Power 105.1 took the Barclays Center on a ride Thursday night (October 26), as their annual Powerhouse event was the main attraction in Brooklyn, NY. Hip-hop and R&B’s biggest stars took the stage and performed a catalog of hits in front of a packed house.
The annual event has been the go-to event around this time for hip-hop fans for years now, and this year’s edition was no different. Various DJs and on-air personalities from the Power 105.1 family, including DJ Self, Angela Yee, DJ Prostyle and Charlamagne Tha God, took turns introducing different acts and kept the show running.
Despite a heavy police presence after fans attempted to bumrush security at the entrance of the Barclays Center, the likes of The Weeknd, Migos, Cardi B, Lil’ Uzi Vert and more, made sure the night was a memorable one for good reasons as well.
Let’s take a look at the top six highlights from Power 105.1’s special night.
DJ Envy & Friends Brings Brooklyn to Its Feet
DJ Envy tore the house down with a number of special guests accompanying his set. It was made known at the start that Fetty Wap, who’s featured on DJ Envy’s newest single “Text Your Number,” missed his flight. The crowd wasn’t too happy about the news, but that didn’t stop DJ Envy from promising to make the night a good one. Casanova led the way with a high energy performance of “Don’t Run” with A$AP Ferg following shortly after with “Work”, “New Level” and “Plain Jane.”
The livest part of Envy’s set belonged to Busta Rhymes and Tee Grizzley as they each gave high energy performances. Busta proved he could still annihilate his verse off “Look at me Now” at age 45 and Grizzley followed suit with an electric performance of his hit song “First Day Out.”
French Montana Is Enjoying the High Life
A video montage featuring Max B and Chinx opened French Montana’s set at Powerhouse 2017. The video included newspaper clippings and footage from Max B’s lengthy court case and Chinx’ untimely death, as well as several moments from Montana’s career. With “Unforgettable”, his album Jungle Rules, and being named the spokesperson for French Vanilla flavored Ciroc, French has been in a new space and it’s only getting better.
Montana ran through a selection of his hit singles and verses such as “Work (Remix)”, “Ocho Cinco”, and “Ain’t Worried About Nothin.” Being that Powerhouse was being held in Brooklyn, French gave a huge shoutout to Bobby Shmurda and the GS9 crew by performing his verse off the “Hot N—a (Remix)”.
Anytime French performs in New York, the reaction from the crowd is huge, and it was no different Thursday night. Nothing could take the beaming smile off French Montana’s face. The energy was so strong, that French Montana had to toast the occasion, asking the crowd, “Can I take a shot with you Brooklyn? Some of that French Vanilla Ciroc?”
You are unforgettableeee — @FrencHMonTanA #PowerHouseNYC pic.twitter.com/ouqAJyFydO
— iHeartRadio (@iHeartRadio) October 27, 2017
Lil’ Uzi Vert’s Rock & Roll Swagger Lights Up Barclays
“We’re turning up like we’re at a rock and roll show,” said Lil’ Uzi Vert midway into his set at Powerhouse 2017. The hip-hop rock star turned the Barclays Center upside down and showed Brooklyn how he really is hip-hop’s very own rockstar. “Sauce It Up,” “Do What I Want,” and “Money Longer” rang through the Barclays arena with nearly everyone in attendance rapping and singing along with Uzi.
Uzi took it a step further by going into the audience and raging with everyone there. The more energy he felt from those around him, the deeper he went into the crowd. At one point, Lil’ Uzi Vert told his DJ: “It’s turnt up in here. I’m not going to talk, keep the music going.” The best part of the set came from the energetic performance of “XO TOUR Llif3.”
Uzi and his fans sang in unison to close it out, but Uzi wasn’t finished. “Play the chorus off XO again. I want to see if they really know it,” said Uzi as the crowd sang the chorus again, even louder than before.
Cardi B Reminisces About Her Past While Sharing a Special Moment With Her Mother
After Uzi Vert, New York’s Cardi B made her appearance in front of a raucous Brooklyn crowd. Despite having a short set, the Bronx native dominated: As Charlamagne Tha God put it earlier, “Cardi B is the perfect role model for ratchetness and righteousness,” and her hometown of New York City loves her for it. Cardi took the Barclays Center back to the early days when fans first fell in love with her performing “Foreva.” Cardi took the time to tell the crowd that this was the first time her mother has seen her perform live.
“My momma is bougie y’all,” said Cardi before performing her number 1 record “Bodak Yellow.” Cardi then preceded to bring out G-Eazy to perform their hit record “No Limit.”
Migos Brings Cardi B and Nicki Minaj Together
In what was already a fiery performance, Migos brought it up another notch as Quavo announced to the crowd that Cardi B and Nicki Minaj will both be featured on Culture II. Within seconds of hearing what Quavo had to say, a collective gasp was let out amongst the crowd as it was later revealed that they would both appear on “Motor Sport.” Quavo instructed the DJ to give the crowd a snippet and everyone in the arena paid attention. Cardi B accompanied the trio onstage, rapping part of her verse, but it was short-lived as Quavo told Cardi “they have to wait.”
.@Migos played a snippet from their new track off ‘Culture 2’ featuring @iamcardib and @NICKIMINAJ at #PowerHouseNYC — pic.twitter.com/uGHu0RGRdP
— Vibe Magazine (@VibeMagazine) October 27, 2017
The Weeknd Puts a Fitting End to an Awesome Show
The Weeknd ended the night on a high note. Despite people in the audience leaving early during his set, the crossover star kept the show moving with effortless performances of hit records like “Starboy,” “Party Monster”, and “Reminder.” XO labelmate Belly joined The Weeknd to perform “Might Not” and “Man Listen,” but the most eye-opening part of the set (and the night altogether) was a surprise appearance by Travis Scott, who offered a lively performance of his single “Butterfly Effect” and got everyone off their feet. The Weeknd kept the energy going shortly after, by ending with the equally dynamic “The Hills.”