NEW YORK (Top40 Charts) - Some of urban music's biggest names turned out Tuesday (April 9) night to support the fight against AIDS at Urban AID 2, a concert to benefit the AIDS awareness organization LIFEbeat, at N.Y.'s historic Beacon Theatre.
Hosted by comedian Mike Epps, the event included performances from Ja Rule, P. Diddy, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, and newcomers Ashanti (see related story in news) and Musiq (who recently dropped his last name, Soulchild), as well as video tributes from N.E.R.D., Talib Kweli, Russell Simmons, and former President Bill Clinton. Not all of the starpower was onstage, either, as the show was attended by everyone from Harvard's Dr. Cornel West to actress Kim Fields (that's right, Tootie).
Host Epps got the show off to a shaky start with a perfunctory introduction of opening act the Roots. While the Roots' set was one of the evening's musical highlights ?- kicking things off with a live medley of hip-hop classics -- the seats were sparsely filled, and the terminally underrated Philly band was slept on once again. Musiq followed and fared a little better, getting the audience to its feet for the first time in the evening to sing along with his sleeper single "Just Friends."
Alicia Keys |
Alicia Keys followed with a polished, cell phone-brandishing set that included her hits "Fallin'," "How Come You Don't Call Me," and "Girlfriend." Unfortunately, that was all there was time for, and Keys left the stage to make way for
Fat Joe. But the Bronx MC's set was also cut ruthlessly short to keep the show on track. At least Joe had time to bring out diva-in-training Remy
Martin to sing their hit "What's Love" -? which the crowd ate up.
After a not-so-brief intermission (during which Urban AID co-founder Andre Harell presented a LIFEbeat Pioneer Award to an outspoken Rosie Perez), rapper Ja Rule took the stage and proceeded to rock the house with his Murder Inc. stable. Cadillac Tah, Charlie Baltimore, and Ashanti all joined the glistening, shirtless Rule and his producer Irv Gotti for a set that included "Livin' It Up," "I'm Real," and "Put It on Me." Judging by the crowd's reaction, Rule lived up to his onstage boast that Murder Inc. was "the world's most talented label."
P. Diddy |
But when it came to sheer theatrics P.
Diddy stole the show. With a set that boasted video montages, balloons, cheerleaders, walk-ons from
Busta Rhymes and
Mr. Cheeks, and a giant scrim of
Notorious B.I.G., Puffy's full-bore bombast was a welcome relief from the evening's stop-and-start nature. His parade of Bad Boy hits had the crowd on its feet and in the aisles, while "Missing You," his heartfelt (if overblown) tribute to "Biggie,
Eazy-E, Freaky Tah ? and everybody else we've lost along the way," provided the evening's emotional climax.
Not to be outdone, Jay-Z took the show past the midnight mark with a set that included appearances from Beanie Sigel, Freeway, and Roc-a-Fella kingpin Damon Dash. With a set that relied strongly on his early hits, Jay proved that he still had New York on lock when the crowd sang all the words to his classic "Jigga My Nigga."
