I pulled up to the Bojangles' Coliseum for the T.I. and Young Jeezy concert as the symphony concert at the neighboring Ovens Auditorium was letting out. On the way in, we passed families in black-tie attire and a little child prodigy pianist in a bow tie... and we were going to see T.I.
There were cops everywhere surrounding the arena and auditorium... I bet they were there to make sure the crowd coming out of the symphony didnt act up, right?
T.I. is on his farewell tour because he is going to Yale I mean, jail... But if you think about it, jail is kinda like the Ivy league of street smarts, so T.I. is going to Yale in a sense, sorta.
T.I. had a DJ instead of a band; I thought I was at a heavy metal concert at one point. T.I.s head banging wouldve put Axl Rose to shame.
He said he was in Charlotte a while back and, when he was, he got locked up in Mecklenburg County.
T.I. packed the BoRound, or Bojangles Coliseum rather... or maybe it looks like a giant chicken biscuit for some reason, with 4,000 people, and about 500 of them were on the stage. Id say they were the hype men, but they just kinda stood there. I thought I might catch a contact high in the dome with the smoky air. Just to remind you, it is illegal to smoke marijuana in general... let alone in public.
My favorite spoken word lyric of the night: You can hate, or you can be great. If youre a hater youll always have something to do because Im always going to be doing my thing. Preach it Clifford Joseph Harris Jr.
I later chimed in to the hustling, bustling Uptown scene at Chimas Brazilian Steakhouse for the World Tour Party Part 1 hosted by Consuella where DJ Jonnie Davis and DJ Daddy D bumped a nice orgy of Deep House, Soul, Hip Hop and R&B. And how Suite it was at The Sol Kitchen & Simmons Media Groups Suite Dreams with DJ DR and DJ BroRabb on the wheels.
And CIAA Take 2 I got flier papered with the following...
Roc-A-Fellas Rock Da Rim '09 with Memphis Bleek and The Roc Boyz at Club Stir (3500 Independence Blvd.) Tonight at 10 p.m.
A theater production: Lord, why do I keep Choosing the Wrong Man, Part 2 (yes, Im serious). Friday, March 20&Saturday, March 21 at 8 p.m. at Ovens Auditorium.
The Queen Citys own Bettie Grind presents his brand new single "Dammit Im Fly"... "#1 single in the streets" apparently. Nice, uh, Louis Vuitton background on your flier there Bettie.
And one of my favorite CIAA events The CIAA Step Show with the proceeding party: the Throwdown: Da Kaos Greek Step Show After party hosted by Terrence J from BETs 106&Park. Tonight at the convention center.
And then there was the fashion flier for Thee Connections on Sunset Road ... Clothing apparel and accessories for men and women (I got two of those on my Jeep).
I just wonder where Mr. CIAA is hanging out.