JOIN USExcellent rapport with rappers
There was a certain kind of energy that filled the Palace Grounds on the opening night of the Champion’s League Tournament.
As the venue slowly filled up with a cross-section of people, the excitement to witness the new-age rappers and artistes like Jay Sean, Ludacris and Flo Rida was palpable.
A section of the audience was readying the cameras while others were stacking up on the soft drinks and snacks. Meanwhile, a group of African Americans was practising the moves in a little corner. Robert, an African student from Garden City College, explained how much he and his group of friends enjoy hip-hop and rap music.
“We are big fans of Ludacris and Flo Rida and when we got to know that they are coming to Bangalore, we just had to be here,” he added. Somewhere in middle of all this, cricket was lost. Until the crowd spotted the home team Royal Challengers Bangalore, watching the concert from the sides. Even when Ravi Shastri pleaded with the crowd to observe a moment’s silence for the departed Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, there was a group of girls wondering who Pataudi was, until one girl mentioned, “He’s Saif Ali Khan’s father, guys.”
However, when the concert began, the artistes and not the cricketers, became the heroes of the night. Jay Sean, who recently performed in the City, warmed up the crowd with many of his popular numbers like ‘Do You Remember’, Kudi Soni and ‘Got My Eyes On You’. He even showed off his beat boxing skills and introduced a new track, ‘Hit The Lights’, to the crowd. The moment he sang Tere Naal Nachna people went ballistic.
“I can’t believe that it has been nine years since this song was launched and people still aren’t bored,” he expressed. He finally gave into the request of the audience and belted out the popular hit single ‘Sky Is Falling Down’.
Soon after, the cricketing touch to the proceedings was provided by the captains of the ten participating teams who signed the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ declaration which signaled the start of the tournament.
This was then followed by the international acts. The packed house danced to the tune of the Emmy nominated rapper-cum-actor Ludacris. “This is my first time in India and I think this has been the loudest crowd ever,” said Ludacris, who was accompanied by Lil’ Fate on stage.
He rendered a number of popular collaborations like Usher’s ‘Yeah’ and Taio Cruz’s ‘Break Your Heart’. The crowd was also treated to his singles like ‘Act Like a Fool’, ‘My Chick Bad’, ‘Money Maker’, ‘How Low Can You Go’, among others.
The crowd jumped like there was no tomorrow. By the end of Ludacris’ performance there was not a single person sitting. Parents were running around with little kids in their arms in search of food and groups of expatriate women walked in fashionably late for the final act. The night soon gave way to Flo Rida and as he sang ‘The Club Can’t Handle Me’, and everyone present there felt that the wait was worth it.