Producer and DJ Yung Bae brought the funk on tour, and I had a chance to see him live in Los Angeles. His sold-out show at The Novo in Downtown LA featured friends and collaborators bbno$, Macross 82-89, and Vantage, and did not disappoint. In fact, it did the opposite. I was pleasantly surprised.

For a little background, I’m a suburban white dude, I grew up listening to Eminem and Linkin Park. So the last thing I would choose to listen to is Japanese City Pop; the genre Yung Bae became famous for sampling. While I’m not a superfan of Yung Bae’s genre, I’m becoming a superfan of him. The Portland, Oregon native brought the party to LA and delivered an immersive experience for the whole audience.

The show started with Vantage’s futuristic, anime-inspired set. He got on stage and immediately had the crowd bobbing back and forth, up and down, and side to side. Parts of the set felt straight out of the movie WALL-E, and he finished his time with an unexpected “Uptown Funk” edit. Macross 82-89 came on next. He sported a Lebron James Lakers jersey and kept the energy up. He knew how to get the crowd pumped up and put on an impressive performance.

When Yung Bae finally came on stage, the crowd was amped and ready to go. He started with wild, captivating hits that immediately took everybody’s energy to the next level. His retro sound and spectacular light show created the ultimate dance mood right off the bat.

I couldn’t believe how intricate some of these tracks were, and I was shocked at how smoothly he transitioned each song into the next. Eventually, bbno$ joined Bae on stage to perform their chart-topping collaboration, “Bad Boy”. bbno$ brought out a life-sized replica of E.T., who he threw into the audience at one point. How many times have you seen E.T. crowd surfing at a show? It was definitely a first for me.

He also played a number of unreleased tracks from his upcoming project. Some of these had a trippy feel to them when combined with creative lighting. Others felt like classic bangers for the club.

Yung Bae and everyone else involved put on an impressive event. The energy was high, the vibes were up, and when it all ended, it almost felt like something was missing. The whole crowd was fully in the zone, so when it was over, naturally people missed the energy and wished it could’ve gone on all night.

You know what wasn’t missing though? The ringing in my ears. I could still hear that when I woke up the next morning.

Listen to his new track, "Straight Up Relaxin' (featuring Cosmo's Midnight) below:

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