Designer performs “Panda” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
This was actually his first network television performance ever (again, he is a 19-year-old).
What Surprised Me:
The amount of energy he used to perform. I thought he would have been going for a ice cold, calculated demeanor.
Instead he was jumping around for almost the whole time. Desiigner had lots of arm movements, big facial expressions (some were really funny). That’s not at all what I expected.
Which is a good thing! Nowadays it’s hard to be surprised by the actions of a song/music video and/or performance.
During his performance, Desiigner even rolled most of the “R”s himself.
What I Didn’t Like:
His voice did not match the playback. I realize that’s an obvious statement. Due to the energy he was using how could he have the serious yet detached vocals of the recorded version? I get it. At the same time, what if someone wanted to hear him rap live just the same way as he sounds on the track?
I probably don’t know enough about rapping, so the expectations might be different. However, if it’s a singer onstage, you hope they sound exactly as good as the recording, if not better.
What I liked:
Overall, even if he didn’t match the playback, I am happy I watched this performance. I would have never seen this hyper side of him if I didn’t press play. His live performance adds more to someone’s own mental image of Desiigner’s persona.
Now we know he sounds relatively calm on the track, but can get very active and physical onstage. I appreciate that he let himself go there. I’m sure beforehand his circle must have told him, or were thinking about the risk of him going “crazy” onstage and looking too weird.
It’s nice that Desiigner didn’t hold back.
Review by: Gio Bradley.
top3inthepocket 