June 19, 2010 marked 15 years of broadcasting
for Hot 107.9. Radio One celebrates this historic event with
the city of Atlanta by launching a mega concert where several world reknown
recording artists come to entertain their listeners. Radio One/Hot 107.9 has
been making a difference in their community since the birth of the broadcast as
they continue to keep Hip-Hop operative with monumental triumphs that celebrate
Hot 107.9’s Birthday.
This years birthday bash was
one to remember, with headliners from all over who came to grace the stage at a
sold out Phillips Arena. Without bias, the Birthday Bash 15 performance roster
was filled with the industry’s forerunners. The show began as the sunset, with
the winner of the new music contest sponsored by Wendy’s. The lucky artist,
Flawless opened the show full of energy and crowd participation as his
background dancers set the tone for what was to come.
Following the opening act was
Atlanta native Rocko who woke up the audience with his late single “This
Morning,” and ended his set with a newest banger “Maybe.” By then the crowd was ready for swag surfin
with F.L.Y. as the whole arena swayed and dipped back and forth .
Another spectacular performer
of the night was Monica who illustrates to her fans time and time again that
she is “Still Standing.” She completely
blew her followers away with an unforgettable performance that touched every
listener. Monica took the crowd back to
the beginning of her career as she began with her first hit “Don’t Take It
Personal.”
One of the sponsors of the
show was www. gytnow.org who spoke to Atlanta during a brief intermission about
the importance of getting tested for HIV.
Another sponsor was the Magnum condom contest winner who performed while
promoting the “Live Large Project” again stressing the facts on how to live
safe.
The second half of Birthday
Bash was even more star-studded. Dressed in all white was Shawty Lo who
formally introduced Atlanta to his newest single “Birds.” The energy created by each artist was felt
throughout the arena and the excitement level was on high.
Fans were pleased to know Jeezy
was in the building. Jeezy performed
“Lose My Mind” with Plies as they gave everyone a taste of what they’ve been
working on. The presence of Plies had the ladies in hysteria as he approached
the set wearing nothing more than a bath robe.
Another Florida
representative was the boss himself, Rick Ross. Maybach Music is still promoting Ricks new
album Teflon Don. The Boss kept the crowd entertained by
popping champagne and performing for the women shirtless while rapping his
single “Super High.”
BirthDay Bash 15 in ATL from DTP TV on Vimeo.
Ludacris hit the stage and
performed several songs from his newest album Battle of the Sexes. He demanded fans to jump to their feet while
he showed the crowd just how to disturb the peace. With “Luda” came his first surprise guest,
Diamond and then the baddest of them all Trina performing their remix to “How
Low Can You Go.” Ciara then showed the fellas exactly what she means in her new
record “Ride.” Ludacris even brought out
Florida’s music veteran Uncle Luke and his down south dirty dancers to the
stage. “Luda” then publicly welcomed the newest member of the DTP family Lil’
Scrappy.
Roscoe Dash had the audience
turned up to the max with his back to back hits “Show Out” and “Sexy Girl
Anthem.” The show ended magnificently with Gucci Mane who was
recently released from jail after serving time for a parole violation. Gucci
Mane, while incarcerated had one of the best selling albums in 2009 (State vs.Radric Davis), thus fans where
in pure pandemonium when he hit the stage.
Gucci Mane mentioned in an
interview that performing at Birthday Bash is like a holiday comparable to
Christmas, with the opportunity to connect with his city. This performance was
the most important to date since Gucci Mane’s release, and the entire “So Icey”
squad was on stage including Waka Flocka, Gucci’s best addition yet. Waka went
hard in the paint and had his fans “crunk,” shaking their heads as he performed
“Oh Lets Do It.”
Radio One/Hot 107.9 gives
artists the opportunity to be exposed at Birthday Bash in front of a large
fraction of the city’s population, entertainers reach their target market by
the thousands. Atlanta has an undeniable
love for their own, and with a collective residency of nearly 5.7 million the influence
Atlanta’s have on the Hip Hop industry speaks for itself.