James Weldon and friends throw a Sunday night party at World Cafe Live

For a quiet Sunday night in late winter, there was an abundance of life and energy in the Lounge at World Cafe Live last night as Philly rapper James Weldon and friends B-Eazyyy and The Bul Bey filled the room with fans, fire beats, and ferocious energy.

The show was originally scheduled for January, but got pushed back due to Omicron — in more ways than one a terrific move, since it built up anticipation and gave the performers room to sharpen their set. Eazyyy apologized more than once during his portion of the night if he came across rusty (it was his first show back, post-pandemic), but it was absolutely unnecessary; his performance was on point, charismatic, and quite cathartic, with many new songs coming as they did in the wake of his father and grandfather’s passing. Closing his portion of the night, “Sage Music” was a prayer for release and healing.