It was reminiscent of an old-school rap battle. One rapper performs with passion and fire. Then the other MC comes out and tries to raise the bar higher. Then both are on stage together, the crowd went crazy and you could hardly hear anything other than screams because it was so loud.

But this battle didn’t happen in an “8 Mile” style-warehouse a pair of local rappers. This was Drake and Lil Wayne at Gexa Energy Pavilion on Sunday, Sept. 7 in Dallas, a show marked by innovative technology, hyped performances and a responsive audience.

After purchasing tickets for the tour, fans had the opportunity to download a new app, “Drake vs. Lil Wayne.” After opening the app and choosing the city for that show, fans could power up either Lil Wayne or Drake. Whoever finished with the most power would open up the show. Then at the end of the show, fans did the same thing to pick who won the competition.

Lil Wayne came out first, pumping up the crowd with his older songs. Weezy jumped up and down constantly on the stage and was full of energy the whole night. His set consisted of just rapping and singing only during one song, “How to Love.”

Drake, on the other hand, mostly sang and had the most crowd reaction during his hit song “Hold On We’re Going Home.” He even moved across the Pavillion on a mobile platform and got everyone jumping trying to get his attention.

Technology determined the encore. Both rappers were on the stage at the same time after the winner of the competition, Drake, was announced. Then Drake sang his major hit songs and Lil Wayne helped him out.

With the show being so technologically-advanced there were lots of strobe lights and the sound was full in action and made the area feel like futuristic atmosphere. There was also good sound quality, no audio outages, and Weezy and Drizzy were both rapping/singing live, making the show better and worth the purchase of a ticket.

The crowd reaction was great that night, because there was never really a dull moment from the audience. Even if neither Drake nor Lil Wayne were speaking or rapping, the audience always screamed and made noise. Also the Young Money rappers made sure to get the audience into the show by pointing the microphone into the crowd and making them rap the lyrics. No matter if you were in the front row or the very back in the lawn, you were sure to get noticed by either Drake or Lil Wayne.

The only drawbacks of the show was that it was hot outside and the venue is outdoors.  A bright side of the show being at Gexa is easier access to get closer to the stage because it’s a more open area than a venue like the American Airlines Center.

I gave the show an overall rating of 8/10 because there wasn’t a huge turnout, not every seat was filled. Both performers joked back and forth about bringing fans onstage during the performance, but neither did. It would’ve added a lot to the show. Still, the night was successful whether or not you wanted Lil Wayne or Drake to win the competition, because they both pulled out their best suits and put on a entertaining show.