If you don’t already know, Raleigh rapper YBN Cordae is a rising star that’s going to make a big splash this year. He proved that with two action-packed shows at the Fonda Theatre this past week.

We were there at the first YBN Cordae show on Tuesday night. I am pretty new to his work, as I was first introduced through his collaboration with Anderson .Paak “RNP” that just goes. That sent me into a dive into his debut full-length album The Lost Boy that dropped back in September, a strong effort from top to bottom. He has impressive flow, which was on full display Tuesday night at the Fonda Theatre. And with that he is just dripping in swag.

If you were a fan of Paak’s Malibu record, Cordae is right up your alley. A lot of his songs are about his early life struggles (as were Paak’s on Malibu) and he’s come a long ways from working at a T.G.I Fridays in his earlier days. It’s always good to see a good guy like this claim the come-up.

He had the Fonda Theatre crowd with him all the way through. Cell phones waving back and forth during “Bad Idea”, people jumping up and down during “Broke as Fuck”. He even rapped over the beat from Eminem’s “My Name Is”.

You have to catch him later this year if you’re able. He’ll be performing at Coachella 2020 this April, as well as Governors Ball 2020 in June. I’m sure he will pop up on some other festival lineups later in the year as well. He’s also currently in the midst of a lengthy tour — so don’t miss him!

Also performing Tuesday night were San Francisco native 24kGoldn and H.E.R. collaborator Lonr.

Check out all the photos from the show below.

Photos by Alan Le