June 14, 2005 @ 4:51 pm

A/B Conversation: Vibe Musicfest 2005

Kevin R. Scott, and EJ Flavors

A. Lauryn is like bittersweet brilliance. AMAZING!
B. An amazing mess. That's what she was.
A. She coulda been on the cover of South African Vogue.
B. I don't think I've ever heard of summer wigs being in fashion.
A. I felt like I was watching a piece of history.
B. All she had to do was drop her mic and leave and she'd be another Eddie Murphy or Chris Rock.
A. Living history! Man, I am scracthing your name off the Lauryn fan club roster.

> Keyshia Cole:

A. Wassup with the chameleon Keyshia Cole and Keyshia Cole redux?
B. Chameleon? You referring to her hair, her personality, or both? She reminds me of Mary J. Blige. I thought she was gonna come out and sing "I'm Going Down" any minute.
A. Keyshia is very Mary J. Blige 1994. I like that kinda grit. It means we can expect a lot. I LOVE IT!

> Lyfe:

A. Who knew Lyfe Jennings could make good use of time and not just serve it?
B. I was impressed by Lyfe. He really was good, awesome in concert.
A. Yeah he did well, but almost no one saw his performance. Those interludes put some to sleep, maybe even him.
B. So that's why I didn't get to interview him.
A. Hey Lyfe, call us....

>Amerie:

A. Okay, so how predictable was Amerie?
B. Now, see, here we go... I actually thought Amerie was alright. A little cookie-cutter in her concert, but she did okay. Notice I said just okay.
A. She is beautiful and sometimes boring. But a doll no doubt!
B. So you're tellin' me she's the Black Barbie this year?
A. With Amerie, it's just one thing that's got me trippin'! She performs like she is in front of a mirror, and not 10,000 people at the Georgia Dome. I am still waiting for Amerie to get it crunk'd.

>112:

A. Yo, 112 put in some work! They killed it.
B. Now you know they had to. On the other side of it, they weren't allowed to put in enough work. I've seen them before and this, by far, was their best concert.
A. Yeah, they definitely "vibed" well on stage, but they are veterans. There was no one else on the performance schedule that had as much time in the game as they did, too bad they were given nine minutes to perform nine years worth of songs...damn!

>John Legend:

A. Music's new "legend." Impressed? Ambivalent? Coulda had a V-8?
B. I think I'm burned out on “Ordinary People” for real. The 30 minutes he spent could have been reallocated to 112, you know what I'm saying?
A. John is great, but I haven't yet figured out what about him is star power and talent and how much is the industry telling us he is a star.
B. Not a star. A small planet maybe, with a moon or two, but not a star or a rare talent of our generation.
A. So is John a piano player who can sing or a singer who plays piano?
B. If I were to describe him as a steak, it would be medium-well.

>Common:

A. Common...Sense or Common Cold?
B. Uncommonly good! Had plenty of sense and spread it around!
A. Mr. Keebler would be proud huh?
B. Mr. Keebler needs to take notes!
A. I like Common but I hope I don't have to begin to figure out who he is amongst his new Kanye-isms. He better still rock the crochet pants.
B. Now, you know Common came before Kanye. Kanye needs to give him some more room, let his light shine on through.

>Kanye:

A. Kanye is dramatic and he believes his own hype and I think he is what hip hop needs. A lot of artists spew hype but Kanye believes his own and it shows in his performance. He believes he is great and that is great in itself.
B. He says diamonds are forever...but is he a diamond or more like a Cubic Zirconia in the sunlight?
A. A diamond in the rough. Right now he is hip hop's "it" boy, there are still a lot of smoke and mirrors. Longevity, other new artists’ success, and the fickle public opinion will polish him and he will eventually live into this big reality he is creating. I am definitely on the Kanye bandwagon!
B. Well, let's hope this new CD doesn't put him in a sophomore slump. I'd hate for that to happen.

> Faith Evans:

A. This ain't just Faith. This is new Faith!!!
B. The first thing I heard about Faith was how good she looked.
A. Right! Looking good and sounding... whatchu think?
B. The fact that she was able to take the crowd and make them sing along with her, she sounded good to me. Especially when she performed "Love Like This" and "Soon As I Get Home."
A. Ahhh, the 90's classics. But see, what I can't understand was why she only got a short amount of time. I love the hits, she is one of ATL's own now.
B. Well, she moved away from the ATL. Faith, if you can hear me, come back to your home!! I got some cornbread for you! It was like 'wow, I'm getting into this Faith!' then 'Thank you and good night!'

> T.I.

A. But ya know T.I. brought 'em out for his show at the Fest. Lit it up and kept it live!
B. Right, the crowd was goin crazy! It's the southern thang and he brought it fo' sho.
A. In the words of Ciara, "OH!"
B. I thought I woud have seen some panties or something thrown at him, but that didn't happen. He lit it up fo' sho.
A. He got 'em lovin him, not one female didn't want a piece of T.I.
B. Excuse me while I turn up "Rubberband Man"....

> Ludacris:

A. Yo, Luda is always the life of the party.
B. I couldn't believe how he had the crowd actin' a fool. "Pimpin All Over The World" is my anthem for the summer. But then he got southern fried with the new track "Georgia On My Mind" which was cool, got the crowd goin....
A. Yeah, he need to take it worldwide. Luda bangs, but it's always kinda like a backyard BBQ and less like world domination. GET BIG!
B. Right! But wait, did you see everybody doin' the "Stand Up" dance? I thought they were gonna knock over some chairs.
A. Like a hood mosh pit.

> Big Boi:

A. Big Boi own Atlanta.
B. Big Boi had to break em off somethin'.
A. Did his thing, as the less dramatic 1/2 of OutKast, he gave a full show. No lovehaters needed.
B. True dat - with horns, dancers, and singers too.
A. I don't think Andre could have done a full set without Big Boi.
B. Hell, it was truly Speakerboxxx and I thought I was gonna miss Andre 3000, but Big Boi tore it up. Sleepy came out and did his thing too! When he started to sing "I Love The Way You Move" the crowd went wild.

A. Kevin R. Scott is a Harlem resident, freelance writer and music critic with a penchant for the newest, hottest, freshest and dopest. He's a mad man for anything R&B. You can find him blogging at www.kevinrscott.com.

B. EJ Flavors, music aficionado in the ATL, has his ears everywhere at the same time, but continually focused on music - past, present, and definitely the future. Known as The Moon Man, he's always sharing over at www.ejflavors.com.

Article tags: A/B, Conversation, Vibe, Musicfest, 2005 

Tweet this...

Page printed from:
http://www.vibe.com/news/online_exclusives/2005/06/vibemusicfest_ab_conversation/

Return to previous page