When The Henny In The System: The Roots & Q-Tip for Hennessy Artistry

Saturday, Septemeber 25, 2010
Hennessy Presents: Hennessy Artistry - The Art of Blending

If you were at the Hennessy Artistry Event and weren’t drinking Hennessy before then…You are NOW! What an awesome way to promote your brand.

Free Event + Talent Artists + Free-flowing Hennessy = Success

Hennessy is hitting up major cities promoting their Art of Blending campaign by providing two of my favorite things: Music and liquor. The purpose of Hennessy Artistry is to promote the art of mixing various genres and blending the talents of the world’s top artists (At least that’s what their Facebook page says). Of course, they also focused on the art of blending Hennessy for your new favorite cocktail.

The Miami leg of the tour featured the headliners The Roots and Q-Tip. DJ D-Nice was on the 1s and 2s to start the party.

If you have never seen The Roots perform live, you MUST. It’s what Hip-Hop is supposed to be – lyrics and instruments. They were giving the crowd life for their entire performance. Q-Tip, a showman at heart, rocked the mic along side Black Thought for the better half of the show.

They came out the gate performing “J.Beez Comin’ Through” by the Jungle Brothers, and effortlessly performed some of Hip-Hop’s most heavy-hitting rhymes: N.W.A.’s “Straight out of Compton”, Eric B. and Rakim’s “Microphone Fiend” and Slick Rick’s “Mona Lisa”.

The crowd, as blended as the Hennessy drinks they were serving up, was moderately amped up, but when the strings to “Bonita Applebum” snuck through, it started getting wild.

Q-Tip quietly snuck off stage while The Roots continued with their original cuts “How I Got Over”, “Thought @ Work” and “Here I Come”. It was non-stop entertainment.

The Roots brought out Daniel Merriweather to perform his song “Change”. I wish he could have done at least two songs, but the unknown bevy of guests to follow was probably the reason why he didn’t.

Kat Deluna came out in her fire read catsuit to perform her hit single “Whine Up”. She brought out three backup dancer dudes to help her whined it up, but the crowd seemed like they had no idea who she was, and was not impressed by her performance. I thought she did well. Her voice was solid and steady through all her gyrating, and she tried her best to engage the crowd. I think her poppy sound was a little to abrubt for some of the stushy hip-hop heads. She did redeem herself with them by slipping back on stage with Q-Tip to lend vocals to Tribe’s “Verses From the Abstract”. She did a great job. She’s a cute girl, but does she remind anyone else of Christina Milian??

While Black Thought rested, Q-Tip blessed the crowd with two of my FAVORITE Tribe songs, “Hey Sucka Ni**a” and “Electric Relaxation”. If you follow me on twitter, you have probably seen me quote both of these a time or two.

The show had been going on for almost 90 minutes when The Roots came back with “You Got Me”, arguably their most commercially successful song to date. Daniel Merriweather predictably came back out to lace Erykah’s part. What WASN’T so predictable however was the illiest pitbull in a skirt herself, EVE to striding out with her verse, totally reviving the crowd that had been standing forever and were slipping into a henny haze.

This is when I felt myself starting to lose my mind. I LOVE Eve. What a treat!! She performed her three major singles “Who’s That Girl”, “What Y’all Want” “Tambourine” and “Blow Your Mind”. Secretly, I was heavily anticipating the return of Drag-On so they could perform “Let’s Talk About”. Easily my favorite song of hers. She looked spectacular and commanded the stage with her long legs and even longer weave. Her makeup was flawless and she looked happy and healthy. LOVE HER.

The band fell back into their original music with “The Seed (2.0)”, but quickly shut it down to do something NO one in that crowd expected…they brought out BOBBY mother-f-in BROWN. He busted on the stage with “Every Little Step”, and every 70’s and 80’s baby in attendance lost their henny blown mind. This was the Art of Blending…The Roots and Bobby Brown. Whodathunk!? The most amazing part…it totally worked!!

Bobby tore Ice Palace completely down. Say what you want about that man, but his voice still sounds fantastic! In true Bobby fashion, he scooted and flicked his tongue at the girls in the front, but nobody cared. It was Bobby Brown. The best part was watching Black Thought and Q-Tip stand back and watch it go down, enjoying the show like rest of us. Amazing.

These are classic nights that I love in Miami. I’m from Detroit so by nature, Hennessy runs in my veins, but now, I’m officially a fan. This was genius! Thank you Hennessy.

Check out the pics and flicks.





























PEACE.
LOVE.
MUSIK.

B.o.B. at Revolution Live

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

B.o.B with Yelawolf, ¡MAYDAY! and Playboy Tre

For the past month, my niece (in law) has been staying with us. She’s 14, too cool for school, but an all around sweet girl. I’m not old enough to have a daughter her age, so it was like having a kid sister around. Refreshing. What ¬wasn’t so refreshing, was finding stuff for her to do. Of course when I asked her if she wanted to go see B.o.B in concert, she coolly jumped at the chance.

On our way to the concert, she informed me that this was her first concert. EVER. I immediately felt an intense amount of pressure to make sure she had a good time. A virgin concert experience should be both incredibly entertaining and memorable. It can change how you feel about going to see another artist ever again.

That’s just my opinion. MJ was my first concert…go figure.

The pressure I was feeling was amplified by the fact that I’ve never seen Bobby Ray perform, so I couldn’t vouch for what she was about to experience. But I’m a go-with-the-flow kind of gal, so I just sat back and let it unfold for her.

Firstly…Revolution Live was THE perfect venue. It effortlessly hosted the hodgepodge crowd ranging from the kids my niece’s age, the early twenties hipsters to the sunny side of 30 crew like myself. I felt comfortable having her and my friend’s 12 year old daughter (The Girls) in tow.

Miami bred ¡MAYDAY! opened the show. I haven’t seen them live, but I am a fan of their music, so this was an appetizing snack before a big meal. I’m planning on going to one of their upcoming shows, so after that short set, I’m looking forward to that. The Girls enjoyed ¡MAYDAY! more than I expected. Of course, neither of them had heard of the band, but they were both eager to “google them” when they got home. Comedy.

Playboy Tre hit the stage next. I’m not a huge fan of his, but I thought he picked good songs to play for this particular crowd. I couldn’t get a feel for whether or not the majority of people knew who he was. He played his most current song “Liquor Store Mascot”, which was received well by the crowd. I will say that he is a very humble and gracious artist, which for some reason caught me by surprise. He was even nice enough to take a picture with The Girls after the show.

Yelawolf preceded B.o.B. He ensued more blank stares than Wendy Williams, but the crowd warmed up to him during his infection “F—K You” track, which he asked the audience to participate in, giving us the most awkward moment of the night for all the teens and their guardians. I do like his current single “Pop The Trunk”, so I was happy to see him perform it.

The set-up period for B.o.B was long. Not Erykah Badu long, but long enough. But I must say…from start to finish, his performance was more than worth the wait.

Although it was not what I expected, I really dig B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray. The album has a lot of heart and energy, and he left both on the stage at Revolution Live. He started out with the high impact “I See Ya”, mellowed it out a touch with “Satellites” and “The Kids”, and then went in with “Haterz Everywhere” and “Bet I”.

The rest of the setlist is as follows:
• Past My Shades
• Letters From Vietnam
• Lovelier Than You
• Don’t Let Me Fall
• I’ll Be In The Sky
• Fame
• 5th Dimension
• Magic
• Nothin’ On You
• Airplanes

His entire set was a little over two hours and he remained comfortably animated the entire time. He bounced between the electric and acoustic guitar with ease, and played off the energy of the crowd like a veteran. I was SO impressed with his performance. As a lover of music, I appreciate his graceful blend of genres. Backpack Hip-Hop at his core for sure, but with the help of his spectacular band, he mixed a little rock, pop and a touch of jazz in there too.

The Girls were ENTHRALLED! Because she’s too cool for school, my niece never showed how excited she was before the show, although, because I was a 14 year old girl once, I knew what the real deal was. During his performance, they were dancing, waving their hands in the air, and screaming for Bobby Ray to throw his hat and sneakers their way. It was so cute. We all had a great time, and I’m touched that I could be a part of my niece’s first concert experience, and that for her, it was perfect.

Check the pics and flicks.

Love.

Peace.

Musik.

J. Cole @ Mansion Nightclub

Thursday, July 8, 2010

“Clap For Em…

I love living in Miami, but for a music junkie like me, it’s hard to hear about “secret shows”, and “guest appearances” in other cities by artists that I dig.   J. Cole is no exception. The hubby put me on to J. Cole about a year and a half ago, and sent me The Warm Up when it dropped.

Best thing I could say… “that kid is dope” *BBD voice*

So for the past year, he’s been performing here, there and everywhere, but I had YET to see him! (If he’s made an appearance in Miami in the past year more than once, please correct me!)

Thanks to the fact that his spotlight is getting brighter, I finally had an opportunity to go check him out live. At Mansion. Yes. The nightclub. Womp.

I don’t hate Mansion, but I pretty much despise going to clubs to see LIVE music. The show always starts late, half to the majority of people aren’t there to see the artist, there’s RARELY a live band in attendance, and the performance is guaranteed to be short. THIS was no exception.

The Mr. and I were determined as ever to go see J. Cole perform. Needless to say, the performance started a quarter past 2am, half the people there were like “Who is that!? Where is LeBron?!” (who had just made his big announcement a few hours earlier), No live band (Although DJ Effect WAS rockin’!), and he only performed 2.5 songs.

Jay-Z @ BankAtlantic Center

Saturday, February 20, 2010

To know me, is to know I love Jay-Z. Love. Love. LOVE.

When Reasonable Doubt was released, I was 14 years old. I didn’t buy that album. I don’t have a good reason why, I just didn’t. His singles were barely in rotation in Detroit (my hometown!), so I didn’t pay much attention to him...how silly I was! In 1997, I was a freshman in high school. I received In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 as a Secret Santa gift, which by then he had already had two singles from that album I LOVED. My best friend Tiffany and I used to watch the “Who You Wit II” video on BET every day, thus beginning my love affair with Jay-Z. After listening to In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, I immediately ran out and bought Reasonable Doubt.

I have followed his career since then, and with every album, I’ve become more of a fan of his work. His music is special to me, because many of the songs are part of my life’s soundtrack. Many great memories I have are marked with his songs. To name a few:

• 
  
  “I Know What Girls Like” – creating dance sequences to this song
• 
  
  “Hard Knock Life” – parking lot pimping outside of Harrison High School’s homecoming
• 
  
  Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter – This was the first Christmas gift I ever gave my fiancé.
• 
  
  “I Just Wanna Love U” – Singing it as a duet with my best friend Courtney our freshman year at Howard and him performing at homecoming that year.
• 
  
  The Blueprint – After 9/11 my fiancé (boyfriend at the time) and I drove from DC to NY and back on this album alone!
• 
  
  “Beware of the Boys" – Crossing at Alpha Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
• 
  
  "Public Service Announcement" – Graduating from college!
• 
  
  “Hollywood” – Reminds me of my first months here in Miami
• 
  
  “Run This Town” – Alex’s 30th Birthday party...the day we got in engaged!

No other artist’s music has had that musical influence on my life. I can say unequivocally, that he is my favorite :).

I never miss Jay-Z in concert. I’ve been to a concert on every tour he’s had since 1998. I HAD to get tickets to the Blueprint 3 Tour come hell or high water! Two of my homegirls and I actually bought tickets to the Atlanta show because Miami wasn’t included on the initial tour schedule. When the Miami date was released, we jumped on it! We were FOURTEEN deep for the concert.  Our floor seats were sick and we had an amazing time!!!

The last two Jay-Z concerts in South Florida were both in downtown Miami. Once for the Heart of the City Tour with Mary J. Blige at American Airlines Arena, and again a few months later for a free concert in support of the Obama Campaign. This time he decided to show Broward County some love and have it at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise.  I personally thought it was a good look because BAC is almost twice the size of AAA.

You can always expect showmanship with Jay-Z. From beginning to end, he kept the crowd engaged in his songs. He brought his trusty sidekick Memphis Bleek out for a few songs, but the majority of the show he did solo. I think we’re past the age of rappers having 20 members of their crew being on stage with them, but it’s still nice to see an artist hold down an entire arena by themselves!

He performed his major hits of the moment “Run This Town” and “Empire State of Mind” early on in the show, which was an interesting tactic, because most artists save their recent songs for the end of the show. Surprisingly enough, it didn’t take away from the crowd’s energy at all.

Young Jeezy was on the bill, along with the opener, Trey Songz (who did a great job...we arrived in the middle of his performance). I think it surprised everyone when Jay-Z’s set immediately followed Trey Songz. Jeezy DID perform, but it was like an intermission of Jay-Z show, which I actually thought was a brilliant idea for two reasons: 1. The stage crew only had to set up the stage once, leaving more time for the performances; 2. It helped to keep the crowd’s momentum during the show. The baton was passed between Jay and Jeezy seamlessly. Jeezy appeared on stage to perform “Real As It Gets” with Jay, and then did his solo set without missing a beat! Good tactic for artists that share numerous songs together like these two.

Jay-Z rejoined Young Jeezy on stage for “My President”, after which he went back into his solo performance. One of my favorite moments from this show was preceding “My President”, when a video played of President Obama dusting his shoulders off, and the band dropped “Dirt Off Your Shoulder”. The crowd LOVED IT!

For the most part, he performed his major and secondary hits, but threw in a few deep cuts like “Lucifer” and “Where I’m From”. The latter definitely was for real fans. What I did find a little disappointing, was the lack of any big name surprise guests, especially given the fact that many of them were in the audience. His “booski” Beyoncé (that’s what he called her at the concert I swear!) was there looking FAB-U-LOUS! Puff was around as well. The crowd would have gone BANANAS if B had come out. I pretty much would have went to jail. You know how I feel about Beyoncé! Lol

I THOROUGHLY enjoyed the show. It was non-stop energy. The band was amazing, and the staging was perfect for his performance. Jay-Z’s voice was noticeably hoarse, which he made mention to at the end of the show, but it honestly didn’t take away from his performance because he pushed through the hoarseness where he could. My personal wish is for Jay-Z, Jeezy and Rick Ross perform “Hustin’ (Remix)”. I thought that was the day. I was sure of it! But it didn’t happen. Womp Womp.

The reason I love to see live shows, especially of the same artist over years, is that you can see how an artist grows. That man is forty years old! FORTY!! In such an age-conscious industry, he has remained relevant without compromising who he has grown to be. Each show is more mature; like now he has a band...he used to have a DJ. Now it’s all-black-everything...it used to be throwback jerseys. Now it’s just him, and maybe Bleek...it used to be ALL of Roc-A-Fella on stage! He told the crowd he wasn’t jaded, and that he still appreciated all the love, and he hopes he has given some of that back. LOVE HIM! And that swag...........

What I would LOVE, is for his next tour to be in smaller HOB-ish venues, and he only performs non-single songs from his albums...he can call in The Deep Cut Tour!

“Jigga been cold as f*ck before ice”....

Love.

Peace.

Music.

Black Eyed Peas @ American Airlines Arena

Saturday, February 6, 2010
The Energy Never Dies Tour

We all know the open history of the Black Eyed Peas. Yeah yeah...they were a dyed-in-the-wool hip-hop group going nowhere fast. Then they injected this pretty white girl with the big voice and Boom Boom Pow...SUPER GROUP!

Because I say they were going nowhere fast, doesn’t mean I think they were talentless – but commercially........they were going nowhere fast! Their albums were more for self-proclaimed “Hip-Hop Heads” and featured artists like Les Nubians, De La Soul and Macy Gray. It’s to no surprise that when Elephunk dropped, the general population was confused about it being their THIRD studio album. If you’re anything like me, you had the screw face the first time you say the “Where is the Love?” video. “They sure look like the Black Eyed Peas...is that Justin Timberlake singing?? Who’s the white chick??”

Arguably, a complete 180% from Bridging the Gap, Elephunk brought them to the masses, and began their onward spiral of catchy beats and popular tunes. I was not sold on Elephunk. It was just OKAY. Now having two other albums, listening to Elephunk reminds me of how awkward their transformation was at this time. “Hey Mama” and “Shut Up” were big hits, but you still had to wonder... “Who’s the white chick?!?”

BEP’s official crossover album, Monkey Business was a BIG success for them. It pushed them into the limelight with Fergie riding high. The album got average reviews, but I was feelin’ it. It was just enough up-and-at-em pop music I needed in 2005!

I, like many, have slowly become regular fans of BEP. I feel like their music has its own lane. It’s not really pop...but it’s not really hip-hop either. But for them...it WORKS! I admittedly didn’t jump at the first sign of ticket sales, but I begrudgingly decided to go (thanks to Loriann!). I am SERIOUSLY glad I did. They put on a S-H-O-W!!!!!!

I was impressed from beginning to end! Three parts of the show stood out for me:

1. Will-i-am did this DOPE freestyle to BBM messages from the audience. They asked people with blackberries to text anything to the number they provided, and they showed up on the screen. From that, he used those texts to do a freestyle. HOOOOT! That gave me a newfound sense of respect for him.
2. Will-i-am’s DJ set. A DJ stand emerged from the floor and then lifted in the air over the crowd. Visually it was spectacular. Albeit I don’t consider Will-I-am anywhere NEAR my top 10 DJ list, his song selections were great!

• In The Ayer

• Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit (one of my FAVS!!!)
• American Boy

• Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough

• Don’t Stop the Music

• Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’

• White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It)

• Thriller

• Jump Around

• Otherside

• Smells Like Teen Spirit (Another all-time favorite!)

• Don’t Stop Believin’

• Right Round

The crowd went bananas!! A little something for everyone.

3. “I Gotta Feeling”: It was the last song they performed and it was incredible! It had all the energy and drama you would expect this song to have in a live performance. Best way to end the show!

They seemed comfortable on stage. Will-i-am, being the biggest character of the group. They worked around each other flawlessly. One drawback was Fergie’s microphone. At points in the show, you could barely hear her. I couldn’t tell if you was a technical issue or she was singing extra soft. She didn’t lip-sync which made me happy, but that sound drove me crazy. She was cat-walking up and down the stage, which was awesome because her dancing (which she didn’t do much of) leaves a lot to be desired. She looked amazing tho! Her body makes me want to eat, sleep and shit on a treadmill! She perform three singles from The Dutchess; “Fergalicious”, “Glamorous” and “Big Girls Don’t Cry”.

The staging was elaborate and fanciful. They obviously spared no expense with the production technology to appeal to the audience.

This was their second stop on the North American tour. LMFAO and Ludacris (why...I don’t know) opened for them. The concert was the Saturday before Superbowl, and traffic was STUPID, we I missed LMFAO. We came in the middle of the last song them performed. Womp.

Ludacris was enjoyable. I’ve seen him perform a few times on other tours. There wasn’t much to the set, and since the crowd was pretty mixed, some of his songs were a littttttle lost on them. Lol “Back seat, windows up...” Still love that song!!

Bottom Line. THAT was concert. These are the reasons I LOVE concerts. Pure and absolute entertainment. If there are tickets still available for you to see this concert. PLEASE do. You won’t be disappointed.

Love.
Peace.
Music.

N.O.R.E. @ The Whiteroom

"It's NORE NORE"

Check the Pics & Flick!










I was pretty excited to see NORE. Although I don't consider him a serious lyricist, For entertainment purposes, I wanted to see what his show was about. The Whiteroom is a small dive with aspirations of becoming a hip downtown club. It has a stage perfect for performances of this size - short announced and unpublicized.

Be that as it may, I still expected WAY more from his performance. There was no set showtime, so the fact that he hit the stage around 2am could be dismissed, but it show was 15 minutes...and I'm being generous with that.

The crowd was small, so I'm not sure if this was the reason for short show, but FIFTEEN minutes?! I was not pleased. In that 15 minutes he certainly didn't BANG out the show. It was just OKAY. He jumped off the stage to perform in the crowd for the "finale". But the entire performance still gets a womp womp from me.

I suppose this wasn't a REAL show, and that contributed to the lack of enthusiam, but I feel like regardless of the set, stage, or size of crowd - as an artist you should ALWAYs bring your A game. You never know how you're going to gain or lose as a fan.

I'll continue to support his music...I wasn't THAT turned off, but I'll definitely be side-eying him for a while.

Mark G, Rahsaan, Shyvonne Sanganoo @ Ginger Bay Cafe

Monday, May 25, 2009
B Side Entertainment Presents: The Soulcial - Brown Sugar A Gemini Affair

YAY GEMINIS!!!!!!!!!!!

So this month's Soulcial was featuring SHYVONNE. She's livin' in New York doin' her music thang. She's my soror, so you know I had to come out to support! The night was also featuring Jon Saxx, Rahsaan, Mark G, Anomaly, Carlin Writes, Fudakochi, Maha, Nym, Charlotte, and M.O.C.

Check the pics & flicks. (click the picture for larger images)

THE BIRTHDAY GIRL CAMILLE!

This was mash-up night. Which was really fun. Apparently three of the performers were not there, so those that were there had to fill in.

Rahsaan performed Jay-Z's "Ain't No" - pretty much ripped that.
Mark G performed with Shyvonne performed The Roots' "You Got Me" (as shown above).

Fun!

Smif-N-Wessun @ The Whiteroom

Friday, May 22, 2009
Show Stompers presents Smif-N-Wessun

Real hip-hop in the building!

So, I'm gonna get on my soapbox for a quick minute. It's quite possible for one GIRL to like Louboutins AND Smif-N-Wessun! lol. I'm serious...I can't begin to tell you how many people gave me the screw face when I said I was going to see them. "you don't know nothin' bout smif-n-wessun?!!?" UMMMMMM....why yes I do! Those who know me best, understand that I live in an alternate universe where all b-girls rock out in Giuseppes...just my personal fantasy world! "I'm where the hood and high fashion meet........." HA! *climbing off my soapbox*

So, Mike Shoti and Skam2? opened up the show. Soooooo, like an ass, I left my memory card at home :( I don't have any video from the show, but here are some pics! (click pictures for larger image)

Crazy crazy vibe in the whiteroom!

I've heard of Mike Shoti, first time seeing him. It was cool. Wasn't wowed by the performance, mainly because I think the music was drowning him out. I was sitting ON the stage and could barely hear him. I'll check him out on fb or myspace tho. Definitely haven't ruled him out!

Skam was dope. He's been on the underground scene for SO long. He was at the Back 2 Basics show a few months ago - totally missed him, so I'm glad I got to see him here. He rocked the crowd, although his set seemed mad short.

SNW tore it down. The crowd mix was...interesting. lol. The music scene in SoFlo is way different than the other places I've lived - DC, Chicago, Detroit. Anyway - SNW tore it down! They played mostly old shit, which I'm sure was the best move. They were standing on top of the bar at one point. Clearly their performance of their biggest joint, "Bucktown' was craaaaazy! Good times!! All-in-all a really dope show!!

Jazz in the Gardens @ Dolphin Stadium

Saturday, March 28, 2009
4th Annual Jazz in the Gardens hosted by Tom Joyner

Jazz in the Gardens is a two-day festival in Miami Gardens. We only bought tickets for the first day, but they had a decent line-up for both days. The headliners for March 28th were: Anthony Hamilton, Common, Erykah Badu, Will Downing and Roy Ayers. The Headlines for March 29th were: Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, Babyface, Kenny G, Angelique Kidjo, and Johnathan Butler.

This was my first year going so I was pretty excited. What I WASN'T thrilled about however, was our WACK seats :( We waited too late to get tickets and ended up WAY in the back. I like to be up close and personal! lol. Despite our seating arrangements, the day was beautiful, and the place was PACKED!

I had to take pictures of this big screen that we were pretty much sitting right in front of.

Check the pics & flicks. (click the picture for larger images)

(Roxanne, Seeta, Josephine & Friend)

(Monique, Jazmine, Tanya & Natalie)

Paulette Dozier: FLY. I don't know how old this woman is, but she was EXTRA FLY! lol...that's all I could focus on! lol...seriously. She's a native Floridian so she got a lot of love. I enjoyed her set, but I couldn't even tell you what she sang, because Monique and I were too busy talking about her outfit.

Roy Ayers: Never seen him perform live before. He's got some hits! His band was really good too.

Will Downing: Now, I love some Will Downing, but I was SO over his performance that was making me feel extra uncomfortable! Seriously!! There was a lot of "sexy baritone" talking, and "LL lip-lickin", that I was just over!! My older sistas in the crowd were definitely feeling it, but it just made me feel like my daddy was in the club trying to pick up girls. Sorry. Seriously speaking, he looked great. He was really sick for a while, and had lost a lot of weight, but he looked like he had recovered well.

Eyrkah Badu: We waited for an HOUR or more for her to come on stage...and they were already behind!! Natalie said the last time she saw her, she kept the crowd waiting for THREE hours. So clearly arms were crossed and feet were tapping, but when she came out, nobody was mad anymore! It was like magic! She's so flyyyyyyy. I was drooling over her hat and those shoes for days after. Musically, she's the TRUTH. Every time I see her I feel the same way! She always seems so comfortable on stage...like she's at home. I LOVE THAT. I think that's why her performances always seem personal, even when she is an hour late. :)

Common: I automatically think of Chicago whenever I see him. I've seen him perform countless times, but let me tell you how he straight ripped this show! For one, this was JAZZ in the Gardens, so I think we were all a little surprised to see him on the bill, and I think he had the most work to do as far as crowd participation, because the old heads at the stadium, either 1. had no clue who he was, or 2. thought he was just some run-of-the-mill rapper. But he was the ONLY performer that day to have all those people on their feet by the end of their performance. There are two things I always look for when he performers...his break-dancing, and his freestyles! Did them both...loved them both! lol. I really wish I recorded that freestyle because it was just so on point! He did a little ode to old school hip-hop, which I loved...naturally.

Tichina Arnold joined him on stage briefly to curse and holler (sing). Mz. Badu surprisingly joined him on stage for "The Light". Given their past, it wasn't awkward at all! lol.

We didn't stay for Anthony Hamilton. We had been there ALLLLLLLLLL day and it was after midnight before Common even got off stage! I'm kinda bummed that we missed him, but we hit MAJOR traffic on the way home...and that was without the stadium traffic, so all-in-all, it worked out for the best.

Next year, the DAY the tickets go on sale, is when we will be buying tickets. No excuses! ;)

Back To Basics @ Love/Hate

Friday, March 27, 2009
Public Wizard & Good Vibes Entertainment present Back 2 Basics

There was a lengthy list of performers since this event started at 1pm. But, the kid's got a 9-5, so clearly I didn't get there until around 6pm! I'm not sure how many performances we missed, but we got there in enough time to see the ones I didn't want to miss!

Click the pics for larger images...

(the girls!)

I wrote about Rahsaan in an earlier post. His album, Georgetown isn't out yet (*sad face*), but should be out sometime this summer.

Basic Vocab is a group from Miami (by way of other places in the world). The group consist of JL Sorell, Mental Growth (Mark Gordon of Good Vibes Entertainment...responsible for Classic Sundays @ Love/Hate) and producer Tony Galvin. The dude in the white shirt above is Donwill of Tanya Morgan...he's not a member of the group, but is featured on their latest single "There You Are".

I've only been in Miami for three years now, but I can guarantee you that neither Rahsaan nor Basic Vocab have what most would consider a "Miami sound". I promise when you hear Basic Vocab's first album "The General Dynamic" you'll keep looking at the 2006 release date thinking it's a misprint for 1996. Their sound has that perfect mid-90's smooth hip-hop vibe. Makes you feel right at home. The group is gearing up to release their second album, which I believe is called "The Better Way"??? Don't quote me on that!

Rahsaan's sound is a little different from BV's, debut solid nonetheless. He's originally from Brooklyn, and it's laced all up and through his tracks! lol. I like him, and artists like him because they remain true to their music, regardless of the same shit that is released for mainstream consumption. They allow you to remain fans of the music.

So - kinda disappointed that I didn't really catch anyone I haven't seen perform before, but it was fun anyway.

Raize It Up Live! @ Kitchen 305

Thursday, March 19, 2009
P.A.T.H. (preserving archiving teaching hip-hop history) presents Raize it up Live! Celebrating Women in Music

Soulflower, aka "Empress of Hip-Hop" hosted this open mic night at Kitchen 305 to celebrate and pay tribute to women in music (March is Women's Month remember!?)

Check the pics & flicks. (click the picture for larger images)

The event was pretty live. Open mic nights generally can go either way. There's no real way to screen what's gonna walk up on that stage. Overall, the performances were dope. My personal favorites were Maniac Park and Sofi Encanto.

DJ Dharma was spinnin'. You don't see too many female djs, so I always love watchin' her spin. She's pretty nice with it too. Nurse by day, DJ by night...my kind of girl! lol.

A Fly Guy @ Love/Hate

Sunday, March 1, 2009
Uptown Sneaker Boutique's One Year Anniversary Celebration

"I'm fresher than I've ever beeeeeeeeeeeeen"

Check the pics & flicks. (click the picture for larger images)

(Ruth & Ingrid enjoy the show)

The ubër fly Uptown Sneaker Boutique, celebrated their one year anniversary at Love/Hate (favorita!). Rahsaan, Uptown’s Brand Manager, brought out his alter ego A Fly Guy, and rocked the mic with his debut single, Sneaker Store Terrorist, a song that even the biggest shoephobe can’t deny. The dude's definitely got talent!

He only performed one song, but his album is dropping in May and it's gonna be HOT!!

T.I., Young Jeezy, Sean Paul & Lloyd @ American Airlines Arena

Friday, February 27, 2009
T.I. & Friends present: Live Your Life Tour

At this point, it's worldwide knowledge that T.I. will be going to jail on felony gun possession charges for a year and one day. He is TRULY blessed to have such a small amount of jail time for such a large crime. What better way to say farewell than a concert in Miami!! Check the pics and flicks...

(Qiana, me, Monique, Jazmine)

I'm pretty sure the first time I heard "You Don't Know Me", I ran around the house screaming. lol...seriously. I L-O-V-E that song. I have all six albums, pretty much considering me a fan of his, so there was NO doubt that I would be going to this "farewell" concert. I went in only wanted to hear three songs..."Punkie", "My President is Black", and "You Don't Know Me".

Lloyd: I was, and still am confused as how he ended up on this bill. I just don't get it, but he wasn't half-bad. We came in halfway through his performance, but were able to catch the songs that were of any relevance..."You", "Get It Shawty", and "Girls Around the World". I feel like I was expecting a little more from him, performance wise, but it was entertaining.

Sean Paul: Although I can never understand what he's saying, I've been a fan since his little cameo in Belly! I've seen him in concert before, but he was the headliner. I think I enjoyed that performance more because he seemed to put more effort into it. I love the trio of dancers he always has on stage with him. They're too cute!! He performed "Punkie" (check the video), which made me happy happy!

Young Jeezy: Jeezy does "hood" better than the majority of the mainstream artists out. The last time I saw him live was in 2006, but it was still before his second album dropped, however, three albums in, he DEFINITELY still "does it for the hood"! I'll admit, Jeezy was a slow burn for me. I was determined not to get on the bandwagon, but to no avail. He did perform "My President is Black", with a surprise peformance by Mr. Jones himself, Nas. Judging from the crowd reaction, I don't think most people knew it was him, until halfway through his verse. It was a treat nonetheless. The crowd LOVED Jeezy. He's absolutetly a rapper of the people.

T.I.: So...ask my girls...I went nuts when YDKM came on. lol. Like Sean Paul and Young Jeezy, this wasn't my first time seeing T.I. in concert, but that was pre KING, which for all intents and purposes was his crossover album. Since then, he has SURELY made some hits, and it seemed like he performed all of them. I, like many people I'm sure, was expecting some surpise performances, but there were none. I think a lot of that had to do with how LONG the concert was! We didn't leave there until 1:15am, and it started on time, at 8pm. lonnnnnnng. T.I. is a great performer. He has great energy, and gives these little soliloquies before his songs that I LOVE! They're so funny (Although i'm sure they're not supposed to be).

Lil' Wayne hopped his little self on stage, but he didn't perform anything. The concert was fun. T.I.'s getting to the point where he has enough songs to carry a concert without so many other artists on the bill. By the time he came on the stage, it felt a little rushed, which for those of us who came to see him, could have done without.

Okay. I'm on my way to dig out my "FREE T.I." shirt...

De La Soul @ The Florida Room

Friday, January 23, 2009

Giant Step's 1st Anniversary At The Florida Room With De La Soul and Brendan O'Hara & The Big Bounce

Definitely a great way to get my New Year's Resolution poppin' off right!

Check the pics & flicks.

"Meany, meany, meany, meany (say what!?)" The last time I saw De La Soul was at the House of Blues in Chicago. Since I've been living in Miami, they came to the Rock the Bells concert twice, and I missed them BOTH times! lol. They always have great energy during their shows, so the Florida Room was a perfect venue!

We were late, and missed Brendan O'Hara and The Big Bounce, but were super close to see De La. They performed: "Buddy", "Saturday", "Stakes is High", "Oooh", "Ring, Ring Ring", "Me Myself, & I", "Potholes in my Lawn"....I feel like they did a few more, I just can't remember!

It was a great performance! Ruth and Zaviear enjoyed too, as you see in the last picture!, and by Ruth's arm waving around in the video!