Arriving at The Midway, I couldn’t help but notice the long line of fans wrapped around the block. The friendly security pointed me in the direction of the box office, and I was on my way. The main room was filled with LED lights pointing to the bathrooms and the cafe, and was extremely open.

Kota the Friend began his set, and the crowd got extremely loud, matching Kota’s energy. Kota engaged with his crowd fast, asking them what songs they wanted to hear. Kota also referenced a lot of locations that were tied to his songs, which also became a motif during his show. One notably being “Colorado,” one of his hits. His stage design included a big center screen and two side screens, one on each side of the stage. On the screen was a t-shirt with the name of his newest album, No Rap On Sunday.

Kota The Friend is a 32-year-old rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Kota released his debut mixtape in 2016 and is popularly known for his songs “Colorado” and “Long Beach,” which have amassed over 156 million streams on Spotify.

Throughout Kota’s set, it was evident he had a connection to locations. Before Kota’s performance of “Long Beach,” he said, “I went here for the first time and liked it for about a week and then got tired of it. I’m from Brooklyn and like more authenticity. That’s why I like the Bay more. I can tell you guys are from here.”

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