I did not go to California rapper Kyle’s concert June 11 at Terminal West in downtown Atlanta. Instead, I attended a beach party hosted by Kyle. Sand replaced the venue’s hardwood floors and the stage was an island, adorned with tropical props, including two palm trees and cartoon foamy waves, surrounded by a sea of eager “beachgoers.” Kyle’s “King Wavy” tour marks his first as a headliner.

The blue stage lights flashed lazily four times before darkness and silence engulfed the venue. Suddenly, Kyle burst through stage left with one of his best friends, DJ SuperDuperBrick, in tow. The first lines of his song “Don’t Want to Fall in Love” exploded the microphone and the crowd’s immediate reaction was to sing along at top volume. The lucky beachgoers in the front were able interact Kyle when he squatted down to eye level.

Unfortunately, I am vertically challenged so I was only able to see bits of the action on stage through the rolling waves of arms, shoulders, and heads. The closest I could get to Kyle was through the 4x zoom of my phone’s camera … or so I thought.

Throughout the night, the energy of the room kept increasing. Kyle pounded his bars through the mic, creating a constant hyper tangle of limbs, hair, and feet down in the sand. Kyle became a conductor on stage, throwing up his hands on a chorus and the crowd increased in volume, filling in the words. When he pointed out random fans in the crowd, on command, they let the lyrics flood out of every pore. He made sure we received the most out of him and that he received just as much from us.

SuperDuperBrick’s antics included releasing a beach ball onto the crowd, bringing up to the stage Atlanta-based producer Denzel Meechie and bringing out a Super Soaker, spraying the crowd. The audience showed no signs of protest. Rather, we embraced it.

With the crowd fired up, Kyle did something I never thought I would see in person. He leapt from stage right into the arms of his fans. The whole room shifted to the left when awestruck fans rushed their way toward where Kyle was surfing.

Another highlight? When Kyle left the stage and came back carrying a bright yellow surf board. Kyle legit crowd surfed. This was the most clever thing I have ever seen an artist do in concert. And if surfing with an actual surfboard wasn’t enough, Kyle then decided to take another plunge into the sea. At the end of the night, we demanded for an encore. The night ended full circle with “Don’t Want to Fall in Love,” performed with the same velocity and liveliness he started the night with.

After the show, beachgoers loitered around waiting for something to happen. My intuition and curiosity kept me amongst the rest, even when security started yelling for people to exit the building. I noticed that the remainder of the people started to gather on the far left of the venue. When I asked what they were waiting for, someone replied, “We’re waiting to see Kyle.”

Slowly, the cluster of people dwindled down, but there was still about 40 or so people left. Security instructed for everyone to follow Kyle outside, where we formed a straight line.

By 11:30, the line seemed to have not moved at all. Some people were getting antsy. Kyle’s friend SuperDuperMaxx and SuperDuperBrick walked along the line and took pictures with anyone who asked.

Suddenly rain began to pour hard. Quickly, Kyle and the line walked back across the parking lot to stand under the awning of the building.

Because of the rain, SuperDuperMaxx walked down the length of the line and offered to replace any ruined posters. I jokingly said, “Hey, I didn’t buy a poster but may I have one?” And he gladly handed me a poster. While I waited, I realized what was taking so long. Kyle was not just taking pictures with his fans, he was holding conversations with them. When it was my turn to meet Kyle, he looked at me and stretched out his arms, welcoming me with a hug.

After we untangled ourselves, we took a couple of pictures and settled into another long embrace. When we separated again, he signed my poster and gave me one last tight hug for good measure. In the time I interacted with Kyle, I discovered he is a goofy, fun loving and genuine guy. He greets his fans like they are his friends and hugs them like they are family. As I walked away I said, “You should definitely come back to Atlanta! I’ll be there for sure.”