SXSW Live Shot: Mobb Deep/Tyler, the Creator

“We got our own lane,” proclaimed Havoc of Mobb Deep, midway through a set of boom bap classics mixed with material from their first LP in eight years, due in April. “We doing that hardcore shit.”

Indeed, the East Coast duo has been painting sinister street scenes since 1995’s The Infamous became the archetype for a genre. A small but exuberant crowd completely lost their shit, rapping along to every word, when “Shook Ones Pt. 2” closed the set.

Around 1am, Tyler, the Creator took the stage with a confession.

“Can I be 100 percent honest? I’m so motherfucking sleepy.”

That set the tone despite the fact that a sleepy Tyler is still more energetic than most any other performer at full strength. Apparently, inciting anarchy is exhausting. The Odd Future pack leader did just that earlier in the day at the Thrasher party, directing some 200 fans to crash the Scoot Inn’s gate. They obliged.

“You were at the Thrasher show earlier, weren’t you?” he said to a familiar face in the crowd. “That was sick. You guys should’ve come to that shit.”

With a legion of fans watching from the alley, there was potential for a repeat but Tyler could only muster a half-hearted suggestion of mayhem rather than a directive.

“What are you doing out there? Get your asses in here. Figure it out. You guys are adults.”

Perhaps fans didn’t have an appetite for destruction after Wednesday night’s tragedy on Red River Street, or perhaps, like the performance itself, Tyler’s heart just wasn’t committed to a call for chaos.

“Yeah, Thrasher was sick. I’m bored right now. You old people fucking suck.”