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Go-To Hit Maker T-Pain Ringmaster Of BET Circus
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Published: June 25, 2008
T-Pain transformed the BET Awards into a circus Tuesday with a multi-artist medley that showed the rapper and singer's wide-ranging influence on urban music.
Wearing a spangled top hat, T-Pain - nominated for a leading five BET Awards - shared the stage with fellow nominees Flo Rida, Rick Ross, Ludacris and Big Boi, along with a bevy of big-top freaks, including fire eaters and acrobats.
"This industry is my circus," said T-Pain. "Ride with the ringleader."
Then T-Pain - whose nominations came not for his own hits but for his collaborations with others, and whose vocoder-assisted voice is among the most ubiquitous in urban music - gave a sample of his musical assists over the past year.
Not to be outdone, the ladies offered a show-stopping performance of their own, led by double nominee Alicia Keys. Rocking a sleek bob and skintight jeans, Keys invited vintage girl groups SWV, En Vogue and TLC to join her onstage for a medley of their biggest hits. By the time they closed with TLC's "Waterfalls," the crowd at the Shrine Auditorium was on its feet.
Kanye West won two awards: best male hip-hop artist and best collaboration for "Good Life," his song with T-Pain. And unlike past award shows, he didn't use his appearance to boost himself - at least that much. Instead, he praised T-Pain, calling him "a genius."
The rapper also paid homage to fellow nominee Lil Wayne when he won best male hip-hop artist: West called him "my fiercest competition." The New Orleans-based rapper last week sold 1 million copies of "Tha Carter III" for the year's best sales debut.
Usher opened the show with a bang - literally.
Pyrotechnics filled the auditorium as the singer performed "Love in this Club" from his latest album, "Here I Stand." The highly choreographed set, which featured Usher pop-locking, gyrating and grooving his way across the stage with a bevy of voluptuous dancers, gave the show a high-energy start.
Host D.L. Hughley's opening monologue was a little less explosive - his jokes about Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, the recently acquitted R. Kelly and President Bush fell flat - but he didn't slow the pace of the performance-heavy show.
Today's Birthdays
Movie director Sidney Lumet is 84. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Willis Reed is 66. Singer Carly Simon is 63. Actor-comedian Jimmie Walker is 61. Actor-writer-director Ricky Gervais is 47. Singer George Michael is 45. Basketball player Dikembe Mutombo is 42. Rock musician Mike Kroeger (Nickelback) is 36. Actress Linda Cardellini is 33.
Source: The Associated Press
CORRECTIONS
It is the policy of The Tampa Tribune to correct all errors of fact. To report an error, call (813) 259-7600.
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