#brianimanuel

The artist of few songs made a stop in Vancouver at Fortune Sound Club for an early(ish) all-ages show. Tickets were being resold for nearly triple face value as the sold-out, intimate show was a hot teen ticket. Lines got long early for concert-goers to secure a front-row spot to see the rising star, and the crowd held their spots for nearly two hours before the rapper finally took the stage. 

Fans walked in to a DJ who played for the two hours, keeping everyone pumped and patient while playing rap hits from Migos, Kendrick Lamar, and more. There were no other openers, so the young DJ had a lot of time to fill, but he and Rich Chigga's DJ kept the crowd lively. 

Closer to 10pm, the room went silent, and a photo of Rich Chigga's face appeared on the screen. Fans whipped out their phones to take photos and stared at it like the Mona Lisa in silence. Cheers erupted as the rapper burst onto the stage, opening with "Back At It."

This show almost didn't happen for Imanuel. He told the crowd about how he needed to request an emergency visitor's visa in order for him to cross the American border and perform in Vancouver. He got the green light to fly from Los Angeles at 11am that morning, making the show possible.

His set was short, playing bits of his own songs and dipping into songs he's featured on with artists like Skrillex and Diplo. Before the last song, he told everyone that the sound had cut out and he needed to perform "Dat $tick" acapella. His DJ sang the melody, while Imanuel rapped over with the crowd joining in at full force. Turns out, he had fooled the crowd, as when he was leaving the stage the actual song started up and he performed his hit again. Everyone burst out laughing, but quickly started rapping along again. Though the night was short, there were plenty of highlights. With his latest major-label features, there's no doubt he'll be playing bigger venues in the near future.