Heineken Red Star Soul Concert Series, Washington, D.C.
By Wainie Youn | Posted On: 10/28/06
The Heineken Red Star Soul concert series came barging into chocolate city on October 20th. The concert originated as an audio disc compilation a few years back, however the beer maker decided to take the music on tour. Clearly, the folks over at Heineken really know how to put together a shindig. Free food and beer, it doesn't get any better than that. The concert took place at one of Washington, D.C.'s most recognizable venues, Love Night Club (formally known as Dream). This upscale, low lit venue provided the perfect ambiance for the groups of urbanites that sprinkled the capacity crowd.
Local band Politicks hit us with their eclectic energy. Their sound is an infusion of hip-hop, funk, and R&B. The lead singer had this whole mixture of Justin Timberlake and Jamiroquai. Plus, how can we hate on someone that gives his momma a shout out in the crowd?
Emily King, J Records' next big star, hit the stage with some alright energy. The crowd was cordial and she held her own. She did a great rendition of Bill Wither's "Ain't No Sunshine" which is on her upcoming album "Eastside Story" with a yet to be determined release date.
Were it not for the off the chain old school set the DJ hit us off with (he played Bell Biv Devoe's 1990 hit "Tell Me When Will I See You Smile Again"?it was a wrap), the fact that Chrisette Michele was over twenty minutes late for a concert that started over an hour and a half late would have had me really upset. D.C. traffic can be hell sometimes, so she gets a pass. To put it plainly, this girl is straight gangsta. She's that gritty type of performer that gives it to you from way down in her toes. You can catch her on Jay Z's album when it drops. This girl is gonna do some major damage at Def Jam. Look out for her.
The headlining act was D.C.'s hometown prince Mr. Raheem Devaughn did his thing. Before his performance, Heineken presented him with their Independent Achiever Award. He graciously accepted the award which was given to him because of his hard work and hustle. Devaughn's energy was on point, and he made it a point to represent D.C. to the fullest. He did a go-go set and brought out two popular local rappers creating major buzz, newcomers Wale and Tabi Bonney. Devaughn's mother was shaking her thang, showing the youngins in the crowd how it's supposed to be done. He serenaded the crowd with many of the hits from the Love Experience album, gave a tease from his upcoming release Love Behind the Melodies, and concluded with his biggest hit "Guess Who Loves You More". He concluded the show on a very positive note, asking the crowd to "deprogram" themselves from accepting death, violence, and being called out of your name as the norm. He encouraged the audience to respect and love themselves. Needless to say, it was all love in Love the Club.
