Last night at the Broadway Theater could well be called the night of slogans, shout outs and “Argentina is in the house”‘s. Or as Rusherking said, “a historic day.” It is that for Thomas Nicolás Tobar it was: the first of a double of sold-out shows in the venue of Avenida Corrientes inaugurated his ambitious “LOBA TOUR”, which will tour the country with scheduled dates between now and the end of the year. In case you don’t have it on your radar yet, Rusher reached the front line of the urban movement during 2020 but has been tanning the field for a while longer. Born in Santiago del Estero, he began competing in freestyle battles at the age of 15. A year later he already knew that he was going to dedicate himself to music, and, to fulfill it, at 18 he moved to Capital Federal. Today, at 21, she is one of the most interesting revelation artists on the scene along with Tiago PZK, María Becerra and FMK. This first full-room show opened the post-quarantine game to live shows and yes, chicxs, he set the bar very high.***It’s Friday. More than 2,000 people take the seats of the theater full of screams. From afar you can see very clearly the white shoes of Estani, another of the new figures of the current wide urban scene. He wears a beige sports ensemble and zero nerves in sight. Today it is his turn to open the Rusherking show without the presence of his parents, who apparently had to stay in his native Bahía Blanca. But that doesn’t discourage him: “This is the best day of my life,” he pulls after the crowd cheered for his brief but consistent presentation.
Neither the opening artist nor the headliner simply settled for a mic and a DJ: four musicians accompany each, and in the case of the second, add three choristers to the equation to his left. A compu and a track don’t even seem to be an option for new talent. With the same motorcycle jacket that he wears in the video clip, Rusherking opens his concert with the theme that gives his tour its name. And from the beginning he is clear: “it is a historic day”. The lyrics of “LOBA” resonate loudly in every corner of the Buenos Aires theater. Especially his final sentence: “We left without luggage / Argentina is that I brought it”. The evening will be full of those easy-to-remember-bars and shout outs of their own and others. >
Oh, and hits, obvious. From his repertoire, Rusher takes a couple of hits for the beginning of the show: “Lo Que Tienes” & “Y si te tocas”, two pleasant reggaetoncitos without their respective collaborating artists. After that comes the premiere of “Wallpaper”, an unreleased song prod by Big One, the star producer of Necochea, author of the beats of practically all the hits of the moment. The fifth tracklist brings to the stage the first (and only) guests of the night: FMK and Lit Killah. His presence ignites the audience in a way not seen during the day and puts their throats at the top of their ability to sing “Yo Se Que Tú”. This is when you hear for the first time: “This party does not end / In the house is Argentina”. The phrase is thrown by Tiago on the track, but in his absence the public makes it his own.***In the house and in the world is Argentina. The local urban music scene (which today includes rap, trap, freestyle, reggaeton and even cumbia) showed a gigantic leap of quality during the last year and a half. Some attribute it to the careers of certain artists; others, to quarantine and its creators forced to remain locked up and set up a home studio. Whatever the reason, today the material made in Argentina is at the forefront of the Spanish-speaking movement. And releases like “YaMeFui”, by Bizarrap, Duki and Nicki Nicole, show that the eyes also point to the Anglo-Saxon market.***The concert oscillates between reggaeton and melodic sad-trap all day. The band prevents things from becoming monotonous: between distortions, guitar solos, a robe and powerful basses and the voices of the choristers hold the mood and achieve a very solid result. Rusher doesn’t lack court either. The square compes seem to have given him all the confidence of a performer with years of experience, because he exudes charisma and manages the expectations of the public as if he were.
“Llegué Tarde”, “Historia” ft FMK, “Ya no me extraños” and “Vos” make up the second phase of the show, which ends with the entrance of a white armchair and a powerful interpretation of “Otra noche más”, giving way to a pinkfloydeano interlude flown by the support band. Dressed, Thomas enters the final stretch of his presentation. He knows it and makes it a whole event: “Dancing I Met You”; his collabo with Duki, king of the scene, begins the closing of this gala night. “Confess it” goes almost unnoticed by Mary’s absence and gives way to *full subjectivity mode activated* the mejor time of the night. Also in costume is now accompanied by FMK, Lit Killah and Big One on the trays. On an instrumental, the three of them pull magic in the form of improvisation and that bar arrives that sums it all up: “Vamo’ to win us high Grammys/ They ask for us / Those of space, mommy”.
Again that kind of musical slogan. That phrase, bar, whatever you want to call it, that is recorded and by the time you want to remember you already repeated 10 times in an hour. The new wave of artists knows marketing, it’s no mystery. The funny thing is that they discovered a way that it does not dislike, but quite the opposite, that it is rooted in the mind and voice of the listeners. Word of mouth in the days of TikTok.***”Near You” & “Besides Me,” two of his biggest hits, precede the evening’s encore closing. “LOBA” is back in the ring to leave us all singing it on the way home. And there goes the other encore: “Hold on to the music. Argentina is at home.”
