"On November 10th, 2024, my dad and I went to see LaRussell and Richie Rich at the New Parish. This is the review I wrote a month later." -- Isaiah Kahn, 9th grade
The first time I saw LaRussell, I barely knew him.
My first concert of his was with Richie Rich at the New Parish, my dad having gotten tickets a week or so prior to give us something to do. I vaguely had heard of the rapper--my dad is semi-tapped into the local rap scene and would request him occasionally in the car--but still knew no lyrics or songs or other important details. My dad and I spent the morning asking Alexa to shuffle his music, picking out a few things that we liked, though not having nearly enough time for anything comprehensive. I didn’t really know Richie Rich either, though the name bore some weight in my memory, my dad having listened to him while growing up in San Francisco.
We got to the concert around twenty minutes before it was supposed to start. We wanted to get a good spot in the venue, and the alternative was to just sit on the couch for a couple more minutes. The line was already wrapping halfway around the block, and still growing. Small groups crossed streets from all sides to join the line. We got our spot unfortunately just slightly beyond the cover of shade, on the corner of 18th and Jefferson, inhaling blunt smoke from the group behind us.
I felt awkward as we waited there. It was easy to realize that I was among the only white high schoolers in the vicinity. Most of the crowd was at least in their twenties, smoking and talking to whoever they came with. My dad definitely fit in better, part of an older Bay Area hippie crowd. This was especially noticeable as he donned his DOPE ERA bucket hat and played Kendama in the line.
By the time we got inside, the crowd was already into it. The DJ was cycling through mostly local hits, from older Mac Dre and E-40 songs to the newer SOB X RBE or P-Lo. The crowd danced and sang along to each one, the DJ himself occasionally leaving his set-up and hyping them up. My dad began more openly trying to embarrass me, rapping unrelated Richie Rich verses and swaying to the music, though that also could’ve been the product of having a good time.
After getting merch--despite not really knowing LaRussell or his company yet, I was desperately in need of interesting shirts--we picked our spots near the side of the stage and enjoyed the DJ’s crowdwork. The room continued filling.
I had expected to be a lot more reluctant about everything than I was. My dad would occasionally look over to check on me amidst the obvious weed smoke and predictably blasting music, and each time I nodded him away. It was cool. My dad had always ingrained in me a sort of regional pride for the Bay Area, being a native San Franciscan as well as a mostly retired DJ who was involved with more than a few community things at one point. For the first time, it felt like I was able to experience this pride fully.
The DJ’s set ended--his name was Kenzo and he was LaRussell’s personal DJ--and a violinist named Michael Prince took center stage. He performed some hip hop violin pieces, which caught me slightly off guard, though everybody was still with it. His bow strings tore as he strummed, doing both pizzicato and legato sections. It was around this time that my dad and I were pushed behind a pillar. A small area of the crowd, though unfortunately the part we had been standing in, had been closed off for some VIPs. My dad and I smiled at each other, disappointed. Later though, I reflected that this mostly seemed to mess up my recordings and not my experience.
Midway through Micheal Prince’s set, LaRussell came out. He erupted into one of his most popular songs, jumping around the stage and bouncing energy off of the already excited crowd. I remember my dad mentioning before the show that he hopes LaRussell has the same energy in his show that he does in his videos and songs. It was immediately clear that he did.
“I wasn’t even supposed to come out yet but I got so antsy,” LaRussell explained as he finished his first song, taking a short break as the keyboardist, Hokage Simon, riffed mellowly beneath his words. “The energy be right, it be like we gotta get to it.”
“I brought my homies, and my OG with me today,” he said, gesturing to his crew as he took a sip of water. In his crew at this show were the DJ, the pianist, and the violinist, along with some others standing around that I didn’t know yet. “He probably don’t even know I’m out here yet, I ain’t even tell him. I really came down to watch, and then Michael Prince started getting off and I was like ‘eugh!’”
Already the show was easily exceeding my expectations. I was recording almost every song, both so that I could find it later and to capture the moment for my future self. A local singer named Shante did a song with a young rapper named Malachi, and then Malachi did another song after. I was impressed by both of them.
“It’s been a beautiful thing,” LaRussell explained, taking back the mic after the two songs finished, “building this journey with Richie Rich. Every time I throw him a lob, he never know what’s going on. I just be like ‘man, just show up, we’ll figure it out!’”
“Today, y’know, I sent him a set but once I feel the energy I’ma be switching the set around,” LaRussell said, smiling. “So he don’t know what’s coming, but this n***a so good at what he do, it don’t matter what’s coming.”
Richie Rich emerged from the side of the stage. “Can y’all make some noise for Double R!” LaRussell shouted as Richie Rich took the mic and began the first verse to Sideshow.
The crowd instantly joined in on the energy. The beat was catchy and Richie Rich’s flow was consistent and compelling. LaRussell’s whole crew danced around the stage. The song mixed elements from Richie Rich’s group’s original version and the remix by other local stars years after, which I realized later when I was searching for the same high that I experienced at the concert.
The show calmed down after that, going through more introspective and smooth parts of Richie Rich’s discography. They closed with the energetic “What We Doin”, a collaborative song by LaRussell, Richie Rich, and Malachi. At the time it had only just come out but has since become a staple of his concerts. It was this video that I circulated among my friends, Malachi’s voice rasping as he shouted towards the ceiling. It still couldn’t entirely capture the vibe.
What I really noticed as we hesitantly exited the venue, eyes periodically returning to the stage just in case, was that there wasn’t a single moment of the concert or person in his crew that I didn’t like.
“I feel like we’re spoiled for other concerts,” my dad remarked as he unlocked our car, having decided that we should leave after lingering almost half an hour. “Like, ‘that was good, but it wasn’t LaRussell good.’”
We knew we would be back.
My first concert of his was with Richie Rich at the New Parish, my dad having gotten tickets a week or so prior to give us something to do. I vaguely had heard of the rapper--my dad is semi-tapped into the local rap scene and would request him occasionally in the car--but still knew no lyrics or songs or other important details. My dad and I spent the morning asking Alexa to shuffle his music, picking out a few things that we liked, though not having nearly enough time for anything comprehensive. I didn’t really know Richie Rich either, though the name bore some weight in my memory, my dad having listened to him while growing up in San Francisco.
We got to the concert around twenty minutes before it was supposed to start. We wanted to get a good spot in the venue, and the alternative was to just sit on the couch for a couple more minutes. The line was already wrapping halfway around the block, and still growing. Small groups crossed streets from all sides to join the line. We got our spot unfortunately just slightly beyond the cover of shade, on the corner of 18th and Jefferson, inhaling blunt smoke from the group behind us.
I felt awkward as we waited there. It was easy to realize that I was among the only white high schoolers in the vicinity. Most of the crowd was at least in their twenties, smoking and talking to whoever they came with. My dad definitely fit in better, part of an older Bay Area hippie crowd. This was especially noticeable as he donned his DOPE ERA bucket hat and played Kendama in the line.
By the time we got inside, the crowd was already into it. The DJ was cycling through mostly local hits, from older Mac Dre and E-40 songs to the newer SOB X RBE or P-Lo. The crowd danced and sang along to each one, the DJ himself occasionally leaving his set-up and hyping them up. My dad began more openly trying to embarrass me, rapping unrelated Richie Rich verses and swaying to the music, though that also could’ve been the product of having a good time.
After getting merch--despite not really knowing LaRussell or his company yet, I was desperately in need of interesting shirts--we picked our spots near the side of the stage and enjoyed the DJ’s crowdwork. The room continued filling.
I had expected to be a lot more reluctant about everything than I was. My dad would occasionally look over to check on me amidst the obvious weed smoke and predictably blasting music, and each time I nodded him away. It was cool. My dad had always ingrained in me a sort of regional pride for the Bay Area, being a native San Franciscan as well as a mostly retired DJ who was involved with more than a few community things at one point. For the first time, it felt like I was able to experience this pride fully.
The DJ’s set ended--his name was Kenzo and he was LaRussell’s personal DJ--and a violinist named Michael Prince took center stage. He performed some hip hop violin pieces, which caught me slightly off guard, though everybody was still with it. His bow strings tore as he strummed, doing both pizzicato and legato sections. It was around this time that my dad and I were pushed behind a pillar. A small area of the crowd, though unfortunately the part we had been standing in, had been closed off for some VIPs. My dad and I smiled at each other, disappointed. Later though, I reflected that this mostly seemed to mess up my recordings and not my experience.
Midway through Micheal Prince’s set, LaRussell came out. He erupted into one of his most popular songs, jumping around the stage and bouncing energy off of the already excited crowd. I remember my dad mentioning before the show that he hopes LaRussell has the same energy in his show that he does in his videos and songs. It was immediately clear that he did.
“I wasn’t even supposed to come out yet but I got so antsy,” LaRussell explained as he finished his first song, taking a short break as the keyboardist, Hokage Simon, riffed mellowly beneath his words. “The energy be right, it be like we gotta get to it.”
“I brought my homies, and my OG with me today,” he said, gesturing to his crew as he took a sip of water. In his crew at this show were the DJ, the pianist, and the violinist, along with some others standing around that I didn’t know yet. “He probably don’t even know I’m out here yet, I ain’t even tell him. I really came down to watch, and then Michael Prince started getting off and I was like ‘eugh!’”
Already the show was easily exceeding my expectations. I was recording almost every song, both so that I could find it later and to capture the moment for my future self. A local singer named Shante did a song with a young rapper named Malachi, and then Malachi did another song after. I was impressed by both of them.
“It’s been a beautiful thing,” LaRussell explained, taking back the mic after the two songs finished, “building this journey with Richie Rich. Every time I throw him a lob, he never know what’s going on. I just be like ‘man, just show up, we’ll figure it out!’”
“Today, y’know, I sent him a set but once I feel the energy I’ma be switching the set around,” LaRussell said, smiling. “So he don’t know what’s coming, but this n***a so good at what he do, it don’t matter what’s coming.”
Richie Rich emerged from the side of the stage. “Can y’all make some noise for Double R!” LaRussell shouted as Richie Rich took the mic and began the first verse to Sideshow.
The crowd instantly joined in on the energy. The beat was catchy and Richie Rich’s flow was consistent and compelling. LaRussell’s whole crew danced around the stage. The song mixed elements from Richie Rich’s group’s original version and the remix by other local stars years after, which I realized later when I was searching for the same high that I experienced at the concert.
The show calmed down after that, going through more introspective and smooth parts of Richie Rich’s discography. They closed with the energetic “What We Doin”, a collaborative song by LaRussell, Richie Rich, and Malachi. At the time it had only just come out but has since become a staple of his concerts. It was this video that I circulated among my friends, Malachi’s voice rasping as he shouted towards the ceiling. It still couldn’t entirely capture the vibe.
What I really noticed as we hesitantly exited the venue, eyes periodically returning to the stage just in case, was that there wasn’t a single moment of the concert or person in his crew that I didn’t like.
“I feel like we’re spoiled for other concerts,” my dad remarked as he unlocked our car, having decided that we should leave after lingering almost half an hour. “Like, ‘that was good, but it wasn’t LaRussell good.’”
We knew we would be back.
