Born and bred New Yorker Teyana Taylor represented her city with pride for the McDonald’s ‘Beat of My City’ concert event this past Saturday. The nationwide tour, held in collaboration with Genius, sets up free shows for fans to see their favorite artists perform in their hometowns, and NYC’s Pier 36 was the first stop to kick everything off.
Sets from NYC based performers like DJ Ria and the ‘Emphasis Dancers’ breakdancing troupe opened up the energetic show for the spirited audience in attendance on Saturday and left fans hyped for Taylor’s own dance-heavy set.
Performing many of her hits from her most recent album, ‘Teyana Taylor,’ it was difficult to find one person in the crowd not completely invested in the energy brought to the stage by Taylor and her dancers. Tracks like her hit ‘WTP’ electrified her hometown audience, and when she slowed things down with more emotional songs like ‘Gonna Love Me’ and Rose In Harlem,’ every lyric was echoed through Pier 36 as if every audience member shared the stage.
In addition to free concerts, the ‘Beat of My City’ tour also allows artists give back to organizations important to them. For Teyana Taylor the organization of the night was the Harlem based Dunlevy Milbank Center, providing resources for impoverished children. While most concerts often offer a sense of community, this rang especially true for Saturday’s event, so heavily based around hometown identity. As voices throughout the room blared each lyric of Taylor’s ‘Rose In Harlem,’ its safe to say NYC was not too disappointed by her special tribute to where she was raised.
