At San Diego’s SOMA, the opening night of 2hollis’ Star Tour felt like both a coronation and a proving ground. The 21-year-old rapper-producer—a rising internet sensation whose sonic restlessness and extravagant style carried him from cult sensation to mainstream spotlight—comes in off the heels of a head-turning Coachella set earlier this year marred by expectation. While the hit-making talents of everyone’s new favorite poster-boy are indisputable, as made clear by the recent successes of tracks like “jeans” and “gold,” a question hung in our minds, and in the minds of the hundreds of fans eagerly awaiting his arrival in the venue’s dingy strip mall parking lot: Could 2hollis turn viral hype into a headlining tour and a fully realized live show?
As the crowd—a sea of ravers, scene-kids, and fashion mfs—poured into the venue, the anticipation was palpable. The evening began with Rommulas, who, despite the already low expectations, still managed to underwhelm with his roughly 10-minute set. Leaning heavily on backing tracks, his performance consistently faltered in energy and confidence, and though the crowd still rallied briefly for his breakout “No Me Importa,” the opener ultimately left much to be desired.
Nate Sib, by contrast, took the stage with greater assurance, leaning into his catalog with poise. And while I myself can’t really say I was necessarily enamored by the LA rapper throughout the span of his 30-minute set, he managed to rally the audience after an unfortunately lackluster opener, giving the room something to hold onto before the main event.
As soon as the tarp, which had lain dormant at the back of the stage all night long, dropped to reveal a massive inflatable white tiger, the night shifted into pure 2hollis theater. Emerging shirtless, clad in white leather pants, and later donning fur-lined gloves that stretched past his elbows, he leaned into the sheer spectacle of it all. Each of his words between songs was punctuated by tiger roar sound effects that blasted through the venue’s speakers—cheesy, maybe—but directly in line with his poster boy branding and self-styled 'white tiger' alias. The setlist was sprawling, covering much of star and boy, and at its best, the constant genre-switching kept the night unpredictable. Still, the show wasn’t flawless, dragging about halfway through as high-energy tracks grew sparse and songs seemed to bleed into one another.
Despite its imperfections, however, the night was undeniably alive; 2hollis thrives in chaos, and if the San Diego opener proved anything, it’s that his fans are more than willing to follow him through it.