Megan Thee Stallion and Glorilla in the city that never sleeps — but feverishly trembles

Madison Square Garden he's seen it all: legendary concerts, NBA Finals games, award games, Verzuz duels and everything in between. Last night, I was lucky enough for a rare MSG first: Megan Thee Stallion's New York Stop on her Hot summer girl tour she made the first independent female rapper to headline the world's biggest arena. Even with Glorilla signed to CMG, indie rap havens Houston and Memphis should be represented right now.

Meg and her tour opener Glorilla brought the summer vibes to town in more ways than one. the day off after the show was the first night of 2024 where I went outside in shorts and it wasn't too cold. The weather in New York made room for the girls' fans to dress up like they were going out for a 4th of July meal. the place was packed with people of all identities decked out in matching two pieces these were ready to take the stage. The building was also filled with plenty of pink, including cowboy hats that represented Meg's Texas roots.

The uniformity in the holiday vibes pointed to Meghan as an artist who has properly cemented her brand in the pop culture consciousness — that's what headlines do. Megan has been a defining figure of the modern rap era, with her lyrical prowess, empowering lyrics and charisma earning her a large fan base. There have been a number of acts who have reportedly had issues with arena tours in recent years, but that didn't seem to be the case for Meghan — at least in New York, where the crowd was packed. The saying goes that if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. And if you can sell out here, detractors everywhere should be silenced.

Memphis rapper Glorilla opened the concert, plunging the packed crowd into the night's provocative, braggadocious, sex-positive vibes. Her North Memphis baritone led to periodic sound problems that affected her clarity. Her low tempo was enough for fans to follow throughout her set. One could tell this was her first arena tour as she was somewhat still for certain parts of the night. The set included a circular stage and a front walkway in front of the two fan pits. Gloriala rarely ventured to the front or sides of the stage, often standing in the middle while waving her arms.

But to her credit, she didn't appear to be rapping on backing vocals. She also brought her boisterous social media personality to the stage, twice joking to fans that her ass was about to pop her yellow pants. And hits like “FNF” and “Yeah Glo” got the crowd going. She did several dances throughout her set with her dancers, continuing the renaissance of rappers with real moves on stage. It's nice to see rappers with hard content that aren't too cool or hard to entertain the crowd like Heavy D or Bobby Shmurda.

After a short break, Megan took the stage, dimming the lights and listening to the sound of her hit “Hiss” before taking the stage. Her stage lighting turned red, which was the dominant color of her performance. The screen displayed moving images that looked like a variety of fire and brimstone. It symbolized the trials (literally) she had to overcome to get to this point — but maybe she just thought it was cool. He took the stage, tore through “Hiss” and kept that tone going all night.

The most impressive part of a good show is often what the audience takes for granted. Few artists can drop double rhymes like Megan without missing a beat while moving across the stage, dancing. And yes, kneeling down for twerk sessions that made the crowd go crazy every time. That was it, with three changes from the red, blue and black outfits.

Several times between songs, she exuberantly exclaimed that it was her first tour and that the New York Hotties made her emotional. But we didn't have a full-on tearful moment. She still had to jump on songs like “Plan B,” “Thot Shit” and “Ratchet” that seemingly vaulted her on stage from “just a girl” to a rap hero the size of lady liberty.

After a break, Megan returned to the stage to the beats of 'Wap'. She started rapping her verse and then Cardi's started playing over the speaker. The crowd, all on their feet waiting for a hometown performance by Cardi B, wasn't sure if she was actually there — but those who saw the way Meghan looked back knew she was wondering what her girl needed so much to get on stage . Cardi was finally given a rueful standing ovation. And even though her vocal sound wasn't great, fans knew every word to “Wap” regardless. Shortly after, Glorilla returned to the stage, seemingly bursting out of her yellow pants and wearing tiny short shorts with her bikini top. She and Cardi jumped to “”, then she and Megan did “Wanna Be”, before the girls all gave out flowers and Glorilla told the crowd that a remix of “Wanna Be” with Cardi B was coming.

After Gloria and Cardi left the stage, Megan went inside her set. It was nice to see the big three of the night, but Megan is fully capable of holding her own on stage, as well as with her dancers.

He had a palpable connection with the fans. Even as a male rap writer who doesn't really resonate with the “Sex Talk” lyrics, I could see the happiness from the people who did. A woman in the row in front of me was on Facetime for a decent portion of the show, probably with a friend who was smiling the whole time she was watching the set. You could tell these were the fans who religiously played Megan's music while getting ready to party, cruising the streets and bending over twerking to “Savage.” Her most ardent fans brought the party energy to MSG, dancing throughout the set. A man from the stage was dancing in the stands so fiercely that Megan couldn't help but tag him and feel with him for part of her set.

The travesty Meghan has endured in recent years isn't just a tabloid story that existed in a vacuum. spoke about the violence women face every day and must endure on their own through ignorance, second-guessing and outright ridicule. Many music fans sympathized with the way her pain became secondary to whatever agenda people wanted to push about her condition. And it helped that she had great music to deepen that connection. The flowers she received from fans in the pit weren't mere gestures, they were floral trophies for the resilience that got her to this point.