It’s been a while since Toronto has gotten to see Logic perform live in concert. The last time I reviewed one of his concerts back in 2017, Logic was a relatively new artist on just his third album, still considered a rising star. He went on to continue topping the charts with Def Jam and the major label machine behind him, hitting his peak with a 2019 tour that saw him headline Scotiabank Arena for his first time as a solo artist, before going through a few short-lived “retirements” from music. With that 2019 tour being the last time he performed in Toronto, he’s since released 5 new albums over the years, including a sequel to his 2014 debut, Under Pressure, called No Pressure, his final major label album to conclude his Def Jam contract, Vinyl Days, a nostalgic reflection on his up-and-coming underdog days with his indie release, College Park, and his most recent, 2024’s long-awaited Ultra 85. He’s come a long way navigating the music industry and finally landing as an independent artist with his own established fan base, and the Toronto fans were eager to see him return.
Logic’s long-awaited return to Toronto comes on The Endless Summer Tour Vol. 2, which sees him joining forces with Oakland-based artist G-Eazy to repeat their original Endless Summer Tour from 2016. While G-Eazy is an artist who’s had a similar career trajectory as Logic, making his debut around the same time with most of his discography released in the 2010s decade, I’ll admit here that I’d be going into this concert being unfamiliar with his music and experiencing most of it for the first time. The co-headlining duo would also be joined by special guest Juicy J, who’s career extends back to the 1990s with the iconic Memphis-based group Three 6 Mafia, and is coming off of releasing a joint album with Logic, Live And In Color, which sees him stepping away from that southern trap style of rap in favour of more boom-bap production supplied by Logic. Between these 3 artists and their fan bases, it would be a diverse crowd coming together at RBC Amphitheatre.
This concert was far from sold out, as we arrived to find that everyone who bought lawn tickets would get a free upgrade to the seated sections, us being pleasantly surprised to get into the 300 level. There would be a few unadvertised openers warming up the stage to start the show, and it seemed like Logic & G-Eazy picked the weirdest, most obscure styles of artists to put on. First up was a Canadian artist from Vancouver named Hermit, who definitely had an Emo appeal, the slogan “every day is worse than the last” appearing on the jumbo screens under his name. While he did have some fans in the crowd who cheered him on, his first impression didn’t land with me personally, as it felt like being at a bad karaoke bar hearing him scream out his unmelodic raps. His vocals sounded like they’d be better suited for an Emo Rock band.
Next up would be a Los Angeles-based artist signed to Logic’s Bobby Boy Records, T Man The Wizard. Other than hearing his hook on “Mission Control” off of Logic’s Ultra 85 album, this would also be my first time experiencing his music. T Man came out literally wearing a wizard costume, but he’d quickly take off the robe and hat to perform some high-energy tracks. The sound was a bit cluttered as he mostly rapped over his own vocal recording, sometimes looking like he was lip syncing, but the production sounded dope on songs like “Bobby Boucher,” and he was able to get some energy out of the crowd. Although a bit gimmicky, it was overall a decent set to warm up the crowd. A few minutes later, Juicy J’s name would display on the jumbo screens, and the crowd got as loud as they’d been all night!
The last time I reviewed a Juicy J concert back in 2014, I was pissed off at some of the fans getting aggressive and killing the vibe. This time, it would be a much more positive experience now that we’re all a decade older, although this was a much more laid back setting with assigned seating. Most fans in the 300 and 400 sections stayed seated, and the fans on the floor were lukewarm with no mosh pits breaking out, but we were all chanting along to the hooks as Juicy J came out performing his Wiz Khalifa collab, “Weak.” He’d continue on with some mixtape tracks like “A Zip And A Double Cup,” “Riley,” and also pulled out a throwback off his Stay Trippy album, “Bandz A Make Her Dance,” getting the crowd to help him cover Lil’ Wayne’s featured verse. Even if you didn’t know all the songs, every hook was catchy enough to easily pick up on.
Juicy J’s setlist would have plenty of throwbacks for the Three 6 Mafia fans, as he pulled out classics like “Side 2 Side,” “Poppin’ My Collar” and “Sippin’ On Some Sizzurp.” While he definitely represented for the southern Hip-Hop fans, he also reminded us of his crossover appeal into Pop music, performing his Miley Cyrus & Mike WiLL Made-It collab “23,” and getting a fan in the crowd to help sing Katy Perry’s part on “Dark Horse.” Closing out a quick half hour on stage, Juicy J would take us back to 2005 as he wrapped up with the Three 6 Mafia classic “Stay Fly,” nailing his rapid-fire flow. There were plenty of songs left off of Juicy J’s setlist that we wanted to see, but he effectively took us through the essentials with the short time he had on stage.
Not knowing how the concert would be structured or how Logic & G-Eazy were going to share the stage, we were surprised to see Logic coming out next. The jumbo screens would display the album art from The Incredible True Story as the intro from that album (“Contact”) played, and Logic would grace the stage to thunderous applause. Taking a second to speak on wanting to do nothing but spread peace, love and positivity, he’d dive right in to a dope performance that blended “Soul Food” off of his Under Pressure album into “Soul Food II” off of No Pressure, the album art on the jumbo screens changing to match each song he performed. He’d then take another moment to speak on his decision to rock the stage first, catching the fans up on where he’s been in life, as he recently welcomed his third child and would rather be in dad mode backstage than closing out the concert late into the night. That being said, we’d be in for an epic hour and a half setlist from Logic, as he’d go through his entire set in one go rather than swapping with G-Eazy throughout the show.
Having now built up a discography full of lore and references between each album, it was dope seeing the screens show the album art from each project he pulled from, as he performed the title track from Everybody, followed by a fan favourite off of The Incredible True Story, “Upgrade,” and his College Park collab with Seth MacFarlane, “Self Medication,” hinting that the two were working on recording an entire album together. He’d then go back to No Pressure with the quick freestyle joint, “Perfect,” getting the crowd turned up with his rapid-fire raps, and would take time between songs to tell funny stories, including one about his interactions with a border security officer fan when crossing into Canada. Continuing to bounce between albums with each song performed, he’d pull out another T.I.T.S. favourite “Like Woah,” followed by the soulful No Pressure cut “DadBod,” and put on an incredible rapid-fire rapping display with Ultra 85‘s “44ever” flowing into Bobby Tarantino II‘s, “44 More.”
It was here that we’d see something unique just for Toronto, as Logic mentioned he had recorded a new song while in a hotel on tour, and wanted to shoot part of the music video for it on the RBC Amphitheatre stage. Even though we didn’t recognize the song, the entire crowd turned up and waved their arms as Logic performed to the camera, even climbing down to be with the fans for part of the shoot. The crowd engagement would continue as Logic had his team tossing out t-shirts and even shooting them out of a cannon to reach the 200-level seats as he continued the setlist, performing the No Pressure cut “Man I Is” for the first time, followed by “Indica Badu.” One of the most hype moments would come next, as Logic would get into what he called his hardest song to perform, the extremely fast-paced Eminem collab, “Homicide.” He ended up restarting the song twice just to get some extra energy out of the crowd, eventually making his way down to the floor and nailing his rapid-fire raps as he made his way around the entire arena, performing amongst the fans.
When Logic eventually made his way back to the stage, the jumbo screens would display the album art of one project that felt massively overlooked up to this point, Under Pressure, and the crowd reacted with huge applause. Taking it back for the day-one fans, Logic would perform a couple cuts off of his debut, including “I’m Gone” and “Nikki,” getting the fans to sing along to the hooks with him. He’d then follow with another sing-along type of track, this time pulling from No Pressure, getting hands waving to the mellow “Heard Em Say.” Slowly getting into deeper, more emotional songs with each selection, Logic would then do the obligatory performance of his biggest hit, “1-800-273-8255,” getting the entire crowd to sing the hook with him and performing the first verse, followed by a motivational speech spreading the message for mental health awareness, suicide prevention, and striving to find the light at the end of the tunnel.
That “1-800” performance can get emotional, and so Logic kept the show going and made sure to end his set on a more positive note. He’d take a moment to promote his film debut, Paradise Records, which he wrote and directed himself, and comes with 5 unreleased albums for anyone who buys the Blu-Ray (currently sold out online but available at the merch booth on tour). Logic would then dive into a mixtape segment, taking it back to Young Sinatra: Welcome To Forever with the track “5AM,” although he mostly just vibed out as the DJ played the full record. He’d slowly get back on the mic, as they went into the Bobby Tarantino cut “Flexicution,” getting the crowd to shout most of the hook, then got into full performances of the Bobby Tarantino II joints “Everyday” and “Overnight” that had everyone waving both arms in unison. He’d then take it back to the classics, doing the first verse from “Under Pressure” with the crowd shouting out some of the bars for him, before getting everyone to light up their cell phones for an epic performance of the T.I.T.S. cut “City of Stars,” followed by track 2 off of that same album, “Fade Away.”
Coming just short of his goal of performing 30 songs within his hour and a half on stage, Logic would close out his set with a classic segment he’s been doing since his debut, performing the throwback “Gang Related” in full before inviting a fan on stage to perform an encore of it with him. There were two fans in particular who were giving the most energy and who Logic wanted to invite on stage, and so he had them do rock-paper-scissors, the winner being a fellow rapper named The Medic who absolutely killed his “Gang Related” cover with Logic. Pushing his time on stage right to the last minute, Logic would abruptly end his performance there, grabbing The Medic by the shoulder to run backstage with him.
Overall, this may be my favourite setlist I’ve seen Logic perform (out of the 3 times I’ve seen him live). The music has now aged to the point where Under Pressure and The Incredible True Story joints bring a nostalgia factor, and even Logic’s newer albums from the 2020s have that sense of freedom where he’s simply rapping for the love of Hip-Hop, rather than trying to impress Pop audiences. The crowd interactions were dope as always, as Logic would often pick fans out of the crowd to win prizes, and overall his energy was on point.
There would be about a 15-minute break as the stage got set up for G-Eazy to take over, with his vintage black Mustang appearing at the center of the stage. Some fans decided to leave after Logic’s performance, but the majority of the crowd stuck around for G-Eazy, and being a newcomer to his music myself, I stayed and kept an open mind.
As a Hip-Hop head, I unfortunately found that G-Eazy’s music just wasn’t for me. Yes, he’s rapping on every song, but he often has Pop singers on his hooks (which simply get played out the speakers instead of performed), and the songs just don’t have that bounce or that kick to them that you want to hear in a Hip-Hop production; not to mention the bars just lack the wordplay or complex rhyme patterns that make you want to dig deeper into the discography. Logic sometimes does this as well, but he at least has the diversity in his music to also have songs that appeal to the underground heads. Based on my first impression, G-Eazy seems like he’s probably the type of artist meant to be pictured when the term “Pop-Rap” is used, which does have a space to be appreciated, but traditional Hip-Hop heads need to adjust their palate in order to get there.
That being said, the visuals during G-Eazy’s set were cool, although at times it felt like they were more for the camera rather than the fans. He spent the first few songs performing in front of and on top of his Mustang, often posing on top of the car as he rapped, with the jumbo screen behind him showing an open road and a sunset in the backdrop. He’d then get into the car and perform a few songs behind the driver’s seat, with the screen behind him making it feel like he was driving through California if you watched the performance on the side screens instead of in person. Those actually looking at the stage could easily be distracted by the camera operator standing between G-Eazy and the fans, as he’d rap into the camera and perform skits from inside the car to transition between songs.
G-Eazy eventually got out of the car and performed a track I actually liked, “Random,” changing outfits to put on the jacket he’s wearing on his When It’s Dark Out album cover. The transition and the visuals were dope too, as the screens depicted the car pulling up to a shady motel before everything went dark and he came out to perform the track. He’d pull more songs from that album, including “Calm Down,” and would also perform a new collab featuring Juicy J, although Juicy J didn’t join him on stage to perform it live.
The lights would go dark and a video interlude would play before G-Eazy returned, this time ready to perform tracks off his 2017 album, The Beautiful & Damned. While it was my first time hearing these songs, the energy was high and the ladies were definitely turned up, as G-Eazy performed cuts like “Crash & Burn” and “Pray For Me” while grabbing fans’ phones in the front row to record himself. The most lit moment would come next, as there would be an interlude where he spray painted “BUSINESS” on a platform brought on stage, and he’d go on to perform his A$AP Rocky & Cardi B collab “No Limit,” picking out a young lady in the crowd to hand is mic to for Cardi B’s verse. He also made sure to give a shoutout to Toronto’s own Boi-1da, who produced the track.
G-Eazy would change outfits a few more times, performing tracks like “Still Be Friends,” “JFK,” and “Lady Killers,” with some ladies in the crowd throwing their bras on stage. Regardless of how you feel about the music, a bra thrown on stage always affirms a good performance. He’d go on to pull out a relatively new song with “Kiss The Sky” before getting into some decade-old throwbacks to close out the show. After performing more cuts from The Beautiful & Damned including “Eazy” and the Halsey collab “Him & I,” G-Eazy would end the show on his biggest hit, 2015’s “Me, Myself & I.” Being an obvious Pop hit, everyone got dancing to the good vibes and G-Eazy would take a bow after nailing his verses, ending the show right at the 11pm curfew.
Like I said, G-Eazy may not be my style of music, but objectively he had a solid performance and had the crowd with him throughout his hour +15 on stage. On paper, the combination of Logic, G-Eazy and Juicy J may not make sense, but seeing them perform live back-to-back brings it all together, as they each have their own distinct styles while having certain songs and collaborations that cross over into each other’s worlds. If there’s one valid gripe that most fans may have, it’s the linear structure of the show where each artist performs one at a time, and there’s no mash-ups or collaborations between them on stage. All 3 of these artists have songs with each other, and yet none of those collabs got performed live on stage, feeling like a missed opportunity.
Overall, this was a fun time, although it felt challenging for any type of music fan who only likes one particular genre. There were plenty of Pop fans in the crowd who didn’t know who Juicy J or Three 6 Mafia were, and likewise there were plenty of Hip-Hop heads who left early after Juicy J and Logic performed. If you came here with an open mind, it was still a good time, and if you’re a diehard fan of either Logic or G-Eazy, you’ll get a dope setlist that dives into both of their respective discographies.
The Endless Summer Tour Vol. 2 continues through the USA this fall! Tickets, tour dates, and an opportunity for Logic fans to vote on which songs he performs can be found here!
Check out this playlist of concert videos from all the times I’ve seen Logic perform over the years!
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