Just by nature of his music – the big beats, the aggressive rhymes, the relentless airhorns – Meek Mill is larger-than life. So for him to wrap up his breakout year in the cozy surroundings of Sigma Sound Studio in Chinatown was a rare treat. The appearance last night was something of a secretive, fans-only thing that drew a hundred-some devotees out early to catch some DJ action and opening sets from a variety of up-and-coming rappers – Los Angeles MC Thurz, and two signees to Meek’s Dreamchasers imprint, Lee Mazine and Louis V Gutta. Around 10:30, the man of the hour strutted onstage to the cheers of the crowd and the bounding energy of his hype man as they launched into the suave autotune frenzy of “Young and Gettin’ It” from Meek’s debut LP Dreams and Nightmares. He hit on most of that album’s highlights – “Pray” got a modest singalong going, which was massively eclipsed by the frenzy of “Intro” – and only shortchanged the standout “Traumatized” by allowing it just a single verse. “This is my most personal record,” he said of the single, and I guess he wasn’t up to oversharing it last night. Elsewhere in the set, he dipped back to the spring’s Dreamchasers 2 for the bass-heavy banger “Burn” and closed on the rousing “I’m A Boss” from the original Dreamchasers. Meek’s stage presence was pointed and tireless – leaping back and forth, working the crowd, striking a pose – and to underscore how fierce his delivery is, DJ Damage often dropped the backing track during songs to let Meek flow a cappella, never once losing the beat. When he’s headlining venues thrice this size in a year, you can mark these words – the work ethic we saw at Sigma last night will be a big part of what got him there. Check out photos in the gallery above, setlist after the jump.

Setlist

Young and Gettin’ It
Burn
Amen
Traumatized
Believe It
Bag of Money
My Moment
Intro
House Party
I’m A Boss