Im in Love with a Rapper!

Yes. Yes. Thankfully along with my vocabulary and style, my taste in men has def grown up over the years. Tonight me, my bf and my cuzo hit the invite-only CBC black tie event at LOVE.
Though we pretended we were the daughters of big time senators, we were just three college girls with dumb luck that got us randomly handed passes at Eyebar earlier in the week. Beenie Man performed one of fav jams 'Girls Dem Suga' and the free drinks were lovely. But I digress . . .
So the passes were for Friday night and once we saw Common was performing we knew we had to go. After the excitement wore off the real dilemma came: I have NOTHING to wear!
After a hectic week, hard partying and lucking up on a great sale on a good dress for the night at 7:30 that night (gotta love Macy's), we finally got dressed and hit Okie Street.

Inside LOVE was exactly what a CBC invite-only black-tie event should be: old black men with their eyes bulging out of their head at all the pretty young girls like us and everyone pretending to be a baller and the real ballers being low key.
It was fun on the first floor seeing and being seen but the oldies but goodies can only get you so loose on a Friday night. So we grab drinks and head to the patio where we heard music made in the last ten years. This is where the party was. Where you needed to be if your 25 and still never been with anybody you think you would marry.
Heading to the performance floor it was inspiring to see so much black love in the room. . . and a lil frustrating that I had to return to Howard's pickings. From 30-something couples to Howard Trustee and Mayoral Candidate Marie Johns everybody was def cutting loose.

So now for my love for a rapper. My cousin was the big Common fan with me liking him but not die hard. We got as close to the stage as possible and waited. And waited. And waited some more. (it probably wasn't that long but when your feet hurt that bad you become delirious and time seems to stop) Then the opening act came out. She could was soo soulful and played the hell out of the guitar. (yes I still have a guitar. No, I still can't play) I really wanted to bust whoever the ignorant person who tried to boo her in the head with a bottle. Her last song confirmed she was indeed half black and half white as she poured her heart out about being bi-racial in a world that wants you to choose.

So then it was time for Common. Now I was excited, as I thought he was gorgeous in 'Fashion Rocks' with those freckles and that trench but I wasn't prepared to catch feelings. Common came out on this ball of energy jumping up and down singing 'Go'. In our Saturday Night Best we were right there screaming with him. He went to talk with the crowd, do all his hits.
He had me singing along from the heart: ohh you know you rock my world and . . .
Then I feel in love. He said he wanted to bring a girl up from the crowd and started serenaded her with all the freak songs. She was too up tight. She took the long walk back as he sent her back and bought another girl up who could hang. They put the red light on and he started doing 'Come Close to me Baaaby' You know my cousin was letting everybody know he was talking to her when he said 'Are your eyes still green girl?' Yes Common. Her's still are. But seeing that he was more than this conscious rapper and was actually a man and a sexual one at that, had me reconsidering my appreciation for Common.
Down off our high and trying to work our way out of that thick crowd, we hear Jamie Foxx singing live. I loved Ray and I loved Wanda . . .but Jamie need to leave the live singing alone. LOVE was so much fun and I think I am the newest contender for Common's biggest fan.

-Queen

*I would write more to officially bring in September but gotta get some sleep. Heading to the Howard/Hampton Game in the morning with the girls.