Summer Jam X

Vibe.com, June 29th, 2003

As the camera crew from Fuse TV places plastic covers over their equipment, protecting it from the rain that has begun to lightly sprinkle the crowd, the show is ready to begin. Tonight it's obvious most of the hip hop heads here have come out to witness the 50 Cent experience. The new-school gangsta rapper jumpstarts his act with a few skits poking fun at his rival Ja Rule's hip hop credibility before he and his G-Unit entourage walk onstage, all wearing bulletproof vests. Even his 3-year-old son comes onstage wearing a bulletproof vest. With his entrance, 50 greets the audience with, "What the f*** is goin' on?" Whether he's bare-chested, sporting a white T-shirt, or pimped out in a long white coat, from his opening song, "Gotta Make It to Heaven" to his final, " 21 Questions," 50 delivers.

But it is Busta Rhymes who steals tonight's show. He moves swiftly across the stage as His fireball of energy explodes onto the stage and as he swiftly moves back-and-forth, his sputtering rhyme skills raise the roof off the stadium. "If you really wanna party with me," he raps. Initially, he induces the crowd with a postspliff high, then, just as quickly, knocks them into sobriety. This is the way they party for the better part of his set. Adding fuel to his rapid fire, Busta brings along a strong supporting cast including a bare-bellied Bone Crusher for "Never Scared," Sean Paul for "Make It Clap," P. Diddy for "Courvoisier," and a gyrating, pum-pum short-wearing Mariah Carey for "I Know What You Want."

The only disappointment in Busta's set is 19-year-old up-and-comer Lumidee, who gives a flat and uninteresting performance of the remix to her radio-friendly tune "Never Leave You (Uhh Ohh)." She is very well received-until she opens her mouth, much like Fabolous, Nelly, and opening act, Clipse, whose performances the audience could have done without. Perhaps some things just sound better on the radio. At least the lackluster performers offer the crowd a chance to rest their tired feet or take a bathroom break, between boos, of course. Though it is justified, it's still sad to see the audience send Nelly and the St. Lunatics-shoulders slumped, heads down-back to Nellyville to jeers of, "Get the f*** off the stage, that's not hip hop, motherf*****, boo."

And speaking of boos, Nas certainly gets his share of hateration when he blasts into his Jay-Z-dissing song, "Ether." But God's Son, who boycotted last year's Summer Jam, redeems himself when he comes back strong with stellar performances of both "One Mic" and "I Can." By the time he says good-bye with, "One love, my people," he knows the feeling is mutual.

Busta may have given the best performance of the evening, but it's the sexilicious performances of Sean Paul and his dancers that really get the party started. Sean Paul and his four lithe ladies bum-rush the stage, shaking dem batty and showing off all the latest dancehall moves. Even if you can't understand what Paul is saying as he races through his set, which includes "Gimme the Light" and "Get Busy," it doesn't take a course in Jamaican patois to understand that what he's bringing is all about the physicality and the art of body language, dancehall style.

And speaking of body language, Lil' Kim speaks volumes even before she opens her mouth. The Queen Bee sashays across the stage in a barely there biker-chick outfit that leaves very little to the imagination, especially after her right breast falls out of the leather bikini top. "New York, the Queen is in the motherf*****' house. Everybody just bounce," she shouts. And it's pandemonium; the crowd goes wild. Though her rapping leaves something to be desired, her presence alone is a lesson in entertainment.

Unfortunately, by the time Marshall Mathers walks onto the stage to do his bit the crowd appears tired and is ready to bounce. They have received their fill for the night. So Eminem, the man who was supposed to bring the house down, races through his performance while watching the backs of the audience as they exit the stadium. Already, the arena is less-than-half-empty, and in this way, almost forcefully, the biggest hip hop party of they year comes to an end. It's a wrap people.

For those who missed it, Summer Jam X is slated to premiere on Fuse TV on June 22, 7pm ET. Check out Fuse TV's Web site for more information.