Review by John Faussemagne
Photography by Ethan Orellana
On the walk from Edgewood where I was staying with friends to the Masquerade, my group felt the first cool breeze of fall. For some reason it had consistently been in the 70s and 80s, but as we decided to show some skin to match the vibe of the show, of course the weather turned on us.
We arrived at the venue early and waited outside till 8 when the first opener, Jadadoll, went on. Music would consistently play without stopping from that moment until about 10:30 when we left. This wasn’t a normal concert, instead it felt more like a club night where different artists got their moments to perform to keep the energy going. While the crowd had yet to truly arrive, Jada was able to capture the fans who came early to see her. She started with a song seemingly sampling the Minecraft horse galloping sound played alongside a nasty Baltimore club beat. From the start, she had a crowd full of people ready to throw ass and dance along to every word she rapped. To end her set, she brought the crowd close and intimate to admit to something. She wanted to make it clear she did not condone cheating, to which she played a song where she continuously screamed “I’m f**ing your b*tch for fun.”
Once Jadadoll finished, the music didn’t end, as the DJ kept the vibe up until the next opener was ready, at one point playing a jersey club “Let The Bodies Hit The Floor” remix. Next, Miss Madeline came out, and Jadadoll assumed duty of the mixer and decks. Miss Madeline continued to keep the show going and the fans danced with an energetic and ecstatic performance. Despite it only being 9 PM, I feel like I have been dancing and partying for hours. The lights mixed with the hyperpop infused dance beats that I could feel throughout my body was truly hypnotic. Around this point, friends from Cortisa’s camp including one wearing an Astronaut costume step out onto the balcony to dance and watch the crowd. Miss Madeline had a much slower vibe than Jadadoll (which to be fair, Jadadoll was rapping over blast beats at some points). This allowed the crowd to truly get their body into each beat and move with the song as opposed to jumping around and going crazy like they did for Jadadoll.
The DJ was brought out again for the intermission until it was Cortisa’s time to shine. When she came out she put on an alien sounding autotune and thanked everyone for coming and told the crowd about a new album titled Pressure which was soon to be announced. As the introduction stopped, and the first bass drum hit, a flurry of phones went in the air for Cortisa who opened the show with “BAD ASF.” When she wasn’t rapping every song, she was dancing along and hyping up the crowd. Cortisa is a natural performer and wants to give her fans the best show possible, giving all her energy into every second of her show.
For her performance of “Black Belt,” her crunchy vocal effect pushed through alien autotune. The astronaut dressed friend was no longer on the balcony, but had made her way to the side of the stage where she and Cortisa rapped every word to each other. She then brought out Jadadoll for a handful of collaborations they have, sparking even more energy from a crowd who had been dancing for almost two hours at this point. The biggest thing that stuck out to me is just how impressive Cortisa’s rapping ability truly is. She didn’t miss a beat while rapping along to songs that easily surpassed 170 BPM. As the show came to a close, the beat for “PARTY ALL WEEK B*TCH” began and the crowd lost their minds. She brought friends and performers alike to come on stage and dance with her as she rapped. At the end of the song, and seemingly the show, she then decided to run it back, playing the song one more time, but this time remixed alongside Missy Elliott’s iconic “Get Your Freak On.”
The performance came to a close, but the show didn’t end. Cortisa implored the crowd to stay as the DJ continued mixing before inviting everyone 21 and up to a nearby club for the afterparty. Even with a shortened set, Cortisa brought the club to the Masquerade and gave fans a place to dance and lose their inhibitions for the night.
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