The night before last: Souljah Boy
Souljah Boy and A-Rab. Photo by Chach Bursey.
So as you've probably read on Max's blog, our server got hacked yesterday and threw us offline for almost 24 hours. Bad news. We seem to be rolling now. Thanks for your patience. I know everyone was waiting breathlessly to hear about Souljah Boy.
So here you go: There might've been 200 people in the Metroplex, which holds around 2,300. That's insane. The kid is Grammy nominated. He enjoyed a number one single for seven weeks last year (which has become the "Who Let the Dogs Out" for sporting events). He's got one of the most downloaded ringtones. He's all over MTV and BET and magazine covers. AND he's a teen dream for the Tiger Beat set.
You've got to blame it on half-ass promotion and the prevailing fear that big name rap talent skip gigs. Rick Ross blew off a gig in Fayetteville a little while back. E-40 missed two last year, and a reliable source told me that Souljah Boy missed one last year, and this was a make-up.
Tellingly, Baby Boy, the local DJ and promoter, told the crowd, early on, "Make sure you go back and tell your friends, 'We told you so. We told you we were bringing Souljah Boy.'"
But to the show: Like the half-dozen national hip-hop shows I've seen here, it was pretty tedious for awhile. The Pulaski Heights dance team did an impressive dance routine to Souljah Boy's "Shoot-Out" as an opener. Local groups, like Lil Speedie and the 4X4 Crew, had to battle against poor sound and an apathetic crowd. My buddy Chach and I were the only white people and probably the oldest people there not working or supervising kids.
So here you go: There might've been 200 people in the Metroplex, which holds around 2,300. That's insane. The kid is Grammy nominated. He enjoyed a number one single for seven weeks last year (which has become the "Who Let the Dogs Out" for sporting events). He's got one of the most downloaded ringtones. He's all over MTV and BET and magazine covers. AND he's a teen dream for the Tiger Beat set.
You've got to blame it on half-ass promotion and the prevailing fear that big name rap talent skip gigs. Rick Ross blew off a gig in Fayetteville a little while back. E-40 missed two last year, and a reliable source told me that Souljah Boy missed one last year, and this was a make-up.
Tellingly, Baby Boy, the local DJ and promoter, told the crowd, early on, "Make sure you go back and tell your friends, 'We told you so. We told you we were bringing Souljah Boy.'"
But to the show: Like the half-dozen national hip-hop shows I've seen here, it was pretty tedious for awhile. The Pulaski Heights dance team did an impressive dance routine to Souljah Boy's "Shoot-Out" as an opener. Local groups, like Lil Speedie and the 4X4 Crew, had to battle against poor sound and an apathetic crowd. My buddy Chach and I were the only white people and probably the oldest people there not working or supervising kids.
When Souljah Boy and his partner A-Rab came out around 9 p.m. (it was a school night), all the kids went predictably crazy. Aside from the shaved eyebrows and giant Superman chain, he looked like a rangy, awkward teenager. His fingers were about 12" long. His arms like pipecleaners. Late in the show, he took off his shirt (inspiring intense cheering), and he looked like Kevin Garnett.
This was the best song of the night. Between songs, SB ran through rote crowd talk. "Who's my biggest fan?" "How many y'all on MySpace?" At one point, his DJ whispered something to him, and shyly and mumble-y, he asked the girls in the crowd "Whobootiethebiggest?"
Seeing 200 teenagers do the Crank Dat dance in unison was pretty awesome.
This girl had herself on the back of her jacket. Chach loved that.
This was the best song of the night. Between songs, SB ran through rote crowd talk. "Who's my biggest fan?" "How many y'all on MySpace?" At one point, his DJ whispered something to him, and shyly and mumble-y, he asked the girls in the crowd "Whobootiethebiggest?"
Seeing 200 teenagers do the Crank Dat dance in unison was pretty awesome.
This girl had herself on the back of her jacket. Chach loved that.
