Arriving at the venue, the Gibson Amphitheatre at the Universal Citywalk, at about 8:30, I missed Soulja and Jeremih. Each had turned in serviceable 10-minute sets, a middle-aged white woman sitting next to me who was celebrating her birthday told me. We were sitting in prime, $180 orchestra seats, with a great view of the stage. About 30 feet in front of us, Young Jeezy was two or three songs into his set. Jeezy's grizzled voice bellowed through the sold-out venue, providing the lyrics to anthem after anthem. Backed by three-piece horn section dressed in black with bandanas covering their faces, Jeezy was on point up until the last minute, when he walked off the stage just as his DJ cued up "My President is Black" (a song whose significance was overlooked at President Obama's inauguration, as I've written before).

After a 20-minute intermission, the man of the night walked on the stage in a black-and-silver L.A. Kings jacket and matching fitted and Adidas. Noticeably absent was Weezy F. Baby's notorious accessory, the plastic cup. With brighly lit big screen showing "Best Rapper Alive" and fireworks set off sporadically on the set, Weezy ran through his considerable catalogue of hits, most of them from last year's multi-platinum selling "Carter III." He didn't need to ask for crowd participation as the "A Milli" beat came on and Wayne shredded it into pieces with his trademark growl and off-color punchlines.

Although Wayne proved he was a bonafide rockstar, even plucking away at an electric guitar at one point, the highlight of the night came when Weezy introduced his proteges, all 10 or so artists affiliated with Young Money Entertainment. Although the absence of the biggest name of them all, Drake, and the vixen Nicki Minaj, was felt, when Wayne brought out Lil Twist, Lil Chuckee, T-Streets, Gudda, Tyga, Mack Maine and Shanell the night took an interesting turn. 

Each artist performed a song or two each and more than held his - or her - own. There was something endearing about seeing Lil Wayne, one of hip-hop's biggest stars at the peak of his career, showing off what he believes is the next generation. For a moment, the Weezy on stage wasn't the ink-covered, most-blogged about for his two kids on the way, crazy genius of a rapper. Instead, it was Wayne the budding music executive.

As the night came to a close and Wayne and his troupe - including the newest addition, Omarion - took to the stage for "Every Girl" and a short Michael Jackson tribute, there was a feeling of grandiosity and celebration. The fans, most of whom documented the night with their cameras and phones, were captivated with what they were seeing on stage: a larger-than-life artist who was comfortable with putting others on.

But, for now, peep the homey El Prez's newest video for the track Floss Angeles featuring the FCC .  I had to miss this shoot but heard it was a blast and the preview I saw of the video looks super fly!  Here's what Prez had to say about the project when he pushed me the link:

Stay tuned for some dopeness coming soon!

Peace, 

-Breeze