Santigold and Wale hit Chicago for the latest leg of FADER and vitaminwater's uncapped concert series. In the spacious Marquardt Trucking warehouse on the West side of the city, a massive crowd—nearly 1000 were in attendance—was greeted by De La Soul's Maseo, who spun a mix of classics. Santigold hit the stage in a floral print jumper and performed an energetic set. Her backup dancers, eyes covered by shades, alternately hoisted massive hammers in time to the music, waved golden pom-poms, or simply dancing alongside the star. They supported her through a career-spanning performance that included a couple costume changes and a horse. The crowd rushed the stage for the last song, surrounding Santigold for an explosive finish. In the audience, members of Chicago's Treated Crew and rapper Rockie Fresh rocked along as Maseo returned to the DJ decks.
After a break, Wale, dressed in a teal hat, matching shoes and camo pants, hit the stage to the strains of "Bait." He ran through some of his biggest hits early on. "Pretty Girls," his 2010 collaboration with Gucci Mane was greeted with screamed enthusiasm, but it was the performance of Wale's guest verse on Rick Ross' "Fuck Em," from this year's Rich Forever, that pushed the audience to the boiling point, though. He continued, running through a series of MMG features like Ross' current radio hit, "Bag of Money," as recent Kanye collaborator and Power 92 mixer DJ Pharris watched from backstage. Wale was joined onstage by a surprise guest, R&B singer Melanie Fiona, for a rendition of their track together, "Beautiful Bliss." Later, "No Hands" brought down the house, with the audience taking Roscoe Dash's part in a massive sing-along.
Check out vitaminwater's YouTube channel for exclusive footage from the show. uncapped continues throughout the summer—see scheduled concert dates in the sidebar here and sign up for our mailing list to RSVP when we hit your town.
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