Shaboozey had more than one reason to get tipsy at San Francisco record label Empire’s 15th anniversary concert Saturday. The country music star signed to Empire in 2021, and has become a major success for the label and its CEO, Ghazi Shami (who goes by the mononym Ghazi). On Saturday, Shaboozey headlined a free-to-attend show at Civic Center, presented by Empire in collaboration with Another Planet Entertainment. Two songs into his set, Shaboozey proposed a toast to San Francisco:
“To one of the greatest cities in America, one of the most beautiful cities in America, where culture happens, where it all begins,” the singer said. “It’s a birthday, ain’t it?” he added. “Empire, it’s a birthday, Ghazi, it’s a birthday, right?” He raised a red Solo cup into his song “Drink Don’t Need No Mix.”
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This event also follows a couple of personal successes for the country music star: earlier this month, he established his own label (a joint venture with Empire), and became the voice of Thursday Night Football. By the time Shaboozey introduced his slower ballad “Good News,” the weight of his accomplishments seemed to get the better of him.
“This song is actually higher on the Billboard Hot 100 than the last song. And it’s not about drinking, it’s not about partying, it’s not about flexing, it’s about being like, ‘I need help right now,’” he said, thumping his chest. “‘And if there’s someone out there that can help me, I want you to hear me right now.’” The chest thumping turned to pounding, and the singer walked to the side of the stage to share a tearful moment with Ghazi and the Empire team.
Ghazi grabbed the mic. “Team work makes the dream work,” he said.
Ghazi is, quite literally, banking on San Francisco. In January, Empire bought 1 Montgomery St., the Neoclassical triangular building (and former flatiron lookalike) that was once home to Crocker Bank. The building has been vacant since 2019, when Wells Fargo (who acquired Crocker in 1986) sold the property. Ghazi has suggested various plans to see returns on the $22.5 million investment, from offices to a rooftop venue to a private club in the bank building’s vault.
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For those of us with Instagram, this vision of downtown revitalization by way of corporate events and public-private partnerships might ring a bell. Ghazi is something of an ally to Mayor Daniel Lurie, who could be seen alongside others watching the show from City Hall’s wrought-iron balcony. In between sets, he descended and made the trek across Polk Street to speak in support of Empire’s mission.
“Fifteen years — Ghazi, congratulations,” Mayor Lurie said following a surprise set by Bay Area rapper and entrepreneur Berner. “Now, there’s a lot of people talking about San Francisco. They were talking stuff, and smack, before. Now they’re saying San Francisco’s on the rise, and it’s because of our arts, our culture and our music. And we’re going to keep leaning into these types of concerts.” Saturday was the third concert Another Planet Entertainment has held at Civic Center Plaza, and they’re responsible for this summer’s trilogy of music weekends in Golden Gate Park which included Outside Lands, Dead and Company and Zach Bryan.
The mayor then introduced another last-minute addition to the setlist:
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“There is someone that loves this city as much as I do, and his name is Larry June,” he said to raucous applause, walking off stage (not before dapping up the homegrown rapper).
Preceding acts on the Empire roster came from beyond the Bay. Hailing from Reno, anonymous country singer Red Leather opened the show, and invites comparison to another anonymous fringe-wearing country singer. Texas-born R&B singer Inayah, who initially gained online popularity after a viral Instagram post in 2018, performed unreleased music as the crowd at Civic Center grew. By the time Lagos-based afrobeats artist Fireboy DML reached the stage, that crowd began to swell. The tree-lined hardscape portion of the plaza was packed from the stage to Larkin Street, and picnickers filled the grass on both adjacent sides. Fireboy DML’s hit song “Peru” captivated the dancing audience, who dutifully sang along as he shouted out San Francisco in the first verse.
Shaboozey getting tipsy in Civic Center
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Fireboy DML shares Nigerian roots with Shaboozey, who was born in Virginia to Nigerian immigrants. The stage name “Shaboozey,” he said in a recent interview, came from a classic roll-call mispronunciation of his last name, Chibueze. The Empire 15 headliner can be seen as a culmination of those who took the stage before him Saturday, blending genres as many great Americana acts do.
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After Shaboozey closed with “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” — which currently holds the record for longest-running No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart — Ghazi took the stage to grant him yet another accolade:
“One of the most amazing things I did was place my belief in this human right here,” Ghazi said before presenting Shaboozey with a diamond plaque. “That means he sold ten million records.”
Shaboozey knew what he had to do to celebrate.
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“This might be the last time I ever perform this song. Can we do it one more time?” It wasn’t the first time he’s played the song twice.