With vocals that rival even the best artists out now, both PJ and Pink Sweat$ elevated Royale in Boston with their soulful R&B sound, kicking off part two of the Pink Beginnings Tour.
Though still not the fall from a calendar look, a brisk summer day outdoors served as the foundation of what would become an evening filled with warm energy indoors. Lining the stage was Pink Sweat$’s signature set featuring a garden gate, fire hydrant and more painted silver and flowing with an assortment of pink and white flowers popping off of its background.
With a room of eager fans ready to sing along with their favorite artists, PJ took the stage. Normally openers are shoveled onto the stage and run through their set with uninterested fans. With a core fanbase filled throughout the crowd, PJ put on a show for them and earned some new fans as you could witness people go from who to pulling out their phone to try and Shazam a song title. She played some cuts from her 2016 release Rare like “Tell Me”, “Awake” and “Gangster”, but truly stole the show when she played her upcoming single “My Best Life” and “One Missed Called.”
With the crowd in tow, singing along to her hits, PJ and her signature smile lit up the room. Spinning and dancing her way across the stage and off of it, PJ is sure to have left an impression on those who may not have known who she was.
Pink Sweat$
Pink Sweat$’s band came a short while later followed by the man of the hour. His hour-long set was one for the books. Though he had been making music for some time, he didn’t release his first single until November of last year and since then has gained an enormous following. After “Honesty” released, he hasn’t turned back. With a couple of hundred people packed in a room singing every word, Pink Sweat$ had control of the crowd.
Local remix: Check out the Wattz afrobeats remix of Pink Sweat$’ “Honesty”
https://soundcloud.com/fvckwattz/honesty
From pink stage and strobe lights to his carefully curated set to his snare drum set, Sweat$ was ready. Being the first stop of the tour was special as Boston was the first venue to see what he’s bringing with him. He performed some of his biggest hits and even invited some fans on stage to get a couple of minutes of fame and sing. Eyes were laser-focused on him as he performed song after song, talking to his fans in between. His intimate connection to his fans was what made it so special. Tracks like “Coke & Henny” and “Honesty” reverbed through the speakers and, to close it off, he invited quite a bit of fans on stage.
They danced and rocked out with him as his hour-long set came to a close. Tonight they head to Detroit where they’ll be starting up what is hopefully another memorable performance.
Just PJ
While PJ, born Paris Jones, has been around the music scene for many years, she has, within the last couple of years, transitioned from being simply a songwriter to the person performing. Her songwriting stretches back half a decade or so and includes the likes of Usher, Kevin Gates, Ty Dolla $ign, Meek Mill, Wiz Khalifa and more. The idea of creating music was always the culmination of her songwriting.
“I feel like that was alway the goal in my mind,” she said. “I always wanted to be an artist. I think I just got tired of being put in that [songwriter] category and I feel like I definitely have a lot to say… that was pretty much the main goal.”
From writing to creating music, she released her debut full-length LP in 2016 titled Rare, featuring the likes of Ty Dolla $ign and G-Eazy. PJ kicked off the rollout for her upcoming project earlier this year with the release of her widely successful “One Missed Call” — which is just under 2 million views on YouTube.
The next single to come off of her upcoming project will be called “My Best Life,” she said. As mentioned above, she performed the track last night. Since beginning her career on the forward-facing side, PJ has cultivated her own distinguishable sound, but not by accident.
“Everybody listens to differnt things,” she said. “When you listen to different things that means you can’t really sound [the same] … I listen to people when they come out … but for the most part, I really [am just] in a cave, in my own world. I go to the studio, I record, I go to sleep, I work out, I play with my dog. I’m kind of isolated … I don’t listen to a lot of things and that helps me kind of stay in my own world.”
By doing so she is able to focus on her own sound and not have any outside influence on what she wants to create. From releasing her single to touring with ELHAE just before summer, to kicking off her new tour with Pink Sweat$ and gearing up for new releases, PJ has been busy. Her year has been good so far and she said it’s going going to go up from here.
You can find PJ on Twitter, Instagram.
