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2005 Vibe Awards: Confessions of an Artist
See It Live
What do you get when you mix Hollywood’s glamour with the natural mystique of the characters that pen today’s hottest Hip Hop and R&B titles? Pure entertainment! Vibe magazine celebrated yet another music awards show in L.A. this month. And because of their well respected reputation, the lifestyle magazine was able to bring along Chevy as the presenting automotive partner.
The festive weekend kicked off for Automotive Rhythms (AR) at the Viceroy Hotel (host hotel) in Santa Monica the Thursday prior to Saturday’s award taping. We were picking up Chevy’s 2006 Corvette Z06 for the weekend and needing some one on one time to get acquainted with the American bully! Although I wasn’t too thrilled about the Canary Yellow paint, I was as crunked as dem Atlanta Boyz when fire lit through the quad pipes after pounding the throttle to unleash the ‘Vette’s 505 horses. So, it didn’t take long to move via L.A. traffic to get to the Viceroy after touchdown at LAX.
Yet, the ‘Vette wasn’t Chevy’s only surprise of the Vibe Award weekend. Known for their aggressive targeting of music groups to promote the brand, GM’s most outgoing brand introduced their new promotional campaign with Detroit native rap group Slum Village, who have signed on to promote the 2006 HHR crossover vehicle and 2006 Impala. The underground two-man duo, Elzhi and T-3, combine laid back, emotion-loving melodies with fly, up-tempo beats orchestrated around quick, thought provoking lyrics. They’re an infusion of Nas and Kanye before the big time. Slum performed for Chevy’s intimate media reception the evening preceding the awards. I’m listening to the album concurrently as I type and can’t seem to stop nodding my dome!
The Red Carpet was typical of Cali walkthroughs. You seek to get at the most prestigious character while their crewmembers attempt to thwart your progress. Unless of course your connection with the main man is direct. We learned from the best of course, Jamie Foster Brown, publisher of Sister to Sister magazine, with whom we shared a VIP spot alongside the HHR. Next up were the AR interviews.
 The People’s Champ, Paul Wall, showed off his ice grille while emphatically talking up the Houston car game; Damian “ Jr. Gong” Marley chatted deeply about his Pan African views with Nasir Jones on Road To Zion, which attacks Zimbabwe; The Game just recorded another album but vows to stay in the mixtape game with his 300 Bars killer freestyles, which shuts down 50 Cent and G-Unit like the Indianapolis Colt’s scorching offense; and Funk Master Flex just customized a tour bus. If that’s not enough, the southern assassin himself, Young Jeezy, aka the “ Snow Man,” had the fans chanting his hook, “Yeeeaaaahhh,” down the red velvet to show how “Hot-Lanta” has the rap game on lock. To support the cause, Boyz N Da Hood’s Jodie Breeze passed AR a dime with insight on his solo album, which he pledged to be more gutter than Keyshia Cole’s award speech.
The south was definitely trump tight in the building! There was enough ice around to bring Wayne Gretzky out of retirement. From Slim Thug to Lil’ Weezy, the southern spirit was so hardcore even that rapper “WHO” (Who? Mike Jones) forgets his name and cell number had $50,000 of Sierra Leone’s finest on his wrist. But my homeboy Pharrell kept the playing field even for the east coast, with half his body weight in Starburst Bling around his neck. You would have thought he was kin to Mr. T.
Anyway, the night was warming up. No Issues No Chaos. But, we all know that the Fat Boys broke up for a reason! So, everyone was waiting for this year’s memorable moment of the Vibe Awards, even if we try to forget about last year’s fiasco with Young Buck’s secret weapon (a dangerous dinner fork). I thought this year’s awards were going to make Rodney King happy; by everyone just getting along. However, that wasn’t the case. The Queen of R&B, Mary J. Blige, accepted her VLegend Award and had a little animosity to get off her chest and strayed from her soulful hook phrase “No More Drama.” The songstress accused Vibe of making her look like “Splinter“ from the Teenage Ninja Turtles. Mary stated, “No disrespect, but I really hated the way you guys shaved off my head, pushed my forehead way back behind my ears.” Words that left the crowd perplexed. I guess it was Mary’s “Way” of moving Carlito to the side. Carlito didn’t make it! I think Ms. Blige would have reconsidered her statement if she’d known that the editor of Vibe, Mimi Velquez, had a unique Kung Fu Style technique of tastefully cutting her head off in a massacre letter. Come on Mary, what’s the 411, baby? See Mimi’s response.
Outside of the Filet Mignon (Beef), I thought the night was still a legendary bachelor’s dream. The intimately exclusive interviews with Kimora Lee; the Love Jones with Nia; shocking Buffie the Body with the speed of AR’s weekend whip – the Chevy Z06 which can skate from 0-90 in first gear; or telling Mariah that “We Belong Together.” The Vibe Awards left a great taste in my mouth. Oh, thanks to Navan Liquor!
To the folks over at Vibe Magazine and Chevy, I’m still a fan!! In the words of the great Diplomat, Juelz Santana, you guys get an “A”!!! See you next year!
See It Live
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Automotive Rhythms (AR) |
Chevy's Carolyn Normandin adorned by AR's K. Rawlins & E. Elston & King magazine's Datwan Thomas &
Adell Henderson |
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AR & Slum Village
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Trina
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Vida Guerra
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Taraji Henson
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Slum Village & the Chevy HHR
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Mary J
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Mariah backstage with Jamie Brown
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Little Wayne
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Kimora Lee with Flo Anthony
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K. Rawlins about to Handle the Z06
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Akademiks' Jennifer Bartok, K. Rawlins & Gilyard's Tiffany Ellzy
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Damian Marley (Jr Gong)
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E's Host & the HHR
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E. Elston & Dipset's Juelz Santana
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Chevy's Maria Rohrer & Nick Cannon
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AR backstage with Vibe's Kim Blanchard & Anthony Maddox |
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Bobby Valentino
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Big Boi
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AR with Jamie Brown and Young Jeezy |
Reagan Gomez Preston
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Teairra Mari (Of The ROCK)
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E. Elston and T.I.
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