Better late than never as I bring you the long awaited promise of the GWHH review of Year Of The Gentleman! The album has now had a couple weeks to set in with me and it is certainly up there with Usher’s Here I Stand as the R&B album of 2008, and so far Year Of The Gentleman earns my ultimate pick for that status. To me, it is at least on par with his last classic - Because Of You. The big similarity between the two is that both classic albums contain an overlying common theme, or themes, throughout the album. Because Of You actually tells a story from track 1 to track 12 of a guy’s trip through infatuation, love, breakup, and moving on with a girl (which perhaps makes Because Of You stand out as my favorite R&B album EVER… but I’m still undecided about that). Year Of The Gentleman expresses two themes that are evident throughout the album:
1. Adoration of the physical and non-physical characteristics of women (EX: “Closer”, “Nobody”, “Miss Independent”, “Part Of The List”)
2. Being the classy gentleman and putting the woman’s happiness first, even if it is with another guy (EX: “Fade Into The Background’, “So You Can Cry”, “Back To What You Know”)
It is no surprise to many that Ne-Yo, arguably (and to me, certainly) the best writer in R&B, conveys the above themes in creative ways that go beyond cliché. It is rare today to see an R&B artist examine why he loves an underlying quality of a woman (”Miss Independent”) and also explore the depth to a situation where his current love interest should go back with her ex (”Back To What You Know”). Not just in those two tracks, but throughout the entire album, Ne-Yo precisely portrays a picture of a relationship situation with his masterful lyrics. Coincidentally, my three favorite songs on the album are songs that combine the masterful lyrics with a masterful beat. These top three songs (in no order… “Closer”, “Miss Independent”, & “Back To What You Know”) all have one thing in common: a beat from my favorite R&B producers, the highly reputable duo - StarGate. Together, Ne-Yo and StarGate are the peanut butter & jelly of R&B - a perfect match who compliment each other’s strengths to create a beautiful song. Overall, Ne-Yo’s latest album, Year Of The Gentleman, sets the bar for all upcoming R&B albums to match. It is certainly a MUST-BUY for any R&B fan or if you are simply a fan of music and appreciate meaningful lyrics and creativity. I will end the review with a quote from “Back To What You Know” that personifies the gentleman Ne-Yo illustrates throughout the entire album. If you do not have Year Of The Gentleman already, do not waste your time and look no further than the iTunes BUY link below! (I am up early in 5 hrs or so to pick up T.I.’s Paper Trail, also in stores NOW!)
“And if that’s really what you want
I will not stand in your way,
You wanna be free
I will let you be,
I’d rather you’re happy
Then miserable with me
Back to what you know”
Tonight’s MTV Video Music Awards were centered around three themes:
Theme #1: “Nothing is what it seems” (at least that’s the cliché MTV fed to viewers through what I gathered from the sometimes mumbling, unfunny, and out of place U.K. host, Russell Brand, who cared more about expressing his distaste for G.W. Bush while empathizing with American citizens who have suffered under Bush’s 8-year reign, which could have been effective if 1 out of every 3 people actually knew who he was. I digress.)
Theme #2: MTV’s predictable efforts to re-launch Britney Spears’ career to her untouchable #1 pop-star status last experienced roughly a decade ago, by handing her 3 of the night’s biggest awards, including the coveted Moonman for Video of the Year. Britney’s stock is once again on the rise, and I say that with the literal meaning that pop stars like herself are viewed as stocks. Using Britney as an example, she entered the music and entertainment industry as the ideal, young, adorable pop star who was given lyrics, beats, appearances, everything. All she had to do was sing halfway decently and smile; the rest was up to the suits. When her irresponsible choices caused a downward spiral in her life, so did her support and status as a pop icon until now - when her cleaned up image ignited MTV to launch her back into superstardom, which ties into my last theme of the VMAs.
Theme #3: The MTV Video Music Awards unintentionally illustrated what is wrong with the music and entertainment business in the year 2008. And as sick as it may sound, I hesitate to write ‘unintentionally’.
Skepticism has overwhelmed me after considering the curious, yet predictable choices of nominees and winners at tonight’s VMAs and just how deep everything in the music industry is controlled. I am surely not alone in discounting the VMAs as a serious judge of the best in videos and music in the past year; however, watching how spoon-fed pop stars like Britney Spears, T-Pain, Rihanna, and even one of my favorites, Chris Brown dominate the show’s attention, it is easy to analyze the similarities between the above pop stars and many others like them. It is the industry that controls who blows up and when, until their fireworks fizzle into thin air. A charismatic personality and pretty eyes to match are the two prerequisites for the formulaic creation of a pop star. When those are satisfied, the artist is generally fed catchy hooks and the latest sound to become popular for as long as people in the industry can exploit them for their own gain and/or until they become yesterday’s news. In fact, more often than not, today’s pop stars do not even write their own songs! They are actually the torch-carriers of the latest fad in pop music, which in recent history is voice enhancement.
It started with female pop singers having their voice enhanced in the studio and becoming painfully evident when the same singers were asked to perform their hit singles in front of live audiences, with Rihanna being the most recent example at tonight’s VMAs. Most recently, the trend is the autotuner a.k.a. the T-Pain effect, indeed named after the pioneer of its success. With the autotuner, T-Pain created a sound that no one has ever heard before and it was appealing; it was appealing to the point where more and more artists used the technology to create hit songs. It has taken its turn on hip hop as, not even arguably, the two hottest artists in hip hop today - Lil’ Wayne and Kanye West - have used this technology, as well as rap legend Snoop Dogg with “Sensual Seduction”, showing first how the hip hop/autotuner crossover can be done. It seems like everything that Kanye has released since mid-summer has involved him on the autotuner (”Put On”, “Lollipop RMX”, “S.L.U.”, and his next single, “Love Lockdown”), and while his experimentation with this technology has pleased more of his fans then not, myself included, it is alarming to the hip hop purists that he is following the trend. The autotuner is currently at the peak of its popularity as a trend in pop music and Kanye has recently discovered that his fans are generally loving what he is doing with the technology, whereas some like myself are tiring of the autotuner effect in general. While he normally takes almost a year to complete an album, I get the sense that he is trying to push another album out so soon to capitalize on the autotuner trend while it is still hot. I respect his strategy as “Love Lockdown” is sure to be a number 1 single in the U.S., yet it is a valid concern that Kanye’s true hip hop fans will think he is selling out to the flashy trends of pop music. It is disturbing that Kanye West may be following the industry cliché of the autotuner, yet considering the fact that each of his previous albums had their own unprecedented sounds, there is reason to believe Kanye will push the autotuner to unforeseen heights, or even bring something entirely new to the album. It remains to be seen just how much Kanye will “go pop” once his upcoming album hits stores, and with its release comes the re-definition of Kanye West’s status as a pop star and as a hip hop legend. My prediction: If the album shapes up to be more like “Love Lockdown” and with the lines between hip hop and pop already blurred, Kanye West will NOT be considered a hip hop legend. No matter what, Kanye West will be heralded as today’s hottest star and the decade’s most influential artistic icon, due to his innovation in fashion, new sound, positive approach, and creative choices in his artwork, videos, & performances.
***Added some Nas performance videos from the event below!***
From Left 2 Right: Sgt. Tibs, stic.man of Dead Prez, & Max G.
Jay Electronica & Max G.
S-Preme & Max G.
Immortal Technique
Rakim
Method Man & Redman
Redman
Mos Def
Nas
A Tribe Called Quest
The 2008 Rock The Bells tour kicked off in Chicago this past Saturday on July 19th with a bevy of artists taking stage at the First Midwest Bank Ampitheatre. Artists and legends like Kidz In The Hall, Jay Electronica, Dead Prez, Immortal Technique, Rakim, De La Soul, Method Man & Redman, and Mos Def, The Pharcyde, Nas, and A Tribe Called Quest provided a concert of live, raw hip hop lasting nearly half a day! All the artists brought their own style and entertainment to the stage so there was never really a time to drift off and take a break. Some notable highlights and characteristics from the performances were the passion and clarity of the messages from Immortal Technique, the high-octane energy Method Man & Redman came with to ignite the crowd to another level (even stage-diving), Mos Def’s incredibly slick acapellas, Nas’ entire set, especially his “One Mic” finale, & finally the best moment for me - The Pharcyde performing one of my all-time favorite jams “Runnin’”, enhanced by the live energy by all four MCs and the live drums and instruments. One critique of ours was that Nas should have closed the concert because his buzz is at the highest with his recent release of Untitled and the hip hop legend had the crowd in the biggest frenzy of the night. No disrespect to A Tribe Called Quest, who were great in their own right as well, but we noticed the crowd was not as into them as they were with Nas. Again, “One Mic” was an excellent closing song to Nas’ set and would have been a perfect cap off for the entire day of real hip hop performances. We would have also liked to see artists like Dead Prez and Kidz In The Hall later on in the bill as the crowd was still filing in well into the early evening. We had a great time chillin’ with our friends, GWHH ‘Return Of The MC’ Contest winner S-Preme, and even some of the artists who were in and out of the SanDisk VIP lounge! Much love to Ronda & SanDisk for the hookups!
—————————————————————————————
Nas LIVE @ Rock The Bells Chicago (Pt. 1)
(Check for Tibs in the gray Cubs hat snappin’ some pics around 3:45!)
Nas LIVE @ Rock The Bells Chicago (Pt. 2)
(Check for Max G. & Jay Electronica with his cane around 4:30!)
This album is what hip hop is all about! It’s hard to say if it’s his strongest album, but Nas brings it once again with the NiggerUntitled album. The first thing I noticed, along with his previous LP, Hip Hop Is Dead, is that Nas adapts his masterful lyrics over a new age sound. It’s really easy to see the difference if you put in Illmatic or It Was Written after listening to Untitled, which I did over this past weekend. It just speaks to Nas’ versatility and his music today is still relevant and appealing to today’s modern ear (as evidenced with his likely #1 Billboard spot for his first week). A perfect illustration of that is through the song “America” where Nas teams up with R&B producers, StarGate, and both parties compliment each other’s style to make a beautiful track. Nas has always been considered one of the greatest lyricists and storytellers to ever grace the mic and below are a couple examples of that, including one from the aforementioned “America”.
“Love to sit in on the Senate
And tell the whole government
Y’all don’t treat women fair
She read about herself in the bible
Believing she the reason sin is here
You played her, with an apron
Like bring me my dinner, dear
She the nigger here
Ain’t we in the free world?
Death penalty in Texas kill young boys and girls
Barbarity, I’m in the double-R casually
Bugging how I made it out the hood, dazzle me
How far we really from third world savagery?
When the empire fall, imagine how crazy that’ll be..”
- Nas “America”
“My father was not a banker
Neither was my neighbor when it came to getting paper
Who the hell was gonna train us?
A pressure couldn’t escape us through the ages
We changed the basis of derogatory phrases
And I say its quite amazing
The use of ghetto terms developed our own language
No matter where it came from
It’s celebrated; now people are mad if they ain’t one”
- Nas “Y’all My Niggas”
As you can see, Nas has the complete lyrical package, combining intricate wordplay with relevant social commentary. The topics vary throughout on songs like “Sly Fox”, “Untitled”, & even the lead single “Hero” f/ Keri Hilson, just to name a few. He matches the top-notch lyricism with the flow of a superstar and what even further stands Nas out about the rest, is his ability to hit your ear on first listen with such captivating lyrics in the verses. It’s usually the chorus that strikes a chord on the first listen, but Nas is one of the rare artists that captures me more on his verses. That being said, it is the chorus’ in general that I feel hold the album back a little bit (along with a couple “ehhh” beats.. Ex: “Sly Fox” has grown on me negatively because of the beat..). Some of the chorus’ could be a lil’ catchier, not radio-friendly exactly since that’s not Nas’ true style, but just to the point that some songs can have a greater lasting appeal. Instead, I’ll skip a few tracks unless I have the goal of listening to the entire album all the way through or mindlessly keep the playlist on as background music at the laptop. Nas consistently brings it lyrically throughout the album and was close to a perfect 10 in the lyrics category had he blown me away like he does in the examples above for the entire album. Nas could have spit over a 3rd grader’s beats for the entire album and it would still be a MUST-BUY! Instead, Nas dipped into a variety of fresh producers including the aforementioned StarGate, Mark Ronson, stic.man of Dead Prez, & Jay Electronica to name a few. So if you haven’t yet copped Untitled and you are a hip hop fan, then stop what you’re doing and get to a store and buy the album, or simply CLICK HERE!
Back again with another unique feature for GWHH - a review of N*E*R*D’s newest album, Seeing Sounds, just released in stores this week! Simply click the ‘Reviews’ tag above and check out our previous reviews! (Here I Stand,Tha Carter III, & The Glow In The Dark Tour in Chicago)
Seeing Sounds is a perfect title for the album; right away, the listener can see the hip-hop production mixed with rock, a unique element that defines N*E*R*D* with a sound unlike anything listeners have ever heard. The reason for the title goes deeper than that as N*E*R*D member, Shay states,
“It’s a mixture of senses that may cause a person to experience colorful hearing, auditory smell. For example, you might see something, and it might trigger a song. You might hear something, and it might trigger a taste in your mouth. When we created this album, it was the music we envisioned while creating it. We decided it would be the appropriate title for the album.”
Their vision was executed very well in the music and I think fans of hip hop and rock alike will enjoy parts of this album, at the very least. The personification of this vision for the album has to lie within one of my favorites - “Spaz”. As Pharrell describes,
“[The song] ‘Spaz’ is [a] nostalgic, hip-hop feeling with some drum and bass. It becomes a big, tall monster. It’s almost like this big gorilla looking down at you. If he smacks you, he kills you. His fingers are the size of your body. That’s kinda what we’re doing. We’re facing this big monster of, of what we know is out there, of what we see, that big monster of energy.”
While the production of the album is its most consistent attribute, I would say the lyrics throughout Seeing Sounds are the most inconsistent. The track, “Love Bomb” contains elements of both brilliance and non-sense, in fact, and illustrates similar patterns seen throughout the entire album.
“Can’t you see?
This is the Truman show baby
Cuz when they fight who dies is you
Ohhhh what if you unscrew me?
We’ve got the same gear and the same tools
But how you gonna catch up with your head hanging down
Whatcha see staring at the ground?
But I believe, even without a clue
You’ve got sunlight
And it can be your guide
No more political dreams
Not another excuse
Don’t need another love song when you the love bomb..
To just blow us away
To freakin’ blow the lights out
Turning night to day
And root from other way
Just to make it right now
Fuck what the government say
We gotta save some lights now
Is it ok?”
- N.E.R.D. “Love Bomb”
The important idea to note about the lyrics, however, is that the “non-sense” I’m speaking of can actually be interpreted positively as seen above in “Love Bomb”. They spread their message with a very unique approach that I’m not sure I like, or even fully comprehend sometimes, but I definitely respect. The lyrics are quite unique, that in some cases, it provides for some deep reflecting to try and understand what they mean behind the “non-sense”. The one area I believe the lyrics can improve in is in the choruses. One of the first things I concluded after a couple listens of the album was the repetitiveness of almost every chorus. Sometimes a simple phrase is repeated every so often (See: “Everyone Nose”, “Anti Matter”, “Spaz”, & more..) that it takes away from the depth of the verses and limits the album’s lasting appeal. I still do enjoy most of the songs, but will I still feel as strongly a couple weeks, even months down the road when the repetitiveness of the choruses sway the meter higher on the annoying scale? Time will determine that, but it is one concern of the album that holds it back a little bit. Luckily, in almost all the tracks, the beats are never the same throughout and actually switch very drastically for certain bridges, which provides for fresh tracks and doubles as an effective strategy for a listener trying to perceive the group’s vision of Seeing Sounds.
Overall, this album is a MUST-BUY for any fan of hip hop OR rock as Seeing Sounds has some strong crossover appeal to fans of both genres. It is certainly one album I will be blaring through the speakers throughout the summer. As an added bonus, DL one more track from the album called “You Know What”. It was the one track that jumped out at me (and Lupe :D) as an instant classic when I popped in the album for the first time the other day. Be sure to pick up the album ASAP if you don’t have it already. If you hurry to your nearest Best Buy, Circuit City, or Target sometime today, you can still pick it up at its first-week discounted price of $9.99!
I’ve been listening 2 Usher’s latest album, Here I Stand, the past few days and I came up with some interesting conclusions that I feel like sharing w/ everyone. In fact, consider this my first lil’ album review and we may make this a permanent segment. Overall, it is an excellent R&B album and if any other ordinary, up and coming R&B singer came up with an album like this, it would make their careers. That being said, I feel like it had the potential 2 be a classic and just falls short. I feel the album’s shortcomings lie within the lyrics, as they are quite frankly pretty weak in a few spots on the album (conversely, there are points where the lyrics are ridiculous as well…). However, it seems as if Usher relies on his voice 2 sing some of the lyrics that, if not sung so wonderfully, would sound even more weak. A couple examples:
“I’ll be waking u up to a cup of Folgers
Pancakes and eggs I owe ya breakfast in bed, oh baby
And your orange juice sitting on the coaster
Toast on the side baby strawberry and grape jelly”
Usher “Trading Places” (not really feelin’ the detail I suppose…)
“Light as a feather,
but hard as a rock,
Daddy know just what u like…”
Usher “Love You Gently” (lil’ corny for my tastes at least)
Not exactly the strongest lyrics on paper, but like I said above, Usher comes through and makes it tolerable. However, when u take a step back and analyze some of the lyrics, I think it detracts from the quality of the album. There’s a few trax that I’m just indifferent on (”Trading Places”, “Love You Gently”, “Lifetime”) and then some gems (in order of my fav. trax) that are on point with production, lyrics, and performance (”What’s A Man To Do”, “This Ain’t Sex” - my fav. beat, “Moving Mountains”, “His Mistakes”). There are a few trax that I can see growing on me even more that would enhance my opinion of the album like “Best Thing”, “What’s Your Name”, “Will Work For Love [Hidden Track]”, & “Something Special” that I like a lot and it’s probably a matter of time til they get repeat status.
In closing, all you Usher fans will definitely find some favorites on Here I Stand, but given Usher’s previous classics, you might find yourself feeling disappointed. If I had 2 choose right now, I’d rank it 3rd behind Confessions & 8701, but not by much. It is still a great album where Usher grows as an artist, with the overall content dealing with more mature relationship situations, rather than the “lemme get your number” type situations on 8701 for example. Because of that, it may take a few listens 2 fully appreciate the album as a whole and I would hold off judging it until u do reach a few listens. And finally, I can’t go this whole review without mentioning Usher’s banging singles “Love In This Club” & “Love In This Club (Pt. II)” f/ Beyoncé & Lil’ Wayne. Truthfully, I still have not gotten into either. I was waiting for both 2 grow on me, but I don’t think it ever will. I know it’s a HUGE hit with everyone, but I’m just not feelin’ the repetitive chorus, the beats are aite, and it may not be fair 2 compare, but it simply doesn’t compare 2 “Yeah!”. Again, Here I Stand in stores NOW, and u should def support the artist and purchase a copy for a measly 10 bucks!
Hope u enjoyed my first lil’ album review. Expect some more writing from all 3 of us as our unique perspectives will further generate some depth and interest for our GWHH fans! Comments and criticisms are encouraged!
The much anticipated Carter 3 has leaked everywhere it seems; we all await the impact on the world from the hyped up album. The self proclaimed “Best Rapper Alive” wants to sell 5 million copies, but in today’s blog driven society I feel it’s going to be difficult. I mean if you are the best then this album has to beat, nay be much better than, “Graduation”, “The Cool”, “Rising Down”, etc etc etc…… I will agree that the album is not garbage, but is it the BEST? Can you critique it in the same category as the albums I mentioned? You have too I guess….so I’d love to hear some people’s opinions on the album as most people probably already got it from some leak outlet. There will either be hate or love for the album, but what I’m interested in is an honest unbiased critique, because music is art, and we have to critique art.
The production on the album is real pro, which I expected from money bags Weezy; Kanye produced 25% of the album so I guess we know who Weezy thinks is the best producer! I wonder why Kanye wasn’t featured on the album….maybe Weezy was worried about being out shined; I mean Kanye did rip up the track when he spit on the Lollipop RMX. HMMM interesting…..I wonder if Kanye thought about that. The predominant theme of the album is how great Lil Wayne is (”3 Peat”, “Mr. Carter”, “Phone Home”, “Nothin On Me”, “Let The Beat Build)”, how he saved Hip Hop (”Dr. Carter”), how good he is with women (”Comfortable”, “Lollipop”, “Mrs. Officer”), and how rich he is (”A Milli”, “Got Money”, “La La”). Although these are all cool things to communicate, and even though Lil Wayne’s delivery is authentic and original and all that jazz……the envelope can still be pushed. In my personal opinion it has been pushed w/ the Graduation album, which raps about the truth in life vs. “I’m the best and I make the most money and get all women and that’s all that matters”; I guess in the latter Lil Wayne IS the BEST, and I can’t deny that, but there’s more out there and I’m not even hatin’. Tha Carter 3 does have a deep end though with “Tie My Hands”, “Shoot Me Down”, “Playin With Fire”, “Misunderstood” and the album just plain sounds ill and bumps super hard (if you like Weezy, which I do)!
I think in the end the album is a good one, and bumps hard, and is G, and Wayne didn’t let me down; I’ll play it when I want to be on some G shit. As far as being the best, none better, the end, period, game over; ……NO. It’s still up for grabs, and I’m still not convinced.
CHI TOWN STAND UP.
Here’s a few tracks that I like from the Tha Carter 3, even though I like em all (PRODUCTION IS CRAZY) except for “A Millie”, which is now annoying. BUT let me know what you all think of Tha Carter 3, either when it comes out June 10 or if you already got it now.
Excuse my french emotion and my passion, but i wipe my heart on my sleeve like it’s the new fashion.
What are you asking? If i don’t have the answer, it’s probably on the web like I’m a damn Tarantula. But I know you don’t understand, cuz’ you thought Lil’ Wayne was Weezy, but Weezy is Wayne. “
Sophrosyne: The sound minded Kanye West knew what he wanted, how he wanted it done, and how to execute it. Every detail had felt like he had delt with it personally. I have never seen another artist try so hard to deliver such an incredible performance. Thank you Mr. West, and thank you for the very personal artist book that was given out after the show titled “Thank You, And You’re Welcome.” The artist book was very well done; Kanye speaks the TRUTH. As an artist I really appreciate all the hard work and effort that was put in, because let’s face it, presentation is everything. ‘Ye appropriated the concert experience to the art form that it’s supposed to be. Mixing a phenomenal “theater” experience w/ his spine chilling records booming through the UC was quite the experience. “Graduation” is really the album that kicked off all of this out of the box ingenuity for the music business, especially the two very artistic “Flashing Lights” videos which blew my mind. The show deserves a 5 star rating for the 5 star performances from Lupe & FNF, N.E.R.D. Rihanna, and Kanye West. [Max G.]
Lupe Fiasco kicked off the show with “The Coolest” over the “Let There Be Light” Justice beat, as expected and it was even sicker live! That got me right into it as he brought out the lovely Nikki Jean for “Hip-Hop Saved My Life” and “Little Weapon” with Bishop G gettin’ in his verse. The highlight of Lupe’s set was “Go Go Gadget Flow” as he sped through the Chicago-inspired hit at an even faster break-neck speed, dropping the beat for the 2nd verse and going a capella at like 1000 words per second it seemed. Haha, the crowd got really into it and fed off the energy from Lupe and his guests and that moment was just ridiculous. “Paris, Tokyo” took on an interesting sound as Sarah Green provided the chorus and a beautiful solo 2 conclude the song, wow. Her voice was booming! Lupe then introduced the Chicago electronic duo, He Say She Say, as they performed “Crash Dummie”. I loved it and was prolly one of 10 people in the UC who knew the words, but I hope others came away impressed. Matthew Santos was the next guest 2 arrive as Lupe & himself performed “Fighters” followed by “Superstar”, which the crowd went nuts for! And then Lupe fittingly ends his set with “Daydreamin’” as him and Bishop G just lost it on stage with Santos and Sarah Green providing some backup vocals, setting up the stage for N.E.R.D., Rihanna, & Kanye West! (Such a beautifull daayyy…!) I’ve seen Lupe Fiasco LIVE 3 times now and I’d have to say that this was my favorite of the 3 as he brought the perfect amount of energy to kick off the show, gave us a couple surprises, and perfectly organized the song order and guest list, allowing his fellow FNF artists shine in such a big spotlight…although no GemStones for Friday night :(. The United Center finally filled in by “Superstar” and its energy did not dip one bit as after a quick 15 minute intermission, N.E.R.D. came out and straight up rocked the house. Pharrell & Co. were simply goin’ crazy, hitting their groove with “Rock Star” and continuing with “Spaz” (featuring a surprise dance performance from Chris Brown!), then “Lapdance”, “Everyone Nose”, & their biggest hit (so far) with “She Wants To Move”, bringing up some lucky ladies in the first couple rows to ‘move’ on stage. They got myself and the crowd a lil’ more active as we were swaying, spazing, jumping, and just going crazy by the last few trax! After a lil’ longer intermission, out came Rihanna, who had her moments on stage, jumping from hit 2 hit. I thought she did pretty good and was relieved that her voice didn’t sound significantly different than on the radio; it’s just that… for most of the crowd, I would think the energy dropped off a little bit, especially after Lupe and N.E.R.D. and the anticipation for Kanye. While I liked Rihanna’s set, it just didn’t seem 2 fit, but I suppose that’s debatable since she definitely had the crowd going for “Don’t Stop The Music” and her finale, “Umbrella”. Just one more intermission and out comes Kanye West on his futuristic space set 2 “Good Morning”. It was almost surreal at first for me and it took me a few trax 2 fully appreciate what I was seeing. He jumped through track to track with no breaks and a sick storyline where his spaceship crashed and his control center dying. The organization was pure genius. He gets on his “Spaceship”, performs the song, cuts it off as the spaceship is crashing, and bam! “All Falls Down”! The beginning/middle of his set included many hits like “Diamonds” (wow @ looking at the whole crowd w/ the diamonds in the sky), “Flashing Lights”, & “Through The Wire” 2 name a few. I was lovin’ these performances but had this unsatisfied feeling in the back of my mind… like I know he’s still got somethin for us. He finally hit “Hey Mama” and as expected, the emotional performance even further ignited the crowd as the United Center got a lil more louder than ‘loudest’ when Kanye motioned for the crowd, singing “I wanna scream so loud for you!”. Whoo, and so begins the “chills” segment of Kanye West’s set. Up next, as I correctly predicted, “Stronger”! Stadium status right there. Everyone was going 2 lose it, we all knew it was going 2 be something special, and Kanye delivered! “Is this what you’ve been waiting for?” was the embedded theme on ‘Ye’s chorus’ as he was spazzing on his suddenly higher, spaceship platform stage. Magnificent. Up next he came up with “Homecoming” as the preceding “Hey Mama” and “Stronger” catapulted him and his spaceship for their return 2 Earth! And of course, being in Chicago, “Homecoming” had an even greater, special meaning. When Kanye got 2, “And if you don’t know by now, I’m talkin’ bout CHI-TOWN!”, there’s no way the hometown crowd was lifted 2 another level (unless u were the 40-yr old lady a couple rows in front of us with Stronger shades, no one else sitting w/ her, and no reaction at all, haha!). ‘Ye ad-libbed a couple “It’s my town! CHI-Town!” lines in the subsequent chorus and we were at the palm of his hand! For his grand finale, Kanye was now able 2 “Touch The Sky”, which again carried greater significance for us as fellow Chicago boy Lupe Fiasco came out 2 another huge ovation for his 3rd verse. My personal favorite moment came at the end of Lupe’s verse with the lines, “Now let me end my verse right where the horns are like, uhhh!”, as Lupe, Kanye, AND Tibs jumped up with the exclamation point on a fantastic concert! Wow, what a great feeling. The last 4 songs were Kanye’s best performances IMO and left me shakin’ well afterwards. Kanye introduced his helpers on the night and left us all with a personal, emotional, and uplifting message that u can see parts of in the recapped YouTube video below! Also, check out the tracklist of the performances in order from Lupe Fiasco & Kanye West! [Sgt. Tibs]
10. “Daydreamin’” f/ Bishop G, Matthew Santos, & Sarah Green
Kanye West LIVE @ Glow In The Dark Tour 05.23.08
01. “Good Morning”
02. “I Wonder”
03. “Heard ‘Em Say”
04. “Through The Wire”
05. “Champion”
06. “Get ‘Em High”
07. “Diamonds From Sierra Leone”
08. “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”
09. “Flashing Lights”
10. “Spaceship”
11. “All Falls Down”
12. “Gold Digger”
13. “Good Life”
14. “Jesus Walks”
15. “Hey Mama”
16. “Stronger”
17. “Homecoming”
18. “Touch The Sky” f/ Lupe Fiasco
***NOTE: Neither Lupe or Kanye did every track in its entirety. Correct me if I’m wrong on the order, but I’m almost positive that it’s all correct! [Sgt. Tibs]
05.24.08
From Left 2 Right: Max G., Nikki Jean, Sgt. Tibs
We went over 2 Saint Alfred’s for the last-minute meet & greet with one of our favorite up and coming artists - Nikki Jean! We were greeted warmly right away, and had a good chance to meet face to face with such a good interviewee and talented artist. It is refreshing 2 see an artist give back like this and put forth a lot of effort 2 give fans like us a chance to not only meet her but get to know her as a person. She was so nice and warm 2 everyone and we wish her nothing but the best of luck in the future cuz she flat out deserves it!
(Note the first official Limited G (Max G.’s clothing line) shirt with the GWHH logo in glow in the dark paint, which aspired a certain glow at the tour. Chyea!)
Finally as a bonus below, check out YouTube-piano sensation David Sides as he plays the Lupe Fiasco mega-hit - “Superstar”! Enjoy! [Sgt. Tibs & Max G.]
GWHH Review: Ne-Yo - Year Of The Gentleman
