Underground rapper Nettspend performed at the House of Blues Anaheim as part of his debut album “early life crisis” tour on May 20. He began the tour in Vancouver, Canada on April 7 and concluded it in Los Angeles on May 28.
Nettspend’s rise to stardom was fast and internet-fueled. In 2023, his single “drankdrankdrank” went viral on X, which propelled him into the spotlight. He built a name for himself in the underground community before signing with Interscope Records and Grade A Productions. Afterward, he dropped his debut mixtape “BAD A** F*****G KID,” and made runway debuts for Miu Miu and Gucci. He also performed several times at Rolling Loud throughout the years, and he released his debut album “early life crisis” on March 6. One would assume that a musician with this level of success would be older and further into his career, but Nettspend just recently turned 19.
To say that the Anaheim show was packed would be an understatement; the line outside of the venue wound down several corners. The show started at 7 p.m., but Nettspend arrived after 9 p.m. Around this time, the screen on the stage which read “early life crisis” switched to a view of Nettspend backstage, shrouded in green light. The intro to the first song of the album, “you ready?” began to play on the speakers as glittering strobe lights sputtered to life. At the same time, Nettspend repeatedly asked the crowd if they were ready in his autotune-warped voice. He sauntered down a hall and placed his hand over the camera, which then cut out, plummeting the venue into momentary darkness. A beat after, the strobe lights directly illuminated the stage and Nettspend ran out on the beat drop, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Some iteration of this was the typical intro to every show on the tour. At this show, he stopped his performance of “you ready?” midway to check up on the safety of the crowd.
Soon after opening with “you ready,” he performed the “early life crisis” songs “crack” and “paris hilton.” Singles from his previous eras were interspersed throughout the setlist, including “Tommy” and “nothing like uuu,” which always excited the crowd. After performing “pain talk,” he sang “Happy Birthday” to his friend OsamaSon who is featured on “pain talk” with him.
The genre of Nettspend’s music can be described as trap or jerk, both derivatives of hip-hop. As for the subject matter of his music, he commonly sings about drugs, designer brands and makes contemporary Generation Z references.
This tour touts a wild crowd that built a reputation for being especially aggressive with pushing. The Anaheim show was no exception — attendees didn’t have to be close to the barricade to feel the hydraulic press of the crowd, which was packed like sardines in a can. Whether this is particular to the underground rap scene in general or Nettspend himself is up in the air, he has doubtlessly generated a lot of hype in the years that he’s been on the scene. Perhaps this can be attributed to the character that he developed as part of his artist persona. He presents himself as stoic and nonchalant, despite his high-energy performances where he often screams, prances around the stage and takes concussion-inducing tumbles.
One of his worst falls was at his Raleigh, N.C. show where he took a tumble, falling headfirst into the barricade after a misstep, leading to him being rushed out of the show. Despite this, considering that he was back to jumping around at the Anaheim show, he appears to have recovered.
However, at his final show in Los Angeles, he attempted a stage dive into the crowd which purportedly left him injured.
Falls aside, there exists an element of parasocial relationships between Nettspend and some of his devoted fans — perhaps comparable to K-pop idol worship. There is a certain cultish fervor that Nettspend fans have that can likely be attributed to the curation of his persona, separate from his music. This discrepancy between chaos tempered by impassivity is an intriguing bit to witness that undoubtedly draws in his fans.
After the set at House of Blues, he performed three songs as part of his encore. The first song was “medicine taste like s***,” the second was “stressed,” and the final was the live debut of his song “10k ona dog.”
It will be fascinating to see if Nettspend’s massive success will continue to burn bright and solidify as he develops his artist persona that utilizes his youth as part of his marketing. As of right now, he appears to be one of the trendsetters of Gen Z’s underground rap sound.
Tessa Kang is an Arts & Entertainment Staff Writer. She can be reached at tokang@uci.edu.
Edited by Avani Kumar and Tracy Sandoval.
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