Lil Wayne featuring Ricky Rozay, Nicki Minaj, Travis Barker, and Mix Master Mike took their “I Am Still Music†tour to the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise this past Tuesday.
After much anticipation, the concert did not let down. It was my first time at the Bank Atlantic Center and I must admit that I was impressed with the facility. The parking was superb (in house parking), so no need to drive around for half an hour trying to haggle with the neighborhood parking lot attendants.
The hallways of the arena were fairly spacious and seemed to be very clean. The show was stated to start at 7:00pm, but did not kick off till about 7:30ish when Travis Barker and Mix Master Mike took the stage in what appeared to be a enormous old school boom box with each artist in place where the tapedecks go. The visual aspect of it was phenomenal. A Hip-Hop kind of battle feel; each performer went back and forth show casing their unique skills. The crowd was still filling in the seats at that time since the “Real†show had yet to begin. By the time they finished there was about a 15-minute intermission for stage staff to clear out the first set scene and making way for the new one. Then…
Lights out! All of a sudden this huge banner drops with a portrait of none other Rick Ross with his arms wide open and his name in the middle followed by “May-may-may-may-may-may-may-Maybach Music!!!! UGHHHH!!”
The boss came out and tore the stage up, rapping a total of about 7-8 hits. I really wish he would of done more because the vibe was incredible and you can tell he was putting it all out their for the fans. He went back to his roots and rapped “Hustlinâ€, which as you know, is the track that put him on the map. And it was only fair he brought out the person that broke that record for him – DJ Khaled. I’m not gonna lie, I knew Khaled had to be there since it was the hometown show, but its always cool when they actually come out for the grand surprise.
So Ross and Khaled tore it up on a few tracks and then it was lights out again. Ross left the stage saying good-bye to all his Dade county peoples, and thanking each and every one of us for supporting him and showing him so much love. The crowd at this time seemed like a full house with cheers and screams like you couldn’t believe. Yet, the show hadn’t even begun because Wayne still hadn’t stepped foot on the stage.
When Lil Wayne finally came out you couldn’t even hear yourself think, the energy in the stadium was electrifying. Lil Weezy baby did his thing non-stop for about an hour straight, nothing but back-to-back hits. He brought out Lil Twist and Shanell from Young Money and let them both perform their new singles while Lil Tunechi took a brief intermission. At this point, everybody was wondering about Nicki Minaj and the anticipation was killer. She finally came out with a tight one-piece dress on that had hot pink and neon green accents. She came up from under the stage doing “Roman’s Revenge†and kept on for a good minute blazin tracks up. She then called Weezy back to the stage where he went back to doing what he does best…being Lil Weezy. He took a moment to praise 2pac, BIG, and Michael Jackson for paving the way. And I have to give him props for doing that. He then surprisingly brought out Ace Hood to perform “Hustle Hard†(highlight of the night for me).
But Weezy had more tricks up his leave as the night rolled through. He brought out Birdman, Khaled, and none other than Drizzy Drake. Both Drake and Lil Wayne tore up the stage and performed their best hits together. When the night was over, my neck hurt from bobbing so much and my voice was hoarse and my ears were ringing.
In conclusion, the South Florida stop for the I Am Still Music Tour was a huge success. It was definitely a concert not to be missed.
- CT
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Chris Rizzo
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gdub84
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CooL_KiD_305
