If you were walking home from the Pirates baseball game on September 7, you probably would’ve heard “heys” and thumping beats pumping out of Stage AE as $uicideboy$ introduced fans to their second Grey Day Tour.

The rap duo made of $crim and Ruby da Cherry from New Orleans started to rise to popularity in 2015 with their cloud rap genre success on the platform SoundCloud. A mix between Southern rap and trap rap, cloud rap features a dream-like atmosphere made from lo-fi beats and hazy melodies. It takes fans to a place that feels ethereal while still including hints of party tracks that many rap songs use. 

Seven years later, $uicideboy$ have put out over 50 singles and EPs on top of six different albums. In order to keep the active momentum going, the duo are currently headlining a tour featuring DJ Scheme, Maxo Kream, Code Orange, $not, and Ski Mask The Slump God. 

The tour made its stop at Stage AE last Wednesday and by the time doors opened at 5 p.m. the line to get in was already starting to double wrap around the venue. While it didn’t seem like any fans missed any sets from waiting in line, it certainly cut it close as DJ Scheme started the night with a DJ set. 

DJ sets at a show can go one of two ways. Either the DJ does an incredible job at reading the crowd and thus puts on a great show or they get bored with their job and just play a pre-set mix. This second option seemed to be the issue for DJ Scheme. It’s not that he can’t do his job as DJ but rather that he looked just as bored by his mixes as the crowd did. While some members of the crowd sang and jumped along, most kept their feet planted on the ground, ready for another act to prevail. 

After DJ Scheme’s lackluster performance, rapper Maxo Kream was quickly set to take the stage. To start off, Kream is a bit different from the rest of the rapper line up. He’s got this attitude on stage that isn’t necessarily egotistical, but rather that he knows who he is and he’s confident in that, which makes for a great set. The second that he took the stage, he had the audience captivated in his gritty verses and big presence. Kream even took moments during the set to send out love to Mac Miller and Jimmy Wopo, two Pittsburgh based rappers who have passed away. It’s easy to say that Kream’s time on stage was definitely an upgrade from DJ Scheme and he helped get the energy of the crowd up to where it should be. 

Two rap-heavy sets later and it’s time for a genre change up in the middle of the show. Instead of having another rapper or DJ continue on, the tour brings out metal band, Code Orange. While some may not think that rap and metal belong together, at a $uicideboy$ show there’s actually nothing that goes together better. $uicideboy$ tend to carry metal undertones to their music, making use of shredded guitar riffs and haunting vocals. The duo even featured a Metallica feature in their song “Germantown.” 

So even though Code Orange is still a change of pace, the crowd was just as into it. There were even mosh pits that formed to Code Orange’s heavy instrumentals and screaming vocals. This band truly puts on a great show, their energy leads them all over the stage and they don’t falter throughout the show. Some of their music seemed a little repetitive at times, however the passion that the band puts into their set could have me watch them do the same song 10 times in a row. 

Next on the long list of acts, it’s back to rapping with artist $not. Now I will say, $not is the only artist I had no knowledge about going into this concert. Looking back, that was probably for the best as his set would’ve been disappointing, even for a big fan. Half of his time was spent with the speakers in silence as he conversed with his team on stage. I’m still not sure what was happening that caused about 10 minutes of pure silence besides the crowd’s talking but it caused for a bad experience. I really can’t even make any consensus on $not as a rapper because I really only heard him rap one song. That one song actually wasn’t bad in terms of the beat and flow but it didn’t revive his reputation as a performer. 

Thankfully though, after $not’s set, there was only one more opener, Ski Mask The Slump God. The good part about Ski Mask The Slump God is that his song “Faucet Failure” went viral on TikTok, so most crowd members knew at least one song from his set. The other good part about him is that he is a performer. He has a persona up on stage that reeled watchers in, regardless of if you like him or not. He also brought back DJ Scheme who was able to redeem himself. DJ Scheme actually looked like he was enjoying himself on stage this time. He even yelled along to the lyrics with the crowd and got fans off their feet this time. It was a sight to see and only continued to pump fans up for the main act, $uicideboy$. 

I’ll be honest, the opening acts didn’t prepare me in the least for $uicideboy$, who put on the best show out of all of the acts. Not only was their setlist filled with a variety of hits through their time as a duo but it was probably the first time I saw the entire crowd scream with joy. While a lot of the music they played were their more popular songs, the intensity that they put into their set made every song feel special. You would never think these guys play these songs every night as they never look bored and instead have pure love for the song they’re singing. Basically, if $uicideboy$ don’t like a song they’ve made, you’ll never hear it live and that’s a great way to pick an energetic setlist. 

Another great part about $uicideboy$ is their DJ, Crystal Meth. He compliments the duo well not only in his attitude but in the mixes he provides them live. The balance between the instrumentals and the vocals is done beautifully to where it’s very reminiscent of the recorded tracks. It proves that the music $uicideboy$ create is meant to be shared live, screamed out in a room full of people. 

I truly have respect for an artist that loves performing live. It’s not an easy thing to do plus it wipes a lot of time and energy from a person. But I could tell that $uicideboy$ really enjoy what they do. There isn’t a fake overcast in the words to the crowd. They mean it when they thank the audience at the end of the night. At the end of the day that’s what’s going to make for a good concert, true passion for the music and compassion for the fans.