MIAMI, FLORIDA // SATURDAY, JUNE 28TH 2008 » On Saturday I had the opportunity to attend the “South Florida Summer Fest 2008” Concert featuring Birdman, DJ Khaled, Ace, Colby O’donis, Casley, Keyshia Cole, Akon, Lil’ Wayne and More live from The BankAtlantic Center. The show started at exactly 7:00 PM with opening acts Selena Serrano, S.O.U.R.C.E International Clique, Michelle Del Amore, Wyneter Gordon, and a bunch of local artists performing their radio hits like Grindmode’s “I’m so “High” and “Ecstasy“, Ball Greezy’s “Shone”, Colby O’Donis’ “What you got“, and last but not least Casely (if you think Chris Brown, Usher and Ne-Yo imitate MJ alot, then you haven’t seen Casely live!) who performed really well, but WAY too long for an opening act, sang about 4 or 5 songs from his upcoming album 1985 including his radio hit “Emotional“.
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Usher performing “In This Club” as the opener for the 2008 BET Awards, which aired last night live from Los Angeles.
The 2008 BET Awards went down last night, and while there were a few lackluster performances (Usher’s being one of them), there were a few memorable, surprising, and exciting moments. One being Alicia Keys’ performance when she brought out SWV, En Vogue, and TLC! Another notable performance of the evening was Ne-Yo’s, where he showed us he can hang with the big dogs when it comes to his dance moves - he even brought out the Jabbawockees (winners of MTV’s America’s Dance Crew). Chris Brown did his thing as well, and surprised everyone when he brought out Ciara. Did Rihanna approve of this beforehand? I’m curious to know. And speaking of Rihanna, did anyone else notice how far she’s come along, as far as her live vocals? I was really impressed when she performed Take A Bow! And last, but most certainly not least, on my list of the best performances of the night, Lil’ Wayne! He kind of scared me towards the end of the show because it seemed like he wasn’t going to come out. The show was already running 15 or 20 minutes over when he was introduced. But he did come out, and he showed us exactly how and why he has sold nearly 1,500,000 copies of Tha Carter: III so far! He started out with Got Money (feat. T-Pain), paid homage to Static Major (R.I.P.) with Lollipop, and ended off his performance with A Millie. He had the whole crowd hyped, and ended off the show perfectly.
While the 2008 BET Awards did have its good moments, much of the show left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. I expected a lot more from Usher. His performance was probably the most hyped up (pre-show), and ended up being one of the absolute worst of the night. While I love Keyshia Cole’s Heaven Sent, she really needs to work on her live vocals … and her stage presence. She had a lot of energy, she just didn’t know how to keep it all together. She looked like she was doing too much to me.
In my opinion, the 2007 BET Awards were much better. The performances, the overall show, and oh yeah … the host! Who the hell approved of D.L. Hughley being the host of this year’s show? I hope they received a pink slip in their box this morning. BRING MO’NIQUE BACK!!!
Follow the break for nearly 50 photos from all of last night’s performances
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Some of Miami’s Finest (and I use that term loosely) grace the July 2008 cover of XXL Magazine. Rappers Rick Ross, Trina, and Flo Rida, as well as Radio Personality/Artist DJ Khaled all are representing the MIA in this issue of the Magazine. They all have CD’s in stores NOW! Go support!
Lil Mama celebrated the release of her debut album, “VYP: Voice of the Young People,” with a party at Room Service in New York last night (Apr. 28th). DJ Khaled was a guest at the party.
Follow the break for more candids!
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Rapper Plies and R&B singer Ne-Yo were both spotted in Miami on the set of their new video for Bust it Baby Pt. 2. Algernod’s new album, Definition of Real is set to drop on June 10th. Oh, you didn’t know? That’s Plies’ government name! Funny shit, huh? DJ Khaled and Rick Ross also made their way to the set of the video. CONTINUE READING
PHOTOS: JOHNNY NUNEZ / WIRE IMAGE
Y’all know it’s that time of the year again. Spring Bling 2008, BET’s annual spring break celebration, was filmed this year in Riviera Beach, Florida. You already know this shit is gonna be on repeat for the next couple of months. So until that happens, maybe these flicks will hold you over!
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FAT JOE, DJ KHALED, BUSTA RHYMES, AND TRICK DADDY // PHOTOS BY SETH BROWARNIK FOR WIRE IMAGE
Fat Joe, DJ Khaled, Busta Rhymes, and Trick Daddy all performed at Mansion Nightclub last night in Miami. The show was sponsored by “Raw,” which is a channel on XM Satellite Radio.
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