Regardless of how many times I get harassed or threatened, I can definitely tell you I always end up having a great time by night’s end. Though I did get a chance to attend last year’s Rip The Runway, I didn’t have the pleasure of ripping and running backstage. See, at this particular event last year, I had JUST received my offer letter to join the BET fold the same night, so I wasn’t officially on staff yet.

Oh, but trust and believe, my behind the scenes antics made up for last year’s lost efforts. From chopping it up with Bobby V; flirting with newcomer, Natasha; cracking jokes with Lil Duval; showcasing SBreezy’s Louis V bag with Maino; getting liquor threats from my superior RC and finally getting to the bottom of the infamous “Stanky Legg” epidemic, I must say 2009’s, Rip The Runway was an eventful one. Not convinced? No worries, the Rip The Runway Diaries will have no problem conveying that message for you. ENJOY!

Sincerely,

Low “Uh-Ohhh, Spring Bling’s right around the corner” Key

Rip The Runway ‘09 Behind The Scenes Part 1
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Rip The Runway Diaries Pt. 1

Rip The Runway ‘09 Behind The Scenes Stanky Leg Edition
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Rip The Runway Diaries: The Stanky Legg Edition

A funny thing almost happened before last night’s show; my ass almost didn’t get in. Last week when I received the invite, I quickly responded to the respective email, only to be told “This list is CLOSED”. “Noooooooooooooo” I screeched in agony, (I was asked politely to shut the hell up moments later) this can’t be….I will NOT miss the party. So, like a 16 year old brat whose older sibling wouldn’t let him play Playstation causing him to run to his mother so she could override the decision (I hate my sister, lol), I quickly hit my boss, who then hit our big boss. To make a long story short, I’m now writing this On Location post, still slightly worn out from last nights festivities.

Not only was the event an album release party, but it also doubled as a free MySpace concert (the line for that entrance made me SICK to my stomach it was so long), which made thing more festive and interesting. After swiping two wristbands from the door lady who I continuously flirted with, (”Can you put that on for me, I’ve had a long day”), Dre and I skated inside, snatched two alcoholic beverages and posted up till the show started.

Bearded women (ugh), two brawny midgets (they scare me) and a brown tender roni poppin her touché on some 6 ft high stilts (Hey pretty lady), T-Pain really turned Hiro into his own personal circus. He opened the set with an explosive, but brief, set to Kanye’s,” Good Life”. And since I was at the bar getting another round, I would’ve missed the opportunity to record Kanye if he actually came out, but he didn’t (WHEEEW!)

Pizzle ran through some more hits (tooo many to name) and even summoned a couple of his superstar brethrens to the stage for some fun. Maino was the first to hit the stage performing, “Hi Hater”(WHAS GOOD,Niles) Then, Diddy, draped in a black bubble coat, pitch black shades and a grey skully, helped Pain serenade the ladies on “Shawty” sans Plies. “Excuse my appearance” explained Circo Obama (Diddy). “But I’ve been running around crazy helping Barack Obama do his thing”. Pain promised Diddy he didn’t have to work, so he retreated backstage to enjoy the rest of the show.

Taking it waaaaay back, TP gave an energetic performance of “I’m Sprung” (I hated that damn song) which drew a surprisingly overwhelming response. Memphitz (he discovered T-Pain), host to BET’s new show, The Deal, came out for a short version of “Pop, Lock and Drop It” (I love doing the G-5 under the influence). Busta and the entire Flipmode Squad showed up to familiarize the audience with his new single, “Arab Money” (*Dead*) and even broke out a tongue twisting performance of “Break Ya Neck”. Pain said at the conclusion of Busta’s set, “I have friends, I have lots of friends”.

Terrence J from 106 and Park came out to talk his ish, but it was nothing compared to who Pain brought out shortly after. DJ Khaled emerged from the behind the stage hopping around like the energized bunny he is and went straight into the chorus of “I’m So Hood”. I’m sure you could guess what he said at the end of his set and if you can’t, take your pick. (Ace Hood coming Nov 18th, We Global, We The Best, Unity….etc.)

After tickling the ivories during “Can’t Believe It”, Luda slid onstage for “Chopped and Skrewed” and his current single, “One More Drink”, which Pain is also featured on. To end the night, Pizzle brought out one of his memorable numbers, “Buy You A Drank”, which easily won the crowd over as soon as the first finger snap echoed through the venue.

Check out some exclusive footage and flicks of the party, below!

T-Pain….free drinks…..pretty ladies….wingman (whadup Dre); what more could you ask for????

Sincerely

Low “T-Pain is officially the second coming in my eyes, lol” Key

Lowkey and Dre mean mug for the cameras at T-Pain’s album release party last night!

You already know…….

T-Pain brings out Diddy to perform “Shawty” during his album release party in NYC on November 10.

T-Pain and Memphitz perform “Pop Lock & Drop It”, “2 Step” during T-Pain’s album release party last night in NYC.

T-Pain brings out Busta Ryhmes to perform “Arab Money” during his album release party in NYC November 10.

T-Pain brings out Terrence J from 106 and Park and DJ Khaled during his album release party in NYC on November 10. T-Pain and Ludacris perform “Chopped and Skrewed” during T-Pain’s album release party in NYC on November 10. T-Pain performs “Can’t Believe It” during his album release party in NYC on November 10.

Yung Berg picks and chooses his battles, VERY WELL! I swear, I’m not the type to comment on the actions of others, well at least the social actions, but for some peculiar reason, I felt the need to chime in on this particular situation involving Yung Berg and Neyo.

Yung Berg and Neyo you ask? Well, not exactly. See, Neyo appeared on Power 106 Fm out in LA with Big Boi and Luscious Liz Hernandez to talk, you know, industry ish. Big and Liz issued Neyo, “The Hat of Forbidden Questions”, which basically consist of outlandish industry inquiries that make today’s celebrities extremely uncomfortable.

One of the questions posed was, “If you could three finger slap anyone in the industry, who would it be?” Without hesitation, Neyo responded, “Yung Berg”. Ha! For obvious reasons, Berg is probably on alot of peoples “Three Finger Slap” list. Now here’s where it gets interesting….. Berg, who’s fallen victim to one chain snatching occurrence and some “disciplinary action”courtesy of Atlantic Record’s strong arm artist, Maino, has the AUDACITY to chime in on Neyo’s comments when he’s done NOTHING to address the previous aforementioned situations.

What did Berg say??? I’ll get to that in a minute, but what I’m curious to figure out is how and WHY Berg so quick to respond to a R&B artist but won’t DARE go on record to speak out against Trick Trick and his Detroit culprits or Maino, whom he actually approached on some “I heard you were talking bad about me” tough guy ish.

To save face, he could have at LEAST recorded a freestyle addressing all the situations at hand, but instead he hops on video with a vacuum cleaner on his back and starts clowning Neyo for some stuff that was clearly from his past. Oh and the “that’s your girl calling me right now, homey” commentary is far from something that ANYONE would care about at the present moment.

Enough chatter, let’s take a look at Berg’s response……COMEDY!

Now I highly doubt Neyo gives a HOOT about what Berg is babbling about, but it would be extremely entertaining to hear Neyo diss Berg over one of his beats. And to do it better than Berg, that would actually be hysterical. I swear I’m not a troublemaker, and if Berg reads this, he’ll probably diss me with the Auto Tune applied to his vocals, in which I would respond right back with my own scathing diss, lol or confront me the next time he sees me, BUT, this just had to be said.

Iiight, I’m catching a flight to ATL in 6 hours, maybe Berg can redeem himself by laying the smackdown on LowKey at the same spot he received his from Maino? It’s ok, I’ll take one for the team. Anything to get Berg out of this social rut he’s tangled in.

Sincerely

Low “Ahhhhhhhhhhhh sh*t, this is going to be an interesting weekend” Key

The Atlanta Hip Hop Summit will be taking over Clark Atlanta University on Friday, October 17th, for the Atlanta Hip Hop Summit of Financial Empowerment: Get Your Money Right event. The panel’s participants include, Russell Simmons, Atlantic Recording artist, Maino, DJ Drama, DJ Toomp, 106 & Park’s, Terrence & Rocsi, Yung Berg, Gorilla Zoe, Fat Joe, Brian M. Cox, Dr. Ben Chavis, new comer, Asher Roth and Ludacris.

In this time of financial crisis, any commentary on how to improve your current situation is well needed, especially since Congress really doesn’t speak to the youth as it should. For tickets, slide over in this direction and print them out….RIGHT NOW!

People are always willing to complain about the lack of help in regards to their issues, well, here you go……DON’T BLOW IT!
Sincerely

Low “I BETTER see you guys there” Key

Cipha Sounds and Peter Rosenberg from NYC’s HOT 97 tamed the antsy audience with some throwback tunage while Jeezy and the CTE family prepped for the show backstage. What amazed me even more is that before the lights turned off, some knucklehead next to me had the NERVE to roll some herbal refreshments. Mind you, it was bright as ALL OUTSIDE while he attempted the task. However, to his dismay, a young but brolic looking female appeared within seconds sporting a stern look that read, “Put that foolery down, or I’m going to make an example out of you in the next 5 mintues”. Shorty could’ve EASILY passed as a former correctional officer on Riker’s Island.

As the lights disappeared, Sean Pecas (VP of Def Jam Promotion) gave the “OK” for Cipha to introduce Jeezy to the masses; SHOWTIME! Draped in a black Harley Davidson bullet proof vest, a black bandanna under his A-Town fitted, Jeezy emerged from the circle of CTE affiliates standing on stage and got straight to work. The introduction to “J.E.E.Z.Y”, a cut from his sophomore set, Thug Motivation 102, leaked through the Blender speakers with such intensity as Young Jizzle stood front and center. “Jeezy at the trap, Jeezy like to grind/Jeezy bout his paper, cause Jeezy like to shine” A-Town’s number one trapper rapped.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve never seen a southern artist come to NYC and control an entire audience like Jeezy did last night. Sliding through countless underground and mainstream hits, Jizzle attacked DJ Khaled’s “I’m So Hood” with so much fury, I thought for a split second that maybe, just for a minute, I was from the hood (but it’s PAINFULLY obvious that I’m not, lol). Things got ignorant when a brief brawl broke out 10 feet to the right of me. At first I thought, “Hey look, a hip hop mosh pit”. But that quickly changed when I saw some dude covering himself and his female counterpart. Jeezy looked, smirked, and kept it movin.

“I heard if you don’t bring mothafu*az out in New York, you ain’t sh*t,” Jeezy uttered. I pointed my apparatus towards the stage and put my trigger finger on the record button. He even joked, “What you say Kanye?”……”What was that Jay?” But of course, neither one appeared. Instead, Jeezy took us on a mini Brooklyn excursion as he brought out, Fabolous, Maino and I’ll be GOD DAMNED, Lil Kim. Each of Brooklyn’s hip hop representatives performed a quick diddy from their respective catalogues, but it was Lil Kim’s appearance and performance that received the most praise.

Tackling even more joints, Jeezy still had some ammo under his sleeves. “I Luv It”, “Go Crazy”, and his remix verse to Shawty Lo’s “Dey Know” were easily crowd favorites. Hell, the crowd was so excited, somebody hurled a cup full of either water or alcohol (I can’t believe someone would waste that much liquor, lol) towards the stage which missed Jeezy by several inches. At that particular moment, I thought to myself, “I didn’t even say goodbye to my sister because for some reason, it’ll be me who’s pegged as the liquid throwing culprit, which then, I’ll be dragged out unconscious”.

All and all, the show was dope and everyone walked out satisfied. Oh and for that tool that asked me that question, I hope you’re reading this because this is EXACTLY why I attended Jeezy’s Blender Theater show. Pics below…..

Sincerely

Low “(Young Jeezy voice)Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmm” Key

Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg and Cipha Sounds prep the NYC crowd for Young Jeezy…

Young Jeezy gets in during his Blender Theater performance…..

Maino waves to all the haters at Blender Theater….

Young Jeezy and Lil Kim share the stage at Blender Theater…..