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Hip-hop's Future causes quite a stir at sold-out South Side show

Friday night at South Side Ballroom was all about wall-rattling bass, rousing rap-alongs and a sea of cellphones in the air. One of the most relevant and sought-after hip-hop artists in the world, 32-year-old Atlanta hitmaker Future, took over the sprawling venue to present his "Purple Reign" tour to a sold-out crowd of a few thousand snappily dressed young fans.

The South Side audience brought remarkable heat and enthusiasm even before the artist born Nayvadius Wilburn entered the room. Following an energetic warmup performance from Ty Dolla $ign, the countdown began for Future's headlining set. Large vertical video panels established a backdrop of textures and psychedelic imagery, claps of canned thunder tested the PA system and light effects created faux lightning. The sardine-packed crowd up front started to chant, "Future, Future, Future," while freer spirits in the back danced in front of their cameras for juiced-up selfies.

When Future finally skipped out to the center of the stage to kick things off with the instantly explicit "Thought It Was a Drought," the people couldn't contain themselves. 

They shouted along to audacious lyrics about casual sex and designer flip-flops. Future worked every section of his stage amid lights, lasers and smoke (some theatrical and some, ahem, second-hand).

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With four studio albums and more than a dozen additional mix tapes under his belt (all released in the last five years), the man had a lot of material to get through for the voracious crowd. That meant song snippets outnumbered full songs considerably -- Future's track man would cue up a beat, the rapper would recite a few artfully Autotuned bars with his fans, and then everyone would move on to the next hit. If the crowd's energy died down in the slightest (a rare occasion on Friday), he'd remind them to "put those twos up," and hundreds of peace gestures would rise above heads.

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There were several tracks given the full-length treatment, though, thanks to their ubiquity on radio or in clubs. "Jumpman," an instant classic from last year's joint mix tape with Drake, had grown men running around in circles in a kind of trap-beat-assisted ecstasy. Future could barely be heard performing "F--- Up Some Commas" thanks to hundreds of fans rapping every syllable.

The voracity of the South Side attendees on Friday would help anyone understand the power and reach of the show's star. A social media outcry followed last month's Grammys because Future wasn't featured as a performer. For someone who'd been comically prolific and successful in the last year and also managed to influence noted influencers like Drake and Kanye West, the guy deserved his TV moment.

Yet these fans probably don't put much stock in the approval of music's establishment. This generation is more about enjoying a sustained mood, vibing with their favorite rapper on an intimate level. Future is theirs and theirs alone.

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Follow Hunter Hauk on Twitter: @hausofhunter.