Lil Skies TIDAL X Show RECAP
After surprise-dropping his official debut album, Shelby, last Friday (March 1), Lil Skies invited fans to come break in the release with him on Tuesday (March 5) at Schimanski in Brooklyn. The event, which was hosted by TIDAL, doubled as a release party and performance filled with cuts off the fresh project.
Lil Skies sauntered onto the stage at the intimate venue in a red puffer jacket and beanie, but almost immediately shed both articles of the stylish fit from his body after being hit with a heat wave of exhilaration radiating off his supportive crowd. He opened up with “Close,” a song that details how he feels the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The most tender and memorable moment of the night arrived early on, right after he performed his second song, “Bad Girls” featuring Gucci Mane. Fans braved the cold on this night to come see their beloved Skies, but he turned the spotlight to reveal the real person of the hour: his mother, the inspiration behind the album.
“I want y’all to meet Shelby,” the rapper said before welcoming her up on stage with him. “People asked me why I named my album after my mom, and shit, right? This is my backbone, bro.”
The crowd embraced Shelby with a celebratory chant of her name, and Skies then took this as the perfect opportunity to give some solid advice. “And I want to say something. To all the kids in here, everybody in here, man, appreciate your parents. They really do a lot for you."
Lil Skies delivered passionate renditions of more tracks from Shelby such as “Blue Strips,” “Stop The Madness,” and also “Highs and Lows,” which he revealed as one of his favorite songs off the album. Despite the short amount of time between the show and the album’s release, fans still showed their loyalty by being able to cling onto nearly every word and rap along with him.
Halfway through the show, Fatboy SSE and the Veratwins surprised Skies on stage, and they came bearing a meaningful gift. Fatboy presented a painting of the Shelby album cover, which is a photo of a young Lil Skies and his mother.
As he neared the end of his set, Skies reached for every last breath to keep his momentum intact. “I only got two more songs because I don’t want to pass out up here,” he said before he summoned all his energy to perform his breakout hit, “Nowadays.” He topped off the night by going into the crowd to perform “Red Roses.”
The energy from the show was a good indication of what the next few months have in store for Skies, who will be hitting the road with Lil Pump for a joint tour kicking off on April 19 in Seattle.