WGCI-FM/107.5 presented Big Jam 2008 Saturday, featuring Keri Hilson, Gym Class Heroes, Chicago’s own Ben One, R&B singer Keyshia Cole, Lil’ Wayne and T-Pain at the United Center.
Still petite and attractive, but with toned legs and arms, the first performer of the evening, Keyshia Cole, wore a black jeweled leotard and feather overcoat complimenting her curves. With pinned-up hair and hoop earrings, she resembled a dancer rather than a round-the-way woman who bellows notes out like it’s no sweat.
But sweat she did because her latest album, "A Different Me," is nothing like her previous albums "The Way It Is" and "Just Like You." Keyshia is having fun, with club-banging songs like "Make Me Over," while she donned a silver pimp cane with a white cummerbund and white collar to complete the ensemble of her new “do.” Wearing high-heels like gymshoes, she danced just as hard with her back-up dancers as if she had on workout clothes.
Circus tents and a balloon version of T-Pain were the background for the next act. T-Pain's crew twirled and swallowed fire, juggled hoops and two dread-headed little people danced while a contortionist formed her body into the shape of the letter “O,” her lips and feet planted firmly on the stage floor.
T-Pain hit the stage krumping, moonwalking, breaking and doing the “walk it out” and “get low” dances. He performed club hits like "Buy U a Drank," "Bartender," "Can’t Believe It," "Chopped and Screwed," along with collaborative hits "One More Drink," "I’m So Hood," "Shawty," "Kiss Kiss" and Grammy Award-winning "Good Life." Jonesing with the crowd about Britney Spears using a circus album title too, the audience cheered on a voluptuous Britney Spears-lookalike little person doing the booty dance.
T-Pain let the audience know he can sing without the vocoder, bellowing out the bluesy "Nobody Knows" a capella and playing the piano. Before leaving the stage, he told the crowd, “Don’t do it because it’s cool, do it because you’re cool” and strutted off.
During the final performance with eight Grammy Award nominee Lil’ Wayne, T-Pain reappeared to have a friendly competition about who did more remixed songs, mimicked each other’s dance moves and rapping style and discuss the upcoming T-Wayne album.
With Lil’ Wayne’s band performing in cages several feet above the ground, Lil’ Wayne rapped several songs from his mixtape like "Prostitute," gushing “It's good to take time to love somebody.”
Although not a conventional ladies man, women screamed when he took his shirt and cap off, pumped his fists in the air and made suggestive comments.
Lil’ Wayne adamantly thanked the crowd for buying his mixtapes and albums, and got on his knees to pray. He performed crowd pleasers like "Lollipop," "Duffle Bag Boy" and "Mr. Carter."
When he finished with "A Milli," the crowd cheered so loud that the floors rumbled. Lil’ Wayne ended the night with a robe over his head and Whitney Houston’s "I Will Always Love You" playing, while he sang the song and declared to the audience, “I ain’t (expletive) without you” and “I love you.”
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To see the photo gallery from this event, click here.
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