enjoyable to me was the fact that you can’t exactly put him into one lane in regards to the genre that he falls under, as he includes tinges of pop, rock, electronica and even hip-hop into his music. His stage persona very much so gave a warming feeling, as if he was just your regular guy next door, and that makes him relatable in so many senses…so much so that it will have me checking out for his future releases in the years to come.
