| J. Cole, Wale & Others Invade NYC For The Heineken Inspire Concert | |
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 This past weekend, Heineken hosted a free two-part concert series from Friday, July 30 - July 31st. Being that I am an avid Heineken drinker, its only right that I attend their events whenever I can. I usually try to stay on my A game when finding out about exclusive events to ensure that I secure my tickets so that I can provide you, my loyal readers with exclusive coverage and of course, a good read. When I found out about the line-up in late June, I immediately thought to myself I have to go. It included Fabolous, Ryan Leslie, Wale and J. Cole. Now you all know how much I live, eat, sleep and breathe music so I made it my duty to make sure I'd be there. I remember going back and forth with my homies at Roc Nation for about a month trying to get a pair of tickets since this wasn't the type of event you could just roll up to the box office and buy tickets for. You see, most of Heineken's events are invite-only so you have to be somewhat "in the know" in order to attend their shows. And since I attended last year's show at Gotham Hall, I knew it wasn't something I wanted to miss out on. Last year's line-up included my good friend Ludacris, Estelle, an opening act by Wale and a surprise performance by Nas. So I knew they wouldn't deprive their fans of quality music and performances the following year. Let's not forget free food and an unlimited supply of beer. Seriously...what more could you ask for?  I opted to attend the Saturday show which featured Roc Nation's own J. Cole and the DMV's Hip-Hop Ambassador, Wale as its headliners. As I strolled in from the back of St. John's Center Studios, immediately my ears were greeted by the sweet sounds of DJ D-Nice and DJ A-Trak on the 1's and 2's. When I finally made my way inside the venue completely, my eyes were impacted by an enormous open floor plan equipped with open bar, flashing strobe lights and movie theater sized flat-screens that proudly displayed the Heineken logo which was also used as a back drop for both stages. I scoped out my surroundings hoping to meet fellow bloggers and journalists that I knew and looked up to. The likes of Mr. Taylor a.k.a "Wrinkled T-Shirt" and the infamous "You Heard That New" a.k.a. the one and only LowKey was at the bar getting it in early. Because I got to the venue about half an hour late I decided to park myself at the front of the stage so that I had a great view when the show started.  At about 3:45pm, J.Cole came on. He was dressed in a Red/Navy lumberjack shirt, dark jeans and what should've been a crisper pair of Nike 6.0 Oncore Highs. I'm a true sneaker fiend so only I would notice minor details like that. I was particularly excited to see him perform since I was unable to make his SOB's performance back in March. What he lacked in physical appearance and stage presence, his songs made up for it. He performed most of his newer songs [post The Warm-Up] opening his set with "We On", followed by "Who Dat", "All I Want Is You", "Lights Please" [my absolute favorite] before closing out with his latest track "Premeditated Murder." My only disappointment was that he didn't perform "A Star Is Born". That would've been the icing on the cake for me. It wouldn't hurt if Hov graced the stage either. It makes perfect sense to me especially since he had a Heineken endorsement in the early 2000's. I was also surprised that the crowd sang all his cuts in unison because he is one of the most under-rated new artists in my opinion. I feel like his buzz could and very well should be way bigger than what it is to date. But Roc Nation would have to foot me promo job first in order for that to happen. Really though. After listening to his lips touch the mic live, I found myself asking what the f*ck is a Drizzy? Think about it. They both came out around the same time and yet, J.Cole is not where he should be in his career. But I won't entertain that topic in this review. I don't want to roll over anyone's toes.  Just a little after 5pm, Wale hit the stage wearing a white fitted cap with red pin-stripes and a green brim, a black tee, stone-washed jeans and a pair of limited edition white/green/red Heineken Nike SB Dunk Lows. What a clever way to pay homage right? Although I'm not a huge fan of his, I can appreciate his strong lyrical content in an industry where today's "artists" are destroying the art with bubble gum raps, repetitive beats, simple-minded concepts [or lack thereof] and absolutely ridiculous hooks. I have to give him credit though as he is quite the performer. It was his interaction with the crowd that made me second guess any initial feelings I had towards him. He performed his latest single "Black And Gold" and a sleuth of tracks from his debut, [Attention Deficit] including "Chillin", "Pretty Girls", "World Tour" and "90210". He even hopped into the crowd mid-performance to rap right next to his fans. The crowd's participation was taken to a higher level when he actually let a few thirsty female fans in the front share the mic to sing along. Then, things got way out of hand when he brought a fan onstage to videotape his set as he autographed a pair of white/black/pink AirMax 90s, Heineken glasses & t-shirts at the end of his set. One girl was even bold enough to whip out her passport! [side eye] I was waiting for someone to go overboard and make him go as far as signing bras and panties because girls were acting that stupid but thankfully, none of that happened.  After Wale exited the set, the DJ announced that there would be a surprise guest within the next 15 minutes. I knew it would be epic but I wasn't entirely sure who the artist would be. I thought to my self: could it be R-Les? Or how about Fab? After all, they were on the bill in a few other cities. The end of the show was near... so I imagined Heineken wanted to go out with a bang and provide us New Yorkers with that ultimate wow factor we desperately hoped for. Suddenly, the lights were cut off. Everything was pitch black and fans cheered as....The Teflon Don himself snuck up on stage! It was a straight zoo. He dominated the stage sporting all black everything along with a fresh pair of Air Jordan II Retro’s in the classic White/ Black/Red colorway. And in true bawse fashion, he made a statement by saying: "Please excuse my appearance, for I am Rick Ross and there's not much I can do about that." That alone made me realize just how dope this guy really is. You know that feeling of excitement you get when you go to see your favorite artist perform in concert, and you're loving every minute of it hoping that it will never end? Well that was the feeling I anticipated before I found myself being sandwiched [not by choice] by a bunch of unruly and disrespectful young girls who lost their finger lickin' mind for Rozay! Security couldn't even keep them under control. At one point, they gave up on trying to tame the crowd. It was pointless. If only they did.... It would have made my first ever encounter with my favorite rapper from Carol City a whole lot more enjoyable. A swarm of camera phones, video cameras and over zealous fans clouded my vision and practically ruined my high. People were falling on me, stumbling over my chair and resting their pocket books in my lap. You would think I didn't exist as they completely ignored the fact that a wheelchair was parked right in front of them! I'm guessing trying to catch the rag that Rick used to wipe the sweat off his face was more important than a disabled person's well being. Or maybe it was the free Teflon Don posters that his homeboy was giving out during his performance? Who knows. Ross kept the crowd hyped as he performed some of his new and older hits, including the classic "Hustlin", "B.M.F.", "Super High", "MC Hammer," and "Aston Martin Music." As a matter of fact, due to the overwhelming response, he did an encore of "B.M.F". I must say though I was looking forward to hearing him perform "Free Mason" and "Live Fast, Die Young" expecting to see Jay and Yeezy creep up on stage but unfortunately, he didn't give me the satisfaction.  While this year's Heineken Inspire Concert Series came nowhere close to last year's Heineken Red Star Soul, I still enjoyed myself. All three artists represented for their cities. However, in order to make next year an even BIGGER success, I'd like to make a few suggestions. If you're going to have an all ages concert and still serve alcohol to under aged kids, I assume you wouldn't mind ruining your reputation in the near future. Rule #1: Next time, try not to serve drinks in glass cups or beer bottles. Opt for plastic cups and beer cans because if I was a walking person, I would sue your asses for having broken glass in my shoe. Rule #2: Stick to inviting the older and more upscale industry crowd to your events because clearly, the younger generation today, DOES NOT know how to hold their liquor and act civilized! It was pretty obvious that a majority of the people there were UNDER 21 and if I acted the way some people did that night, "mi moddah woulda gimme one bloodclaat lick" [Jamaican Dialect]. Rule #3: Be mindful of the fact that their are plenty of disabled people in the world that would like to attend your events so PLEASE MAKE YOUR VENUES 100% ADA COMPLIANT! Nothing upsets me more than noticing I can't maneuver throughout certain parts of a venue because there are a sh*t load of stairs or the fact that I will not be able to use the rest rooms after consuming excess amounts of your product. Have some common courtesy. And finally, Rule #4: Nintendo Wiis, foos ball, ping pong tables and free bartending lessons are indeed, a very nice gesture to help past the time during intermission, consider putting a good portion of the budget for next year into hiring MORE security. There is absolutely no reason why only three security guards were standing at the front of the stage. Last year at Gotham Hall, I felt like I was the president the way they escorted me throughout the venue and catered to my every need. This year, I wasn't sure if I should have been scared for my life since the three security guards couldn't handle the crowd. Now I'm sure you won't be to pleased when you read the latter part of this review... so to ensure that this won't happen again in the future, feel free to add me to the team....I am currently looking for a job and would be more than happy to apply. Until next time, New York.... Check out more photos below. Wale performing in the crowd...  Wale signing autographs on Heineken glasses... [peep homegirl waving her passport (classic)].  Wale with the Limited Edition Heineken Dunk Lows...  The infamous Teflon Don Poster that girls were ready to fight over... [Really?!].  Ricky Rozay...Moments before he threw his sweaty head towel to the sea of vultures to catch...  J. Cole rippin' the stage... [His fans were definitely in the building (heavy)].  Props to www.complex.com and www.junglegymmagazine for some of the photos.
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| Last Updated ( Sunday, 28 November 2010 21:55 ) |