SUNRISE — A triumvirate of hiphop talent descended on the BankAtlantic Center on Sunday,Sept. 6.
Sunrise was the last stop on the America's Most Wanted tour, featuring headliner Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy and Soulja Boy, among others.
Soulja Boy led off the show with a frenetic performance capped by his runaway hit "Turn My Swag On."
The gregarious teen bounded around the stage with enough hype men to host a five-on-five pickup basketball game.
LiveNation, the nation's largest concert production company, put together a lineup to hit several demographics.
While Soulja Boy appealed to the youngest in the crowd, and there were many, the other acts were not so kid friendly.
I was surprised by the parents who brought their children to this show. When I say children, I mean troops of children, like some kind of camp field trip, were all throughout the place.
By the time Jeezy hit the stage, it was pretty uncomfortable. With smoke billowing up from the cheap seats and Jeezy in full-grown man mode, cursing with the best, I couldn't vibe with the preteens a row in front of me, bouncing up and down.
Jeezy put on a good show, but I suspect he didn't go full throttle out of deference to the headliner, Lil Wayne. Jeezy's 30-minute set touched on all his hits, with the Snowman calling out, "We don't need music. Y'all rap. Let me see what you got.”
Jeezy seemed to revel in the fact that everyone new every word of every song.
After the second of three very long intermissions, Wayne finally took the stage. This was the first time I had seen Wayne's full stage show, complete with backing band, giant LCD screens and insane pyrotechnics. The Cashmoney Millionaire performed an hourlong set with an overt rock- and-roll flare.
Wayne has made it known that he is working on a rock album. Sunday night, he seemed to lay the groundwork for that project. He performed old favorites with hard electric guitar licks, and even played the axe himself.
Wayne's set was thoughtfully put together. He took the patron on a journey through his musical experience. He played songs by artists who inspired him and let us in on where his creative process is taking him now.
"Do y'all mind if I rock out right quick?" he implored. "I'm trying to get my rock on. Come rock with me."
The Grammy Award-winning rap artist, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., took special time when performing songs from his latest album, The Carter III.
"At this point in the show, my awesome band is gonna get into my awesome album," he said.
The crowd gave him major love, even with the many rock remixes. I observed some people who did not seem to like the rock tinge to the music, but they were few.
Wayne is also the founder of Young Money Entertainment. He introduced the crowd to the entire label roster with one giant omission. Current radio phenom Drake didn't make it to the show for health reasons. That was disappointing.
As far as rap shows go, Sunday's was pretty typical until Wayne decided to rock it out a little bit.
He made the night worth the price of admission.
ChristopherMattox@Hotmail.com
Photo: Lil Wayne
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