Concert Review: Roddy Ricch at the Uptown Theater

Hearing the most popular song of the moment performed live is among the biggest thrills a music obsessive can experience.  Roddy Ricch provided that rush in triplicate at the Uptown Theater on Thursday, February 13.  The 21-year-old Compton rapper executed his ubiquitous smash “The Box” three times in his 50-minute headlining set. 

Ricch’s debut album Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial claimed the top spot on Billboard’s Top 200 for four non-consecutive weeks since its December 6 release.  In addition to being streamed on Spotify more than 322 million times, “The Box” is a TikTok sensation.

I squeezed into the sold-out Uptown Theater to witness more than 2,000 of Ricch’s peers lose their minds during renditions of viral songs including “War Baby,” “Ballin’,” “Die Young” and, of course, “The Box.”  Ricch made cursory stabs at a keyboard on one selection and was joined by a Hendrix-inspired guitarist on several other hits.

I may have snorted derisively when Ricch commended his “day-one fans”- he’s been releasing music for less than three years- but I loved every minute of the adrenaline-laced experience.  It looked and sounded just like this.


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(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)