As far as hip-hop's cult of personality goes, Fetty Wap, of Paterson, N.J., has it all sewn up. He's an anomaly - a guy who sing-speaks melodic, licentious, East Coast gangsta-rap love songs, but doesn't allow guns in his videos. A handsome young man, he isn't afraid to show off the ocular prosthesis where his left eye was before it was damaged by glaucoma in childhood.
Fetty Wap made the summer of 2015 his personal jukebox with back-to-back Top 10 hits such as "679," "Again," and "My Way," yet he still manages to seem like an underground sensation with hard-banging trap beats as deep as his regard for Lambos. He and his opener, Texas space-soul rapper/vocalist Post Malone, guaranteed that Thursday's crowd at the Fillmore was entertained.
While Auto-Tune tones permeated his eponymous 2015 debut, Fetty Wap's deep voice and conversational flow at the Fillmore was live and surprisingly jazzy. He closed several paeans to money and romance (e.g. "Trap Queen" wink with a cappella runs. He had a tell, a tic he repeated when reaching the chorus - say, the creamy "Mine Forever" or "679" - where he sang "ahhh, ooh" before leaning into the contagious verse. This article is from wwwphilly.comIt's an effective vocal trick, like a boxer tapping his opponent's chin before socking him with an uppercut.
Fetty Wap's voice grew gruff and slurry during the finger-snap percussion of "D.A.M. (Dats All Me)" and the sawed-synth rhythm of "Trap Luv." This also lent his vocals emotion while tackling the irresistibly contagious "Again" and its frustrated catcall, "I want you to be mine again, baby/ I know my lifestyle is driving you crazy/ but, I cannot see myself without you."
