Maybe I’m buggin, but is a 9-5 supposed to be this much fun?? Nah, right (what up Eskay lol?) I swear, if I’m not talking to one of my favorite artists, I’m traveling across country to an event. And if I’m not outta town, I’m at some function where the alcoholic consumption is free of charge (well not last night, but you get the idea) and Jermaine Dupri is yelling at me to get  his artists’ feature up online (Whas good JD lol, it’ll be done before COB). Regardless of what’s going on, just know your boy is having a blast. Last night I hit up Vibe’s Real Rap Issue Party at Club Ono , and judging by the ambiance that blessed the facility, to the untrained industry eye, one would have thought it was an after party for the 51st Annual Grammy Awards.

Of course, I had my roadie Edaki with me, so you already know how it gets when we hit the town. However, E wasn’t feeling the sardine can like atmosphere, so he bolted early, but of course I got a nice flick of him reading a magazine lol. PRICELESS! As soon as I stepped foot inside, my homey, Melo purchased me a L.I.T. and since it was incredibly strong, I was feeling a BIT friendlier than usual. We posted up at the bar for a minute, you know, looking cool and ish like that. At first, it was pretty light inside, DJ Envy was in one corner, DJ Cassidy was spinning everything under the sun and the ladies, ahhhhhhh the ladies were looking incredibly scrumptious. King of the South, T.I.P showed up unexpectedly and even posed for a quick snap shot (check below). Talked some business with the homey Shaheem Reid from MTV and grabbed another beverage. After being stiffed at the door, the homey Jackpot FINALLY got inside, which is when the real fun started!

All of a sudden, it got a tad bit crazy. First JD and the digital darling, Dondria (whad up, DD lol?) showed up. Then Ebro, Hot 97’s Program Director came in and hit the bar. Next, Fabolous and his Street Family goons hit the VIP section with DJ Clue close by. Lenny S discreetly maneuvered his way around the lounge while Young Sav and Steve-O kept things poppin on the patio. Ace Hood slid by as DJ Envy punched me in the elbow making me almost drop my drink (prick, lol). Young Sav and I asked Lenny S about the “Put On” remix with Jay-Z, in which he gave us this GUILTY smirk (that means it’s coming soon). JD and I talked about keeping Dondria’s online presence strong because that’s basically where she originated. He explained to me in DETAIL on how he wanted to execute that plan, which sounded pretty damn solid. Danyel Smith, EIC of VIBE Magazine, took some time to ask me why Howard University was blanketing the entire entertainment industry with its insanely talented personnel (her online editor, Jozen Cummings is also a Howard alumni, WHAD UP HOMEY?)

As I was making my rounds, I bumped into a young lady by the name of Nicky Nice. During my spot to spot moves, she was nice enough to watch my drink….which was pretty damn awesome. During our chop it up session, the man of the hour, Young Jeezy appeared out of nowhere lol. He made his way to the VIP patio and basically took over. Soon after, Swizz Beatz, Chaka Zulu, Terrence J, Alesha Renee, Irv Gotti and Nas came through and basically made Ono, the spot to be July 8, 2008.

I can’t front, this is pretty much a dope ass job with some dope ass perks. And to show you how dope it is, check out these DOPE ass pictures , Me, Johnny Nunez and Ronnie Wright snapped last night! I’m GHOST!

Sincerely

Low “Does life get better than this? Yea, so keep it locked to see how good it gets” Key

Vibe Magazine and Tequilla 1800 kept the party going till about 1am….

Sean Pecas, Jermaine Dupri, Swizz Beatz, Irv Gotti,Young Jeezy and Fabolous mean mug for the flashing lights..

TI hitting the VIP patio…

VIP Patio at club Ono….

Cute lil honey dip at Vibe’s Real Rap Issue Party…Damn it, I should have asked for her name!

DJ Cassidy getting busy on the 1’s and 2’s.

VIBE EIC, Danyel Smith and Irv Gotti share a couple laughs…

The man with no title hits the red carpet…

I have NO idea who this is, but she’s a cutie….

VIBE correspondent, Audrea chats it up with video director, Little X…..

Red Cafe and DJ Envy throw it up for BET.Com…..

Jermaine Dupri and Ebro chop it up on the VIP Patio….

Young Jeezy and Fabolous sippin on some Tequilla 1800….

Swizzy, Sean Pecas (the tall bald one) and Young Jeezy meet up on the VIP Patio……

The homey, Nicky Nice, held it down for VIBE Magazine…..

“Can’t front, I’m missin the old DJ Clue tapes”- Joe Budden

Tim Glover, Young Sav and Steve-O repping strong for Def Jam records and Best Of Both Offices

Either he was confused on how small my camera was or how CLOSE it was to his face lol……(no he’s not giving me the finger lol)

LowKey at it once again…..

I swear E was sooooooooooo focused on that Young Jeezy article…….

Young Jeezy and his Tequilla 1800….

INCREDIBLE……

Young Jeezy acting a fool with Playboy’s “Girls Next Door”…..

The brown skin vixen, D.Wright…….;)

Look at Jeezy stuntin……

Nas, Swizz Beatz and Young Jeezy get it poppin at Vibe’s Real Rap Issue Party….

DJ Cassidy gets a taste of the flashing lights and some Tequilla 1800….

Not ONE scuff. That’s how you maneuver through a party with a fresh pair of kicks….lol!

Several weeks ago, I got the opportunity to attend the opening of the Hip Hop Soda Shop in Miami Gardens, Florida. The HipHopSodaShop is a natural restaurant franchised modeled loosely around The Hard Rock Cafe. HHSS IS the first publicly traded hip-hop company, owned and operated by H3 Enterprises Inc. H3 Enterprises, Inc. and Microsoft also announced an exclusive multi year partnership deal which makes XBox 360 the official sponsor of the HipHopSodaShop franchise across the country.

Dr.Ben Chavis, CEO and President of The Hip Hop Soda Shop said of the opening, “H3 Enterprises, Inc. has taken a dramatic step forward in launching its Miami HipHopSodaShop. I want the HHSS to be the destination location for people who want to enjoy themselves and empower themselves with knowledge and career opportunities” Mike Fisher, General Manager of Microsoft’s Xbox Marketing added, “The HipHopSodaShop aligns so well with where video gaming is going; it’s much more about music and social gaming. We see this as an opportunity to be able to get in on the ground floor of a new business concept that has the potential to be really phenomenal”.

For more information, log on to the HipHopSodaShop.Com

The event had an incredible turn out and since I love sharing my voyages with you guys, I figure these visuals below would do just the trick.

Sincerely

Low “We need one of those in NYC, ASAP!” Key  

It’s the concert heard around world, well at least East Rutherford, NJ on the night of June 2, 2008. NYC’s HOT 97 officially took over Giants Stadium last night with its 15th Annual, Summer Jam. Unlike last year, the weather for the night’s festivities was crystal clear and the entire Tri-State was ready to go. Seeing how I walked in about 20 minutes into the show, I missed Ray-J and Yung Berg perform their smash single “Sexy Can I” (I didn’t mind one bit). Judging by the luke warm response, the crowd wouldn’t have mind missing it either.

ATL’s own, The Dream hit the stage next. And like his Madison Square Garden set, The Dream took care of business in a timely fashion. To be honest, his backup dancers held my attention for the entire time….I’m not even gonna front like I was paying attention to him. His material (“I Luv Your Girl”, “Falsetto”, “Shawty Is A Ten”) was performed exceptionally well, but them dancers…boooooy I tell ya.

Alicia Keys, who was decked out in a wife beater and some NICE fitting denim’s, pranced out on stage and literally toyed with EVERY male figure in attendance. I mean to be honest, there’s NO reason why she looks that good and quite frankly, I’m fine with that lol. Alicia had no problem running through her slew of hits since (“N.Y. State of Mind”, “Like I’ll Never See You Again”, “No One, and “Teenage Love Affair”) the crowd recited each song line for line. Though her set was amazing, it was her bevy of surprise guests that won the fans over. First, she brings out Brooklyn rapper, Main-O (I’m just as surprised) to do a quick verse from his current single, “Hi Hater”. Next, Raekwon runs out for a quick verse from the classic tune “Incarcerated Scarfaces” which sent the the crowd into a tizzy. Method Man emerged next and shut things down with a verse from “C.R.E.A.M”. Shortly after, Ghostface appeared to add his portion to the song as well. Method Man continued for about 10 more minutes and felt the need to jump into the crowd, which actually won him cool points with the entire Tri-State Area

Hometown favorites, The Lox, hit the stage and they too brought some of their famous friends along. After performing a couple of underground hits (“Wild Out”, “F*ck You”, “2 Gunz Up” and “The Benjamin’s”) Nature and Nore came out for a quick trip down memory lane with a energetic performance of “Banned From TV”. Surprisingly, Red Cafe, Fat Joe, and Fabolous came out to perform the remix to Red Cafe’s “Paper Touchin”. Awesome! Styles P then brings out Swizz Beatz to perform “Blow My Mind” and we all know what that means. Let’s just say the contact I caught was a WONDERFUL experience! Swizz then breaks into his own semi set performing “Money In The Bank” and his new single “Where Da Cash At”. And to close things out, legendary DJ, Kid Capri, brings out Mr. Todd Smith (LL Cool J) for a “wheredidyoucomefrom” type performance which included “Rock Your Bells” and “HeadSprung”. So far, Summer Jam 2008 was shaping up to be a pretty damn good experience.

Mr. Teddy P and his colorful cohorts were next up to bat and boy did they hit a homerun. Quickly running through a couple of his remix verses from “2 Step” and “Walk It Out”, T-Peezy then decides it would be appropriate to add a little dance number to Chris Brown’s “Kiss Kiss”. Not for nothing, it was pretty entertaining. He then decides to bring the first of his monsoon of guest appearances out. Shawty Lo aka Mr. T.I. Aint From Bankhead, trots out to do a quick 16 from the heavy horned anthem, “Dey Know”, which I must admit was pretty friggin superb. If I wasn’t standing on a frail folding chair, I would have been running in place as well *begins to do so now*. Since T-Pain is on EVERY song ever conceived, I refuse to run down any additional information in regards to his perfomance (quit crying). Instead, I’ll just list who he brought out with him. DJ Khaled, Ricky Ross, Ace Hood, Fat Joe and Akon. Right after a brief “Bartender” performance with Akon, T-Pain proudly blurted out “In the words of George Bush, F*ck ya’ll n*ggaz, IM OUT”. CLASSIC!

The Martian, Lil Wayne took to the stage and, well…..did what he does, which I have yet to figure out. Performing his second single from his ALREADY leaked album, The Carter 3, “A Milli” blarred through Giants Stadium while everyone attempted to keep up with Dwayne’s machine gun flow. While spitting his verse from the infamous “Dey Know” remix, Shawty Lo emerges for a quick photo opp and disappears once Wayne finishes the song. Titty Boy appears next, Duffle Bag and all, to spill out the infamous sounds of “Duffle Bag Boy”. To keep it funky, Wayne could have done that tune alone, but Titty still held his own. After sharing the limelight, Wayne reintroduces himself to the audience and gets down to business. He rips through “Cash Money Millionare” and “Leather So Soft” (guitar and ALL…UGH!). Following the horridness of his guitar strings, he proceeds with the full acapella version of “P*ssy Monster” (Yikes!). I’m assuming he was was either on something (like he’s ever sober) or he just got real creative, but during the song, he proceeded to molest the floor in which I turned to my homey Jamal and said “He’s still going to sell 500,000 copies just because of ish like this”. After retiring the random explicit stage acts, he brings out Kanye West to perform the remix to “Lollipop”. DOPE!

Kanye’s performance was confusing, but still entertaining. He performed “Diamonds”, “Champion” “Homecoming”, “Get Em High” (screwed, so awesome), and “Jesus Walks” with so much energy it reminded us why he’s the #1 artist in Hip Hop. After bringing out Good Music artist, Consequence, for a quick verse from “The Good Bad & The Ugly” he jumps into a dope performance of “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” following up with a special but brief appearance from ATL’s #1 trapper, Young Jeezy. “Put On” which features Kanye West, sounded CRAZY on the sound system, but I don’t think to many people were that familiar with the song just yet. After Jeezy’s exit, Kanye starts up “Flashing Lights”, but forgets his first verse (same thing happened at The Garden a couple weeks ago). After fumbling a couple more words, he gets things back on track and finishes up strong. He disappears for a couple minutes and returns for a passionate performance of “Stronger”. After spitting one of the sickest acapella freestyles I’ve heard in a minute (“She watching the draft, she got your jersey already/she bout to pick out a crib in Jersey ALREADY”!), T-Pain comes back out to finish things off with an excellent performance of “Good Life”. SPECTACULAR!

Public Enemy (Flavor Flav and all) hit the stage for a militant, but yet informative performance. Running through their classic catalogue which included “Bring The Noise”, “Shut Em Down”, “911″, “Can’t Do Nuttin For Ya Man”, and “Fight The Power”. During the performance both Chuck D and Flavor Flas gave respective speeches about not believing the hype (their hype was probably different from the audience’s, but most of us understood). Regardless, it was a moving performance and I’m glad HOT 97 incorporated them into the mix, even if that meant half of the audience leaving.

Jim Jones brought out Juelz Santana and the rest of the Byrd Gang flock, but it wasn’t anything special or worth capturing on my camera (it was dead anyway). NYC still welcomed Jimmy and Juelz with open arms as they ran through a couple of their Harlem hits which included, “Santana’s Town”, “Ballin” “Baby Girl” and Jimmy’s remix verses from DJ Unk’s “Walk It Out” and “Two Step”.

Overall the show was freaking awesome, and right now my eyes are 30 seconds from shutting. Attended this year’s Summer Jam, well let me know your favorite part to the show and what part you hated the most. If you’re more attracted to visuals, scroll down and check out some of the photos I snagged during the show.

Sincerely

Low “Summer Jam never disappoints! Well, at least the last 2 years I attended lol” Key

Alicia even looks splendid on the jumbo screen…

I’m telling you, Dream dancers…….SIGHS!

Sheek Louch from The Lox was VERY excited to be on stage…

Swizzy tore it down with his new single “Where Da Cash At”

You can tell T-Pain and his buddies were having a blast……

Weezy was there too……

Rick Ross, Shawty Lo, Fat Joe and DJ Khaled getting busy!

Jadakiss came out to play as well…..

Akon took over with T-Pain, DJ Khaled, Fat Joe and Ace Hood.

Lil Weezy felt it was necessary to have guitar practice during his set……

Really Rick Ross….REALLY?!?!!