Five Best Moments From Gunna’s Brooklyn Paramount Concert
Gunna was always going to get his flowers coming to Brooklyn, but this time, he brought his own, too. Clad in a studded vest and a black Korn tank top, the 31-year-old strode across the Paramount stage with royal blue blossoms in the foreground. The arrangement mirrored the fluorescent melodies that entranced the crowd in a night of faint weed smoke and some of the most indelible anthems of the late 2010s and early 2020s.
It was just the latest stop in Gunna’s Wun of Dem Nights Tour on Monday night (Oct. 21), a trek promoting his One of Wun album, which he dropped this past May. For this one, Wunna oscillated between all areas of his catalog. One moment he’s performing “WhatsApp (Wassam).” The next he’s performing his portion of Travis Scott’s “Yosemite.” Then “Drip Too Hard” and “Pushin P.” All that and pretty much everything in between — basically, last night was a good time to be a Gunna fan.
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Billboard breaks down the top five moments from the show. Check it out below.
Gunna Gives the Crowd Their Flowers — Literally
Just before performing his underrated 2022 single “Banking on Me,” Wunna tapped into his inner loverboy and had his team bring out white roses for the crowd. It was a fitting prelude to the tender serenade that engrossed everyone in the crowd. It didn’t sound like he needed any effects either, so shouts to Gunna on flaunting those vocals.
Gunna Performs His New Age Classic “FukUMean”
Toward the very end of the show, Gunna had more fun with the fans, asking them to guess which track was next. He let them put forth their best guess, but they didn’t seem to get it right. Channeling the momentum from the speculation, he immediately dove into “Fukumean” for a seamless feat of curation and expert transitioning.
The Stage Arrangement Looks Otherworldly
Powered by mellifluous melodies and surrealistic soundscapes fit for video games, Gunna is all about immersion, and his stage set here only accentuated the effect. Featuring mini boulders, the aforementioned blue flowers, and a staff with metallic skulls, the scene had all the whimsy of a fantastical milieu. With flashes of gleaming red lights beaming down, it all felt like an opening scene from an interstellar pirate movie. Call it Gunna’s Escape From Trapper’s Island.
Gunna’s fit, along with his deliberate movements across the stage, all swirled together for a legitimate aesthetic joy ride. It would’ve been easy to opt for something more straightforward, but he’s clearly committed to ambiance — from his music all the way to the stage.
Crowd Raps “Drip Too Hard” With Gunna
Given the state of things, it doesn’t feel all that likely we’ll see Gunna and Lil Baby perform “Drip Too Hard” any time soon. It’s too bad, because it’s the best song they’ve ever done, solo or otherwise.
The crowd seemed to realize that, too, as they spit the track word-for-word when Wunna jumped into the song, which is now pretty much considered a classic. Pretty crazy how time passes: Six years ago, Gunna and Lil Baby were relative newcomers looking to cement their status as Atlanta’s next up. Turns out, they were both on deck.
Moments like this one transport you back to a time before Young Thug and Gunna were put in jail while also making you reflect on what was, what is and what might never be again. It’s sad, yet kind of beautiful when you think about it in those terms. But for the night, it was just a bop everyone felt called to rap to.
Gunna Pays Homage to Young Thug With Vintage Performance of “Hot”
In one of the most electrifying moments of the night, Gunna turned back to 2019 to perform “Hot,” a Young Thug track where he handles hook duties. At the moment he jumped onto the track, the stage was engulfed by red lights, and the crowd started chanting pretty much every word. Next, he performed “Ski.” All the while, “Free Jeffery” flashed on the screen behind Gunna, solidifying a moment that was as genuine as it was electric.
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