2hollis? Too Good.

Experimental rap and electropop artist 2hollis returned to his hometown of Chicago, bringing the sounds of his latest album “Star” to swaths of adoring fans at The Salt Shed Outdoors on the Oct. 2 stop of The Star Tour. 

After the electric performances of openers rommulas and nate sib, the crowd seemed brimming with excitement for 2hollis. Enveloped in sudden darkness, waves of fans crashed expectantly toward the stage which would soon hold the esoteric icon. 

A sudden crescendo of high-pitched syncopated beats, overlaid with sounds of speeding cars and Minecraft firework sound effects erupted from the stage, evoking a nostalgia for the early 2010s digital age. Amid smokey flashing lights, a massive inflatable white tiger rose up from its slumber in anticipation of the artist’s arrival. 

“Do you trust me?” 2hollis asked from the darkness.

Before any audience member could utter a response, upbeat techno track “flash” flooded speakers, sending the audience sloshing around with speckles of iPhone flashlights. Entering the stage, 2hollis ecstatically performed the song amid impressive light displays.

Like a swagged-out pegasus prancing around a fantastically large white tiger familiar, 2hollis drew the attention of the crowd as if they were under a spell. Clad in white jeans and an open white button down, he sang an incantation to catch the eye of all in “tell me.”

“Tell me, are they lookin’ at me?” 2hollis sang. 

The performer didn’t have to receive an answer to the rhetorical question. It seemed every form of sensation in the audience, including ecstatic dance, was focused on embodying his stage presence. 

Underneath red overheads and beams of light shot into the crowd, fans crashed their sweaty bodies into each other while releasing rhythmic, hyped shouts to “trauma.”

Excitement for the track’s deep trap-esque bass beat hopefully not inducing actual physical trauma, 2hollis performed like his life was on the line — jumping and swerving while exuding unmistakable confidence.  

In between tracks, the 21-year-old approached the crowd like Joe Exotic from “Tiger King” would a wild tiger. Like a god addressing throngs of adoring patrons at the cathedral of drain gang-adjacent music, 2hollis commanded “Put up a 2.”

And like Moses parting the Red Sea, an ocean of “2” hand signs formed in the audience preceding the track “two bad.” The all-consuming bass and braggy, provocative lyrics allowed the performer to let loose on stage, apparently motivated by the rising collective energy.

Feeding off the hype, 2hollis circled the stage in between tracks like a tiger stalking its prey. Going in for the kill, he removed his button-up. Now completely shirtless, he seemed to slaughter the audience with excitement to the opening notes of hit song “poster boy.” 

With many of his songs covering themes of sexual longing and reflection, the comparatively downtempo and contemplative “Sister” allowed the audience a chance to breathe and ease into the performer’s sensuality. 

After the relaxing, tender meditation on interpersonal erotic desire, 2hollis’s white tiger bared its teeth again as he rapped to the nostalgic European hypebeast energy of “gold.” The artist danced in a hakken-adjacent manner, evoking the 90s Berlin techno influence evident within his recent discography. 

In line with the drain-gang adjacent reaching for influence within the 2010s swag era, “sidekick” allowed crowds to be consumed by intense, foreboding bass and jump in place to their hearts’ content.

For “Afraid (ft. nate sib),” 2hollis brought the opener back on stage for a marvelous duo performance.

With a stark shift to acoustic guitar and singing stripped of autotune, “Eldest Child,” calmed 2hollis’s white stallion into a young colt. With the lyrics evoking themes of self-reflection on ego, family and home, it was fitting for the singer to be performing in his hometown with his mother, Kathryn Frazier, in attendance to watch as audience members swayed.

“Eldest child, eldest child / I know you make your mom and daddy so goddamn proud,” 2hollis sang.

The murmuring lull once 2hollis left the stage seemed to beg squirming anticipation of the crowd as they waited for hit track “jeans.”

Answering this suspense, lights flickered to the beat of “jeans” and the crowd released high-pitched screeches. 2hollis commanded the stage with great ease, bringing his esoteric, symbolic performance powers into full swing. He walked to the barricade, being grasped like a prophet — the scene suggested he’d be expected to kiss a baby or bless a broken iPhone 5. 

2hollis seemed eager to please and genuinely interact with his adoring fans. In an opium-aesthetic den, it was unexpected to see such love shared between fan and artist. In an apparent desire to please, 2hollis went back on stage, assuming his place to play “jeans” an additional four times.

It wasn’t only welcomed but seemingly desired by the audience who moshed to the track for nearly 15 minutes. The song didn’t seem to be replayed for clout, but rather to connect with the audience after a night of iced-out vulnerability.