On June 12, MTV will continue its popular “Unplugged” musical series in which artists are taken out of their normal realm and perform their hits acoustically. It's been 10 years since Jay-Z performed the last rap Unplugged concert and who better than to break the decade-long drought than the man that MTV proclaimed “the Hottest MC in the game” back in 2007. Lil Wayne took the stage on May 13 at Sony Studios in Culver City, CA backed by a live band and singer Shannell to perform some of his classic and present day hits. With past legendary rap acts such as LL Cool J, A Tribe Called Quest and the aforementioned Jay-Z, Lil Wayne had some big shoes to fill and it was interesting to see if he would be able to pull it off.
The first thing I noticed was that the stage setting was different this time around. Most Unplugged events have a relaxed personal setting, however, Lil Wayne's set-up was more like a rock concert by having the audience surround the stage at all sides. That made me wonder right there if this was going to be a true acoustic performance. The crowd was urged to yell and scream but something told me that this racially-mixed young crowd needed no such urging as they were eagerly anticipating one of the most popular artists of their generation. Both inclinations were proved correct as the bands electric guitar roared loud and Lil Wayne walked through the crowd on to the stage to the delight of screaming and jumping fans to open up with “3-Peat.”
Lil Wayne electrified like a true rock-star as he powered his way through energetic performances of “Mr. Carter,” “Let The Beat Build,” “Shoot Me Down,” and a Drake-less “Miss Me.” The highlight of the first set was an explosive rock version of “A Milli” which would've been a great B-Side remix back in the day of 12” single releases. Wayne then takes a breather to thank the crowd for coming out and then asks, “How many have been rocking with me since I was a little one?” As the crowd responds, Wayne takes them back to 2005 with “Fireman,” “Money On My Mind,” and a heart-felt “Hustler Musik.”
The first guest of the night was Titi Boi of the Atlanta group “Playaz Circle.” The two performed “Duffle Bag Boy” and afterward Wayne addressed the crowd again. “A few months ago I was in a dark place that I don't like to really shed light on,” he told the audience. “Everyone always asks, 'How was it?' I figured I'd find a way to answer that question.” And with that Wayne broke in to his own version of the classic “Hail Mary” song by 2Pac. While the chorus is kept the same, Lil Wayne uses his own verses to discuss his trails and tribulations. Shannell who had been low-key singing backup all night joins Wayne for “Prom Queen” and while she looked stunning, she had to vocally force out the chorus a few times throughout the song. Then in true “Wayne Cobain” fashion, Lil Wayne grabs an electric guitar for “She Left Me Brokenhearted,” surprisingly plays a few riffs, and then goes right in to an Eminem-less version of “Drop The World.” Wayne then addresses the crowd again.“If you're in a relationship make some noise. If you're having trouble in your relationship make some noise. And If you're single like me make some noise” which led to the song “Single” and sent every girl in the building screaming.
The mood at this point had mellowed a bit as Lil Wayne and Shannell perform “Mrs. Officer.” Acoustic guitars replace the electric ones and served as proof that Wayne could really pull this off in true Unplugged fashion. Up to this point although I was very entertained, I couldn't help but think that he had been allowed to cheat by going electric. The song was the smoothest of the night and it made me wonder what the entire concert would've sounded like acoustically. Wayne then finished this set with a nice acoustic/electric mix of “Lollipop.”
The surprise of the night was a new song called “Nightmares of the Bottom” off of his upcoming album. Led by a piano and booming percussion's Wayne spit lines like, “Only God can Judge me, I don't need no Jury” and “Don't call me sir, call me survivor.” All of this led to the finale' which can only be the song that everybody had been waiting to hear all night. Yes, you guessed it, “6'7'.” With the energy back in full force Lil Wayne has the crowd rocking and even teases a stage dive. Then as soon as he says, “Tell em kiss my a**, call it kiss and tell” Cory Gunz rushes the stage out of nowhere and spazzes out on the mic. Gunz adapts his flow to match the rock vibe and just like he did on the single, he steals the show on this live performance. Cory Gunz has all of the makings to be the next star and it was if Lil Wayne was passing the baton to the youngster as his verse closed the show. With the crowd satisfied Wayne addressed his audience for the last time before leaving the stage and said, “Number one, I believe in God. Number two, I ain't sh*t without you. And number three, I ain't sh*t without you.” I would've loved to have seen more true acoustic performances but this was still a very solid show. Even in the rock n roll setting, Lil Wayne looked very natural, energetic and had the crowd in the palms of hands - proving why he is one of the premier artists of our day.
Don't miss this show when it airs on June 12.
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