Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, aka Logic, arrived on stage looking and sounding nothing like your typical rap star. “
Have you ever seen a rap show like this?” the 27-year-old later asked a sold-out Brixton Academy. Few could say that they had.
Logic spent long periods interacting with the crowd in between energetic bursts of rap delivered adeptly at breakneck speed.
Complemented by a trio of musicians, DJ and guests, the songs from his latest album, Everybody, felt more cohesive, kinetic and purposeful live. The whole academy erupted for the album opener, Hallelujah. Take It Back proved one of the most popular tracks, as did 1-800-273-8255, about mental health.
Although his lengthy dialogues with the crowd were sometimes frustrating, the Def Jam artist’s monologues on mental health chimed powerfully with his audience.
One fan told him: “It’s people like you that keep me alive today.” Speaking candidly about “the depths of anxiety” he has suffered, Logic’s message of “peace, love and positivity” in the face of such struggles was refreshingly brave.
His delivery and interaction perhaps needed a little more subtlety but the American showed himself to be willing to take risks and do things differently. It was, as he said, “a rap show — but not as you know it”.
