The moody hype man that is Sik-K took the stage at The Novo in Los Angeles continuing his FL1P World Tour showcasing most of the tracks on his latest album, FL1P. Late into the evening of April 8th, the Korean rappers, DJ Summit and Avin took the stage playing popular US rap and K-hip hop tracks for the crowd. As the lights dimmed on the stage, “FLIP: FL1P” played as the intro video peppered with red lasers, Greek statues, and 3D burning car tires flashed across the screen. At the conclusion of the video, Sik-K sauntered onto the stage singing in autotune to “Outta My Head” and later followed it with one of FL1Ps rock title tracks “NOIZY.” He wasted no time flowing into his other songs, particularly throwbacks, keeping his ments and conversations both in English and Korean short with the fans. As soon as the chords for “Rendezvous” commenced, screams erupted and a mass of phones rose in the air, capturing performance moments from one of Sik-K’s most popular singles.
Although there was no clear reasoning for it, the graphic concept of the show consisted of imagery indicative of lasers or fire in regards to mechanical objects, like a car with a burning tire or a robot hand holding a burning phone emitting holographic images similar to that of Face ID. The setlist seemed to have been organized into groupings, relating songs that had a similar message together, for following the French-titled song, “Habibi,” meaning “my love” in Arabic, and, subsequently, “XYZ” and “Mi Casa Tu Casa” (feat. Jessi, The Quiett), followed showing Sik-K’s affinity for cultures outside of his own. Although Sik-K spoke minimally throughout the show, his fan interaction through suggestive movements or constantly dousing himself in water was enough to appease those in the crowd. “xanax” and “FIRE” were the next two songs in the setlist prior to Sik-K leaving the stage for his much anticipated H1GHR MUSIC guest, which he promised at each stop in Instagram posts prior to the US leg of the tour.
That guest was the energetic, Woodie Gochild rushed the stage to greet fans performing five of his songs “Cotton Candy,” “Muse,” “Roll Cake,” and “Moon Walk,” filling the short performance with trendy dance moves and raw energy for the crowd including arguably his most popular song, “Let’s Get It.”
Sik-K returned to the stage with “Seoul City” followed by “FLY,” one of many songs the duo, GROOVYROOM, produced for the Korean rapper. The next part of the concert featured tracks that explore his loneliness in realizing an unrequited love. The longing in his autotuned voice showed through the songs, “Link Up,” (the Korean title means, ‘Where are you?’), “Love Aches,” and “Vanessa.” His setlist theme transitioned into tackling on the loneliness he feels with the songs “Ring Ring” and “Too Many” (feat. Jay Park).” Sik-K, given his persona, could only stay despondent for so long as his intense stage presence truly started to show during the following song “19 Cayenne Freestyle,” which he then followed up with a throwback to his song “Iffy” taking on the songs playful vibe, flirting and lightheartedly dancing even after the song had ended. Riding the excitement from the previous two tracks, Sik-K exclaimed he would be going off script singing arguably his most popular song “party (Shut Down) feat. Crush” before continuing as planned.
He continued to fuel the fiesta with “R.I.P (Rest In Party)” and “Skip and Kiss” followed by “Up All Night.” As the end neared, he started to do what all fans were anxiously awaiting: unbutton his jacket exposing his chest beneath the denim. For the last two songs, he brought back Woodie Gochild to perform the song “YeLowS Gang” (feat. Herr Nayne, Woodie Go Child), the homage to his fellow group of artists. At this point, he completely took off his jacket exposing the bare abs beneath it. Sik-K continued to appease the fans pouring water on himself and his uncovered chest as he re-performed “party (Shut Down) feat. Crush” with Woodie Gochild on stage. Before the concert ended, he took a selfie with DJ Summit, Woodie, and the crowd with a California state flag draped over his back, and to continue the fan interaction, he jumped down from the stage in front of the barricade and greeted fans up close. Sik-K truly “FL1P”-ed The Novo into the club it usually is, and we look forward to seeing the effect at other US stops.
Stay tuned for our upcoming interview coverage with Sik-K!