Columbia Records is home to some of music's most loved artists, including Beyoncé, The Chainsmokers and Pharrell Williams. At NYC's Sony Hall on Wednesday, (Feb.27) the label aimed to champion for what their team had in store with a showcase titled Columbia Records The Draft 2019. Recent signees Lil Tjay, Polo G, Yung Bleu and a couple of their surprise guests stepped up to earn stripes in the city that is notorious for sending hip-hop acts home with hurt feelings.
Chicago spitter, Polo G, ran onto the Sony Hall stage amping "Finer Things," a record he penned while incarcerated in Cook County Department of Corrections. In a navy blue Miano Di Rouge tracksuit, the Columbia Records opener’s dance moves caused some laughter for his millennial fans below. The charming maneuver broke the ice, as G's hype man followed behind him before taking a more serious stance. Crowd control wasn't an issue, and when G extended his microphone, the mass fired back, "A lot of people dying and it's a chance that you might/ You got God on your side but it's hard to do right/ Don't pay them haters no mind, you can be what you like."
Soon, G took a more relaxed approach towards his New York audience with mention of switching his zip code on the bop, "Hollywood." The emcee's admirers recited word-for-word, right until his lyrics became heavier with the hard-knock truths waxed through, "Battle Cry." Shaking his dreads with sincerity, G rhymed, "Boy, I won't play, yeah, I go to war about my gang members/ I was in the trenches slidin' with them grave diggas/ Choppa showers, he gon' fall, once that rain hit him," before sirens rang out to cut his set. Still, as he bowed out, it was clear, Polo G wasn't attempting to embody anything he hadn't truly lived.