Day 1 (I Heart N.Y The Final Chapter)

Before stepping off the plane in New York, I made sure my jeans were properly tucked in my Timbs and my black NY hat was strategically tilted to the right angle. As we step off the plane, I am greeted by a drab, cold, almost ghost like airport, called Laguardia, not at all what I thought. I thought it would be crowded with busy New Yorkers, not today I guess. The weather isn't the greatest on this Friday afternoon, its pretty chilly and gray outside, but we decide to make the best of it. We get to the hotel and change clothes for the VH1 Soul concert at B.B. King. where Jaguar Wright, Keke Wyatt, and Kindred Soul are performing. Finally I'm in New York, granted our hotel is in Queens, and the nearest bus stop is a few blocks away, but its New York all the same.



We hop on the M60 bus (which would become our regular routine) and head to the subway. We reach our destination, and my Timbs are walking on the sidewalk pavement in New York City in Times Square. I look up and see billboard after billboard, I'm in New York, finally, the city that never sleeps, the city I have wanted to live in since 6th grade, the city where Hype Williams has used the backdrop of in a numerous amount of his videos, I'm here. I take a minute and compose myself, so I won't look too amped and silly. We walk around, eat, and kill time before the show. As we are walking, we notice a long line outside one of the buildings. I wonder aloud, "What's that long line for?". Then I see that the building reads B.B. King, SHIT! I forgot that the concert sitting was first come, first serve. So we hop in line, behind 3 neo-afrocentric chicks. The line becomes even longer during a rather short period of time. We finally get in, there are not alot of seats left, but we find a good standing spot to post up on.

I notice how attractive a lot of the people in the crowd are, and my eyes begin to roam around the room. Somehow I lock eyes with a brotha at the bar. He looks to be about 5'11 maybe, medium brown skin, a brown checkered blazer, with a t-shirt underneath, jeans, and black shoes. He gives me a nod, I politely smile, can't do too much since I'm with my friends. Finally, the show begins, and Keke Wyatt performs first. I wasn't really sure if I would know any of her songs, since the only ones I knew of, were the ones she did with Avant. She came out, and I was shocked at how much weight she had lost, she looked damned good, in a pink blouse and blue jean mini skirt. I couldn't stop staring at her, and when she opened her mouth to talk and her country accent came out, I was hooked. She completed her set, and got a good round of applause, she did her thing.

After Keke performed, Kindred Soul came out. I was kind of excited to see them, even though I only knew one of their songs "Far Away". They were excellent and had good chemistry, I guess since they are married, it helps. The husband was mad cute, I still don't know his name, but they made a new fan that night. Finally, Jaguar Wright came out and performed. I am not the biggest Jaguar fan, but I liked her collabos she had done with The Roots and Jay-Z. She sang, but I'm not sure as to what she was saying, she even admitted on stage that she didn't even know what she was saying. What I liked most about Jaguar's performance was how real she was, she called Philadelphia radio vee-jay Miss Jones out, it was hilarious. Her performance may not have been my favorite, but her personality was.

The concert ended late on a high note. We were hurriedly exited out the building, because there was apparently an afterparty being thrown after the concert for another event. We got back on the subway, where I sat in between a cute latino dude and a guy who kept trying to sell me a pair of socks. I was excited to sit down, after standing for damn near 5 hours, and headed back to Queens. Exhausted I climb under my cheap Poly and Ester sheets and drifted to sleep.

To be continued...............