Jaden Smith performed at the Schottenstein Center on Sept. 16 for OUAB’s welcome back concert. Credit: Justin Volley | For the Lantern
Four months after opening for Justin Bieber on his “Justice” tour, rapper and singer Jaden Smith returned to Ohio State’s campus to welcome back students with an electric performance.
Organized by the Ohio Union Activities Board, Jaden, along with opener DJ Bandcamp, performed a sold out show at the Schottenstein Center Thursday.
To start off the night, DJ Bandcamp played a series of songs and remixes, such as Ohio State’s own “Hang on Sloopy” to tap into the Ohio State culture as well as to get the crowd ready for Jaden’s performance.
“We’re just warming the stage up for Jaden,” DJ Bandcamp said to the crowd.
Jaden launched his performance by playing a series of home videos and clips from when he was younger to set the tone for the night. As soon as the videos began, the crowd immediately lit up with phones as they anticipated his arrival.
Jaden opened up his set with “Cabin Fever,” a song released in 2020 on his “CTV3: Cool Tape Vol. 3” album and, from the looks of all of the jumping and singing, it’s safe to say the crowd heavily enjoyed the performance.
Throughout the night, Jaden played a medley of fan favorite songs such as “Summertime in Paris,” “Icon” and “Ninety,” all of which were nothing short of amazing and even more meaningful to hear after Jaden spoke about why he wrote them.
“So in 2015, I got my heart broken really, really bad, and I made an album because it was that bad,” Jaden said to the crowd before playing “Ninety.”
Throughout the set, Jaden tapped into his emotional side and opened up about the importance of people being true to themselves.
“No matter what people say to you, no matter what people tell you, you can do whatever you want,” Jaden said.
When Jaden was performing, the sight of the stage was anything but boring. His use of pastel colors and visuals made the show all the more enjoyable. The clips he used came mostly from his music videos, and during each song he was singing, he always had a visual to go along with it.
Jaden’s overall stage presence was nothing shy of lively and energetic, and he had no trouble connecting with the crowd. Whether it was wishing someone a happy birthday, throwing up hearts to different people in the audience or putting on an Ohio State football jersey, he seemed to enjoy how the crowd was responding to his performance.
Overall, Jaden’s performance was both energetic and chill; he performed both upbeat and slower pieces which made the show exciting because the songs were organized in a way that kept the audience on their toes.
Rate: 4/5
