103.5 The Beat presents
?The Beat Down? Concert
Although I am not fully aware of what?s behind the on-air personalities at The Beat claiming this concert is ?history in the making? (other than jacking EFN?s latest mixtape?s title), this was a very well executed show. Props and respect are due to everybody who made this event possible. I think the general population of South Florida deserves more shows like this one and it was evident in the energy and the turn out.
The show was sold-out, leaving hundreds of people walking around outside desperately seeking scalped tickets to get in on the action. The action was non-stop! All of the Beat?s on-air personalities were present like Papa Keith, Nina Chantele, Prince Markie ?D?, and The Baka Boys. The mixshow DJ?s held it down on the turntables between sets and the vibe was crazy! The stage was set for the local artists like Garcia and Crazy Hood Productions to rip it and that is what they did, representing Miami the right way. Nothing but Real Hip-Hop with no gimmicks as Wrekonize and his Illiterats Crew stepped onstage, followed by that chico Pitbull and all of his people.
The vibe was real smooth until the island-flavored T.O.K. did their thing, and that?s when things started to get heated! They brought five girls up to the stage to do some serious rump shakin? and the crowd picked a winner. The Caribbean flavor was followed by Eightball and MJG who ripped the mic like only some real rap veterans can. No hype men, no TV tracks, just two MC?s flippin? it back and forth. After the Space Age Pimpin? duo, Ja Rule and Irv Gotti took the stage with the beautiful Ashanti and made everybody remember why they sold that many records a couple of years back. Following the Inc.?s reign was Fat Joe, Terror Squad, and an upgraded version of Remy Martin. I never remembered her being such a fine woman, but damn she spits like a man! The Terror Squad ripped through their set until Tony Sunshine took control with ?Oh My God? featuring 305?s own Dirtbag? who made a public name change in front of all the press backstage. ?From now on, don?t call me Dirtbag anymore, I?m that damn donkey?, he told a whole room full of press people who broke out in laughter at the rappers? request. He continued to explain how good it is to get love in your hometown. That damn donkey it is then, Dirt.
Rolling smooth into the later half of the evening, the only upset was a scheduled set by Peedy Pablo that was cancelled (although I?m sure nobody noticed). Everybody was screaming at the top of their lungs and singing back every line in perfect harmony with their favorite artist. It truly was a great show and concert, but it would not be right if the Mayor of Miami-Dade County himself was not there to bless the capacity crowd. So Trick Daddy jumped onstage with Money Mark Diggla and ripped through some of his classics as well as some new material. The Ying Yang Twins were also there, providing some comic relief for the crowd. These are some funny ass brothers, just ask anybody who saw them perform. In the middle of their set, the twins stop the music only to go into a choreographed dance routine over Michael Jackson?s music! From ?Bad? to ?Smooth Criminal?, these boys got their groove on proper and had the crowd going crazy!
The stage was set for Roc-a-fella recording artist Kanye West who stalled a bit before jumping onstage and started getting boos. Amidst the crowd reaction, the beat from ?Take Over? comes on as Kanye?s DJ steps onstage and then Kanye himself walks out and stands center stage just grillin? the crowd with his hand in his pocket. The backpacker turned cocky rap superstar then dives straight into ?Get ?Em High?, ?Stand-Up?, ?Selfish?, and a variety of his self-produced bangers before getting into his heavily rotated radio hits. In the middle of his set, Mr. West drops his Roc-a-fella charm and does not even notice until a few songs later when he looks back at his people in shock, pointing at his charm. He does not miss a beat while rapping and quickly notices one of the people on stage holding up the charm and a thumbs up gesture. Reassured he had not lost his coveted Roc-a-fella pendant, he continues to rip through his set and do him despite the haters hollering, ?Cohn man?, obviously referring to the rumors of him using ghost writers and ghost producers.
All in all, the night was a huge success and the whole day was filled with positive energy. Except for a fight between two idiots at the last minute, the whole jam went off without a problem. Maybe it is history in the making after all if the powers that be get involved, start putting these concerts together regularly, and giving local independents like Garcia, Wrekonize, Pitbull, and Dirtbag a chance to shine amongst them superstars.
Download TRICK DADDY's performance. Due to the amount
of people on 56gay modems the quality is lowered... alot. Catch the full version
on DVD with the 305 Magazine Premiere Issue. Right Click > Save Target As
.... THIS
FILE
