A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie sets attendance record at The Great New York State Fair
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie broke an all-time attendance record at this year’s Great New York State Fair by attracting a crowd of 40,610 people to the Chevy Court Stage on Sunday.
I was there, and the lead up to A Boogie’s arrival was unbelievable. People were climbing trees, standing on trash cans and balancing on each other’s shoulders to catch a glimpse of the 22-year-old rapper.
His tour DJ, DJ Ominaya, began spinning tracks such as “This is America” by Childish Gambino and “Dreams and Nightmares” by Meek Mill to hype up the crowd. A Boogie came jumping out in a red hoodie, rapping over his part on “KEKE,” a song he collaborated on with Tekashi 6ix9ine and Fetty Wap.
The humidity proved unbearable for A Boogie, as he quickly ditched his hoodie. He kept his attire simple, sporting a crisp black T-shirt with two gold chains — one of which fell off a few minutes into his set.
A Boogie started off by performing songs of his older tracks for his day one fans — including from his certified gold album, “The Bigger Artist” — as well as songs from his latest EP, “International Artist.” He spent the majority of his set rapping over his CD, occasionally going a cappella to close out the chorus.
A Boogie didn’t perform many of his songs in their entirety, allowing him to cram a large variety of his most popular tracks into a 58-minute show. DJ Ominaya joined him for a competition with the crowd over which side could scream “Yerrr” the loudest — of course, A Boogie’s side won.
Before coming to the fair, I didn’t know A Boogie’s music like that. I had only recently listened to “The Bigger Artist,” and a couple songs off of “International Artist” to become a little more knowledgeable of his work. A Boogie’s combination of honest lyricism with unique beats creates songs that have a wide range of sound and rhythm.
The Bronx rapper closed the show with his 3x platinum hit, “Drowning” feat. Kodak Black. While people began filing out to catch the shuttles back to their respective destinations, A Boogie announced that we should expect his sophomore album to drop in December — an appropriate time because it’s “hoodie season.”
