It is hard to believe that Bad Actress is deM Atlas’ debut full-length solo album. The rapper has been visible since the early 2010s and has created such large waves in the underground hip-hop community, it seems like he has been a staple for much longer. Released on Rhymesayers Entertainment and produced by Atmosphere’s Ant, Bad Actress deals with everything from “unhealthy relationships, struggles with mental health and an indomitable drive to overcome them.” The album comes just as fans needed a new project to obsess over, serving as the rapper’s first release since mF deM, a 2016 collaboration with iconic producer MF Doom.
This tour is taking deM atlaS all over the country to showcase the newest project, including Cervantes’ Otherside on Sunday night. Along with the midwestern musician was DJ Keezy, and rapper Curci and Denver acts LesOne and Whiskey&Wood served as opening attractions. Once the initial performers had done their parts in revving up the audience, deM atlaS brought out his own flavor and started the main event.
The rapper may be new to the full-length tour life, but his stage presence does not indicate any lack of experience. The title of Bad Actress supposedly refers to its author’s inability to hide his emotions, and those emotions come through to his audience as he spits the words of his songs. The rapper showed off high-energy dance moves, including split-kicks, 360-degree spins and more. He ran through several numbers off of his new album and threw in “Charlie Brown” from his 2013 EP Charle Brwn.
The energy that shook off of the young lyricist was that of an eager artist ready to show his fully developed skills after years of serving as an opening act. The musician spoke several times about how much it meant to him to finally be performing as the main event, and the fans in the audience responded with mutual affection. Through the dreadlocks that laid over his face, deM atlaS channeled his voice through rapping and belting lyrics that told his stories of life, relationships, parties and everything in between.
Cervantes’ remains one of the best places in Denver to catch any hip-hop act that comes through, and Sunday was no exception to that sentiment. The audience filled the Otherside of Cervantes’ and the arms of fans obscured the view of the stage as they flew up and down to the beats of the songs. deM atlaS seemed to enjoy the reaction he received from his supporters, which inspired him to yell into the crowd, “here’s some more fucking noise, I like how that sounds.”
As the slightly-over-an-hour- performance ended, the excitement and energy from deM atlaS did not dwindle. After he left the stage for a brief break, he returned to bust out one last banger for his encore, “Perfect Day,” which included more dance moves and eccentric singing than any of the before played tracks. For a first time headlining performance, deM atlaS proved that he has enough fans to fill a room in Denver and plenty of time to continuing building on that fanbase.