Back... for the first time. Again. *Grammy Edition*

OK! So, let’s try this again.

*stretches arms forward & cracks knuckles*

What up.

*head lift*

I figured I’d make this go round a bit more personal, so look forward to, um… ‘frequent’ (can’t say ‘daily’ or ‘weekly’, in the event I get behind lol) personal rants on things current event related, relevant (or not), but overall just, well…

Random.

And we begin with…

The Grammy’s. (but of course).

As an avid fan of music and a tireless devotee of all aspects of my craft & career, my entire life SHUTS. DOWN. Grammy night. And yes, I pour over every available detail: from the red carpet faux pas to the on stage hits & misses, carefully studying the consistencies year to year on what works, what to stay away from, effective interview techniques & sidestepping, performance presentation, and, of course, the winners.

Now, last year’s Grammy’s was, by far, the most extravagant, respectable, dignified & all around DOPE awards show I’ve seen in my lifetime. It was full of moments rivaled only by MJ’s infamous Motown 25 performance (which Chris Brown subsequently KILLED in emulation at the VMA’s in recent memory; hope that kid ain’t guilty of the current speculations. Prayers.). Which was appropriate, seeing as how it was the 50th Grammy program, and I believe they effectively passed the torch from the old guard to new, and showed current artists paying homage and RESPECTING the ARCHITECTS (blog on that topic, specific to Hip Hop, later) of each genre. (btw, big ups to whoever is behind the creation of the VH1 Hip Hop Honors. Genius.)

This year’s Grammy’s, well… I’ll admit, left a bit to be desired.

I mean, yeah, it was great seeing Bono go all out on stage as U2 opened the show and embodied the concepts of staying power, timeless music & longevity. And it was cute to see Taylor Swift (who is an incredible songwriter. Sheesh.) rock the acoustic thing w/ bff Miley Cyrus (the validity to how good friends they are is yet to be determined). But by far the most emotional moments were seeing Jennifer Hudson win the first (televised) Grammy of the evening, presented by Whitney Houston (boy, she struggled, but made it thru. Good job girl.), and her later, near-tearful and powerful performance. (Given the year she’s had, she deserved it and earned it thru her perseverance, in my opinion.).

My PERSONAL favorite performance of the evening, hands down, was the return of Radiohead. Backed by the USC marching band, they delivered a such a rousing performance that should have turned anyone who was not a fan, or never been familiar, into a die hard RadioHEAD. Seriously. Coldplay turned in a SOLID performance, starting with a lone Chris Martin at his piano for another acoustic moment, performing ‘Lost’, complete w/ Hov on the walk-up cameo (does anbody else remember him spillin those bars on radio, like almost a year and a half ago? *pondering…*), then transitioning into a quite moving showcase of ‘Viva La Vida’. Dopeness. JT & TI did OK too. *lol sorry, couldn’t help myself.*

Other high points for me included the sure-to-be-burning-up-the-blogs live performance of ‘Swagger Like Us’ (which, while it was incredible seeing some of Hip Hop’s elite play nice together, it still left me wanting for… well, more.) The theme was novel (not the ‘Rat Pack‘, the ‘Rap Pack‘ *who writes this stuff?*), but mildly predictable; the Lil Wayne New Tie My Hands-turned-New Orleans Celebration performance (he looked like he was so at home and proud of it. Kudos, Dwayne.), and seeing Stevie get it in w/ the Jonas Brothers, while setting a record for number of performances on the Grammy stage. (side note: this was also one of the more train-wreck-ish moments as well. *Screeeech*).

And what train wrecks there were. Aside form the afore-mentioned pairing, the Al Green-Justin Timberlake-Boyz II Men piece was, well, what it was: a rushed fill in for what was supposed to be the kid Chris Brown & Rhianna (still all speculative on the kid; let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and await the facts). The saving grace of the evenings pairing’s was the all-star, all-school ‘I’ll Be There’ Four Tops tribute with Neyo, Smokey, Jamie Foxx & Duke Fakir. They even cut a few steps together. Classic.

The definite low point of the night was the mic’s. YEESH, that was irking the CRAP outta me, For any true, seasoned performer, bad mic’s are like nails on a chalkboard; you hate to hear it. You mean to tell me all the money Kobe’s bringin in that franchise out there that the Staples Center AND the Grammy Committee couldn’t afford a better sound team (?) C’mon now….

Overall tho, it was an entertaining night to say the least (and M.I.A. was DUE to drop, like, THAT DAY, and was STILL getting it in onstage. Performers, man… we’re crazy lol). I only hope they take note, plan better, and pay for better sound techs next year. Cuz they better get it right before I get there. Word.

Laugh all you want. I’ll be sure wave to you from the red carpet.



*for more history, video, and info on the Grammy’s, be sure to EXHAUSTIVELY visit the Grammy website, www.Grammy.com , and do the knowledge. Crumbs. *Slick Rick accent* lol *