Image credit to Itsallthewaylive.net

Sometimes you luck out with a hype show at a good venue on a warm night with solid openers and a sold-out crowd that’s somehow just the right size. And sometimes luck drops a free ticket in your lap day-of. And sometimes, just sometimes, Kid Cudi shows up, too.

Thanks to my friend Tyler for the hook-up. Wale, who’s been bringing D.C. hip-hop to new ears, dropped into Le Poisson Rouge last night and set it off with a few friends. He comes with a full band, keeps it live, acknowledges that a DJ might suffice but that he “loves the energy.” Energy’s something he’s got in spades.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTstFaMf-4E

“Doin’ what I gotta do, flyer than the rest of ‘em…” This video was directed by Chris Robinson who’s done just about every T.I. video I can remember, some real classics for Alicia Keys and this Grammy-nominated joint for Nas’ ‘One Mic.’

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9jau9BLAb4

Big names — but Wale’s right there with ‘em. Mark Ronson himself, who signed the kid back in ’07, throws Nas into the mix (along with Lupe Fiasco and Lil’ Wayne) in describing Wale’s signature delivery.

So consider it just a bonus when, in the middle of an already-rowdy set with Wale clutching (and downing) a bottle of Patron, up pops a cheerfully wastey-faced Cudi sipping from a plastic cup. Props to Wale and the crowd for giving Cudi no way out and to All the Way Live for getting this up pronto. For your review — an mp3 of Kid Cudi’s Day N Nite feat. Wale at Le Poisson Rouge.