Review: Drake and Lil Wayne square off, sort of, at the Hollywood Bowl

It’s an indication of the impact Drake and Lil Wayne have had on hip-hop that one portion of their joint concert at the Hollywood Bowl – a performance framed as a battle between the two superstar rappers – was about who could be softer.

The bit, which came midway through Monday’s show, began when Drake announced that he “can do what nobody can,” a reference to his ability (or perhaps his willingness) to complement boisterous anthems with tender love songs. To prove his point, he crooned a slow piano-ballad version of his hit “Find Your Love,” then sang “Hold On, We’re Going Home,” the soothing 2013 smash that effectively erased whatever line was still separating hip-hop and R&B.

But Lil Wayne was not to be outdone. So as his former protégé was finishing “Hold On, We’re Going Home,” he sauntered onstage and began singing along (not especially well) before croaking his way through “How to Love,” a statement of affection all the more endearing for Lil Wayne’s unsteady vocal cracks.

“Anything you can do,” he told Drake, “I can do better.”

Billed as “Drake vs. Lil Wayne,” the rappers’ tour uses competition as a way to distinguish itself from the other high-profile duos that traveled the country this summer: first Jay Z and Beyoncé, then Eminem and Rihanna.

At the Bowl the two alternated brief solo sets, each playfully trash-talking the other, and later came together for a verbal duel; a smartphone app modeled on the video game “Street Fighter” allowed fans to vote on the winner. (Monday’s victor, for whatever it’s worth, was Drake.)

More than a contest, though, the show felt like a convincing demonstration of how both halves of this team have expanded hip-hop – and pushed each other.

For Drake that largely meant the space he’s cleared in a once-tough form for melody and vulnerability -- not to mention the freedom to ride a stripper pole. At least that’s what Lil Wayne called the small moving platform Drake rode over the heads of the audience (as he gripped a pole for stability), a regular feature of Drake’s concerts in which he points out specific members of the crowd.

Here those included a woman wearing a “peach crop top,” as Drake described her outfit with typical precision, and a lady clutching a sign that read, “Grandma loves Drake.”

“I love you, too, Grandma,” he said, relishing the opportunity to play the good guy.

Yet the rapper also channeled Lil Wayne’s unruly energy in songs like “Worst Behavior” and “0 to 100/The Catch Up,” which starts out with Drake denouncing his signature laid-back sound. And he brought out Wiz Khalifa, another rowdy troublemaker, to perform Khalifa’s song “We Dem Boyz.”

“I feel like roasting somebody tonight!” Drake growled after a bracing run through “The Language,” a warning no one, least of all Lil Wayne, would’ve taken seriously just a few years ago.

On Monday, though, the older rapper recognized the threat and reached back for several fierce but loopy tracks from his mid-’00s mixtape phase, when Lil Wayne was widely regarded as hip-hop’s prime innovator.

Today that’s Drake’s role, which is why Lil Wayne sounded like he was covering a Drake song when he performed “Believe Me,” a menacing hit single from an album Lil Wayne is due to release next month. (Inevitably, the song features an appearance by Drake.)

“Believe Me” came right after the announcement that Drake had won the evening’s battle, a decision that sent Lil Wayne into a mock-tirade against his insufficiently motivated fans.

“I’m about to rent my house in L.A. to Justin Bieber,” he declared, “so he can egg the whole neighborhood.”

Not to worry. Behind his sunglasses, Lil Wayne seemed to be winking – and maybe beaming with a mentor’s pride.

Twitter: @mikaelwood