Big Energy

2024 has been an embarrassment of riches for rap fans. Breakout projects like Doechii’s Alligator Bites Never Heal, solid career evolutions such as Megan Thee Stallion’s Megan, and assertive declarations of conflict like Kendrick Lamar’s GNX have had seismic effects on the landscape of hip-hop this year, upending a decade of status quo and shaking up the outlook for the future of rap.

Amid all that, though, it feels like some stuff got lost in the shuffle; namely, Atlanta superstar Latto, whose third studio album Sugar Honey Iced Tea was not only her best, but did what each of the above-mentioned releases did — all in one sturdy collection of 17 versatile tracks. Fortunately, Latto’s tour for the project brought a welcome reminder of all that she’s capable of and just how big of an impact she’s had herself lately.

Firstly, it’s impossible to start anywhere but on Latto’s importance for the girlies. Women in rap have often expressed their feeling of being outsiders in the genre, calling it a “male dominated” culture in which women are not just a minority, but are boxed into just one or two archetypes. Newer rappers like Cardi B, Doja Cat, and Megan Thee Stallion have done a bunch of needed work to carve out space for women in rap, but in the past eight years of going to their shows, never have I ever felt quite so outnumbered by women as at YouTube Theater on Sunday night (December 1), seemingly all of them decked out in Latto’s signature leopard print.

No exaggeration, the ratio had to be 20 women to every one dude. They even commandeered the men’s restrooms; I’ve seen this happen before but never to the point that there’s a line for both. Sure, women rappers have created women-friendly spaces on their tours, but Latto’s crowd took this to even greater heights than any of her peers — which makes sense, because at heart, she’s a girl’s-girl, sharing her platform with openers in Karrahbooo and Mariah The Scientist who have been unfairly perceived in relation to their relationships with men. Flo Milli also popped out for a surprise performance of her hit, “Never Lose Me” during Latto’s sole wardrobe change (from the aforementioned animal print to baggy pants and crop top Crenshaw sweater. Long live Nipsey Hussle).

And while her main conflict with another woman spawned from a complaint about her genre classification, the setlist for the Sugar Honey Iced Tea Tour pointedly leaves out Latto’s biggest pop hit, “Big Energy.” Instead, the Georgia peach focused intently on her latest album and the more hardcore hits from her previous projects, emphasizing her rap credentials. This turned out to be a wise move, as some of the biggest crowd pops came for trap anthems like the breakdown on “Big Mama,” “B*tch From The Souf,” “Chicken Grease,” “Muwop,” and 2024 singles “Put It On Da Floor,” “Sunday Service,” and “Brokey.”

As much fuss as rap fans made over Doechii’s raps on songs like “Boom Bap” and “Nissan Altima,” Latto’s latest proved she could get equally introspective on “Georgia Peach,” which opened the show, and “S/O To Me,” to which fans may have attributed some Drake influence, but is all Latto’s story and pen. Speaking of Drake, his verses were clipped from just about every song he would have appeared on — even during the warmup DJ set — but hey, at the time Latto was plotting out the tour, including him was a good business move. It wasn’t until hometown hero Kendrick Lamar lyrically dismantled him and brought out his inner Karen that former collaborators started turning on him.

But for all the attention heaped onto the phenomenon that was “Not Like Us,” in a just world, Latto would have received just as much for “Put It On Da Floor” and “Sunday Service,” — which, if you’ll remember, actually kicked off much of the combative energy of 2024 alongside Megan Thee Stallion’s “Hiss.” Latto may not have whacked her rival quite as directly, but the fact that her bellicose invitations to step into the arena both reached the Hot 100 (the latter at No. 100, while the former peaked at No. 13) shows she’s got just as much of a knack for making battle rap club friendly as the Compton native.

If Sugar Honey Iced Tea is a reminder to the world that Latto is not to be overlooked, then the tour is a welcome reminder of the reminder. Latto has spent years proving her rap cred, then spent much of the past year proving her pop potential. But while many of her predecessors and peers might have been happy to take the bag and coast, Latto went back to the lab to double down on demonstrating her rap roots — and polishing her stage show, which has somehow massively improved since the last time I saw her live at The Novo while working on our cover story on her. She belongs in the conversation about the best rappers out today, and she’s making sure you never forget it.