We are riding the next wave of hip hop in the form of Marc E. Bassy. The former 2AM Club vocalist packed Club Red with a diverse crowd for the Arizona date of his headlining Gossip Columns Tour on Saturday night.

Taking the stage with DJ Shabazz and guitarist Count Bassy, his set started with the subdued, piano-based “Morning.” Bassy played keyboard as the audience lit up the room with their cell phones, singing every word back to him.

Bassy’s set is one of the most unique in hip hop, with the live guitar taking the spotlight on several of his hits. Running through a mix of tracks from his latest album, Gossip Columns, as well as songs from his previous EPs, the fans screamed the words from start to finish.

Highlights of the set included “Plot Twist” (sans SuperDuperKyle feature), “Dirty Water” and the G-Eazy-assisted “You and Me.” Bassy also treated the crowd to a new track, made in Utah after “tripping on magic mushrooms.” He closed the night with an audience-demanded encore of “Black Jeep” and “Subway Car.”

The word to describe a Marc E. Bassy show is steamy- fans turned the room into a club, dancing and cranking the volume higher with every silky smooth note.

The openers on this tour kept the excitement levels high all night. California newcomer Gianni Taylor won the room before his first track was done and got all the ladies screaming when he announced, “I’m 6’7”… and I’m single.”

Taylor’s smooth R&B style made me want his set to continue long past his allotted time and that moonwalk towards the end didn’t hurt either.

Direct support was provided by Berkeley rapper Rexx Life Raj, a fast-talking, commanding presence on the Club Red stage. With his long dreads and even longer trench coat, Rexx dropped quick and dexterous rhymes that had the fans begging for more. He jumped into the crowd for the last song, a track for the people who “f*** with me.”

This show definitely brought some heat to the spring concert rotation. Check out our interview with Gianni Taylor right here and don’t miss Marc E. Bassy on this headlining run, he probably won’t be playing small clubs for much longer.

Story by Olivia Khiel